“Can you name the primary source for Shakespeare’s famous plays?” the teacher says.
Wow, I would’ve been so lucky if the teacher asked me that question. I could’ve scored bonus points. It’s one of the only things I actually do remember from my poetry classes back in high school.
Stupidly enough, it’s not me who’s supposed to answer, and I hate that.
“I … uh …” she says softly, her voice almost inaudible.
Shit, I don’t want her to feel like this. Just because I put her through the worst kind of teasing, doesn’t mean she should be humiliated. I never wanted that.
I lean closer, and whisper, “Holinshed’s Chronicles.”
She almost springs up from her seat. “The Holinshed’s Chronicles!” she shouts.
Our strict teacher watches her for a second, gauging her response, but his eyes sometimes flash to me, too. I know he saw me tell her.
“All right,” he says.
She sighs out loud, sinking down into her seat again. I’m smiling like a proud little motherfucker, because I am, I admit it. I saved her there, and it’s one of the few times I could actually put my strainer brain to good use.
She … Leafy … turns her head toward me and her mouth is open, but she doesn’t say anything. She looks all surprised, so I wonder what’s up.
“What?” I say.
“Nothing. I just didn’t expect that,” she says, folding her arms like the uptight girl she is.
“There’s a lot more you can’t expect from people,” I say.
She shakes her head and laughs. “Well, thanks anyway.”
She really isn’t big on the thank-yous. I guess pride is a big part of her life. Maybe we have more in common than she thinks.
“Yeah, I pretty much saved your ass there,” I say. I’m just taunting her, but I want a reaction from her. Always so in control of her emotions … I’d love to see her just say what’s on her mind. Flip the finger for all I care. It’d make for a good laugh.
She frowns. “Hey, don’t get cocky.”
The way she says cocky makes me think of a whole array of sentences she could say with that exact same word, only without the ‘y.’ I have a dirty mind. Can’t help it.
My eyebrows go up and down, and she laughs. It’s the most beautiful smile I’ve seen in a long time.
“Comes with the jacket,” I say.
Damn, I really need to simmer down with these flirts. Not good for my cock. No, I’d better focus on something else for a while, like actually listening to the teacher for once.
I pick up a pen and write down some of the gibberish he’s saying, clearly not understanding a word or even remembering half of it. Oh, who am I kidding anyway?
I look sideways and see her writing, her pen flicking back and forth furiously. Whoa, talk about passion for studying.
She briefly glances at me, and then I know I’ve been caught.
“Hey!”
“Shhh,” I say, putting my finger to my lips.
“You’re cheating.”
Yeah, duh. Of course it’s that obvious. But it’s my last resort for actually picking up something useful from this class. Besides, I reckon her brain works better than my shoddy birth-defected one.
“Who cares?” I say.
“I do,” she says, and she slams her notebook shut, preventing me from copying. Damn it. There goes my last shot at finishing homework for tomorrow.
“Aren’t you uptight,” I say, feeling frustration bubble up inside me. She doesn’t know how much I need those notes, but at the same time I don’t want her to know. I don’t want anyone to know. It’s a weakness, and I don’t like being or feeling weak.
She gives me a fake smile. “Comes with the skirt.”
I laugh and shake my head. Nice retort. I didn’t expect that at all from her.
“Good one,” I say, and I wink.
Her eyes briefly widen and then relax again. I can’t even give her a wink without her falling apart.
The teacher makes a noise so we stop talking, and she immediately goes back into her own little world, just like she did before. With her nose almost pressed onto the textbook, she starts skimming through the pages, and all I can do is watch her. I’m fascinated, that’s all I can say. I don’t know why, I just am. I’ve never met a more interesting person in my life. Quirky, but interesting.
Actually, that’s an understatement. I find her alluring. She’s giving me a reason to hunt, and I’m called Hunter for a reason. I like seeing girls all worked up over me. It’s the only thing I know I’m good at.
When the class is finally over, I say, “See ya, Leafy,” and I toss her the pen I borrowed.
“It’s Autumn,” she snaps with her high-pitched voice that makes me want to trap her between my arms and make her squeal.
Instead, I shrug and stand. My entire body is fighting the urge to sit back down and make out with her, but at the same time I don’t want to win that easily. She wouldn’t be able to resist, though, I can see that much from her licking her lips each time she looks at me.
But I don’t want her to desire me for my body. I want her to want me for being me. I want to know that she wants to kiss me because she thinks I’m a good person, not because of how I look. That she knows what I go through on a daily basis. That she knows who the real me is. That I’m not just a meathead.
I can be so much more than that … if only …
And then I walk out of the classroom.
I find a quiet spot outside and rummage in my backpack, looking for my notes. Jaret bumps into me while I’m reading my notes, trying to figure out where to go next.
“Hey, dude!” he says. “You’re making quite a name for yourself here already.”
I frown, confused. “What do you mean? I haven’t done anything yet.”
“Word’s going around campus that there’s a dangerous criminal here with the surname Bane. Can’t be anyone else.” He winks.
“What?”
“I don’t know what you did, but you’d better lay low for a while.”
“I told you, I’m not doing jack shit. My brother’s the one messing with the gang. Not me.”
“Yeah, well I’m just saying.” He raises his hands. “Someone knows you’re here, and they’re trying to snag you.”
“Damn it …” I say, sighing.
I can’t believe it. Shit, this must be the gang messing with me. They know my brother got me into college in the first place, and it’s exactly the spot they’re dealing at, too. They’re trying to get to me.
“Hey, just try to fit in, all right?” Jaret places his hand on my shoulder. “Your brother wants you here, not with the gang.”
“I know, but I think it’s them spreading the rumors.”
Jaret nods, and says, “Hmhm. But we can’t do anything about it. It’s intimidation. That’s all.”
I check my notes and realize I should’ve been at my next class already. Crap.
“Hey, I gotta run. See ya around, okay?” I say, and before he can answer, I’ve already bolted away.
Chapter 4
The Unthinkable
I’m making my way to my next class, weaving through the crowd. Some girls smile when they see me, and then wink while growling or purring. I give them a nod most of the time, but that’s it. I’ve been with enough of those girls to know they’re only after me for my body. Once they find out about me and my fucked-up youth they run for the hills.
I don’t want that anymore. As much as I love the attention … and a good fuck for that matter … I want more than just that. I want someone to stay with me because they like me, not because of the sex. And each time I fuck a girl I realize more and more how unlikely it is that will ever happen.
I look up into the window I pass, seeing the girl with the leaves sitting there in class, talking with her friend. The sight of her makes my heart go crazy and my cock throb. She’s the epitome of everything I’m not. A shy, geeky girl who can’t handle a little tension. So wh
y am I gravitating toward her so much?
Suddenly my phone rings, and I fish it out of my pocket. Unknown number. Great.
I pick it up.
“Hello?” I say.
“Hunter?”
It’s my brother, but his brittle voice puts me on edge.
“What’s wrong?” I say.
“They caught me. I’m toast.”
“What do you mean?” I snap.
“It all went wrong,” he says with a croaky voice. “I needed more money to pay for your college loans, and I failed.”
“Why? I thought we had enough? What did you do?” I’m pacing up and down the hallway, getting all worked up. My heart is racing in my throat. Something is so fucking wrong, I can hear it from his voice.
“I tried to take more. It was the only way. They forced me to fight, but I couldn’t take any more hits. They said they wouldn’t give me more money until I did what they wanted. So when they weren’t looking I took more money than I was supposed to take.”
My mouth is open, but I don’t know what to say. I’m at a loss for words, hearing this. Every sentence is too much. This isn’t good.
“What happened?” I yell.
“The boys found out. Now they’re after my head. I escaped, barely. I broke into a car to get away from them.”
“Shit, no!” I yell.
“I got caught with drugs in my pocket. Someone shoved them in there.”
“What?” I say, frowning. My breathing is ragged, uneven. I don’t want to hear what comes next, but I have to know. I need to know what happened to him.
“The cops got me, Hunter. I’m in jail.”
The moment I hear that word my world shatters. My fingers are shaking. I can barely hold onto the phone. My brother is in jail for stealing a car and possessing drugs. He won’t get out of this. There’s no way he can worm himself out of this one.
This is a nightmare.
“I’m coming,” I say gruffly, and then I snap the phone shut.
Blood seeps into my mouth as I bite my lip. Anger is raging inside me, storming through my head like an uncontrollable tornado. I’m furious.
The only family member I have left is now in jail, and I won’t get him back.
FUCK!
I slam the phone into the ground, fracturing it into tiny little pieces of shit. Everything is shit. My entire life is shit. The one person who took care of me is now gone, and I’m left to pick up the pieces of our fucked-up life.
My rage takes control of my body, and I start kicking the wall to let it all out. I’m screaming, my toes feeling broken from the enraged kicks. It’s not helping. Nothing is. I can’t get this fury to settle down.
I stop, because the pain is becoming too much. Staring at my fists, I blow out a huge breath. I can’t even remember what I was supposed to be doing before I got this phone call. All I know is that there’s a huge windowpane right beside me, and that there are people behind it staring at me.
Looking up, I stare right at her. Leafy. Her round, watery eyes are piercing my soul, and I can’t help but glare right back at her. I want her to see me. To see the misery inside my heart, my head. My anger. My pain. I want her to see it all.
I want her to fear it.
She should fear me. She should be so afraid that she never wants to see or be near me again. It’s not what I want, but what I need, even if I’d rather see it differently. She mustn’t like me, so that I won’t like her either. Because from now on, there won’t be anything distracting me from my goal: saving my brother.
♥♥♥
The next day …
It takes me a day to get to the out-of-state police station and see my brother in custody. I’m sitting at a creaking table on a wobbly chair, looking straight at my brother. I’ve been swallowing back tears for the last couple of minutes. It’s never been this hard to stop myself from lunging forward. All I want is to get up, grab him, and bolt out of here as fast as we can. Of course that’s impossible. There are guards and locked doors. But I can’t bear to see him in here.
Dangerous criminals are locked up in the cell directly adjacent to my brother. Most of them have racist tattoos or ones that show how many people they’ve killed. I’ve never been more afraid in my life. Not because of what they could do, but what I know my brother will face once he goes to prison. They’ll rough him up, for sure, although he already looks beaten to the bone.
His face is swollen, his upper lip is cracked, and he has two black eyes. His blond beard is still smudged with blood. This must be from the fighting he was forced to do. He calls it ‘The Arena’—the place where they force newbie dealers to fight each other until one of them passes out. Just for fun. Or money, I don’t know. It’s just sick.
He won’t be going there, though. Not anymore. Where he’ll be going now is way, way worse.
When I look at him, all I feel is guilt. His jeans are ripped, and his faded, dirty shirt makes him look like a homeless guy. His gray eyes have gotten less bright since the last time I saw him. He looks like shit, and it’s because he had to fight to earn enough money so I could stay in college. He had to steal, fight, and betray to take care of me. He’s in here, going to jail, because of me.
“I still can’t believe it,” I say, staring at the table.
“I know … and it’s fucked up as hell. They tricked me, Hunter.”
I slam the table with my hand, and one of the guards anxiously reaches for his stick.
“Don’t,” Jessie says, nudging his head to make me aware of the guard. “They’ll shortcut this, and I wanna talk to you for as long as I can.”
“Yeah, sorry. Me too. I just get so fucking pissed off knowing you’re in here. They betrayed you.”
“No, I betrayed them.”
“How can you say that?” I yell. “They’re squeezing you, forcing you to fight, and you still think you betrayed them? They’re fucking monsters!”
“They gave me enough money to send you to college.”
For a second it’s quiet. I know he’s right.
I swallow, slumping down in my chair. “It’s my fault then.”
“No, I don’t want you to think like that.”
“Hell, I don’t need to be in college. I can find a job. I told you that a million times.”
“But I do. I want you to succeed.” He smiles, but it’s a petty smile, full of hurt, and it makes me want to hug him tight, but I know the guards would disapprove.
I sigh. “What can I do to get you out of here as fast as possible? There has to be a way.”
“I don’t think there is.”
I scowl. “I’m not taking ‘no’ for an answer. You can’t stay in here. You can’t go to … prison.”
“There’s no choice.”
“Dammit!” I slam my own hand with my fist, trying not to make a sound to alert the guards. “You shouldn’t be in here. It’s all a big mistake. If we can explain it to the cops then—”
“I was dealing drugs, Hunter,” my brother snaps. “I was beating up kids, hustling people, making people’s lives miserable. Nothing can be said that I haven’t already told them. They won’t let me out.”
“But you don’t deserve this! You only did that for me. There’s nothing wrong with doing something for your family.”
“I’m sorry, Hunter,” he says.
I can hear the defeat in his voice. I don’t want to hear it. It means that everything we could do to get him out would be in vain.
“But you’re my brother … I … I need you,” I stammer.
I can barely get the words out of my throat. I don’t want to cry in front of him. I won’t. He doesn’t need this too. It’s already tough as shit on him, and I’m here making it even harder. Fuck.
“I’m sorry, little brother,” Jessie says, reaching for my hand. “I never meant for it to end this way.”
He grabs my hand and squeezes it hard, making me remember what a fucking messed-up world this is. My brother is in there, and I’ve never felt more guilt
in my life.
“Time’s up,” the guard says as he comes closer to our table.
“What?” I say, frowning.
“Your thirty minutes are up,” the guard says to Jessie, and he helps him get up from the seat. When they put the shackles back on his hands, my stomach twists into knots.
“No, I’m not done yet,” I say, and my chair makes a screeching noise as I stand up.
“You are done,” the guard snaps. “Let’s go.”
My brother’s eyes are gloomy, the corners of his lips sagging. Dammit. They’re taking him away from me. I can’t let this happen.
“I’m going to get you out of here, I promise,” I say. My heart is pounding in my chest. I clench the table tight. My body is ready to make a sprint to save him, but I force myself to stay put.
“Just accept it, Hunter,” Jessie says, trying to calm me down.
“No! I will get you out of here. I don’t fucking care what I have to do!”
Jessie’s eyes widen, and his face contorts. “Don’t. Whatever you’re thinking, don’t do it.”
“I’ve already made up my mind. I’m going to do whatever it takes.”
“No!” he yells, but the guards are dragging him away. “Wait, let me talk to him,” he says, looking at them.
“You’ve talked enough.”
He tries to jerk loose from their grip, but they only make it harder for him. Tears form in my eyes, knowing they’re taking him away and there’s nothing I can do right now to stop it. But I know I won’t stop searching for a solution.
“Hunter, do not go to Alpha Psi! Do you hear me? Do not get involved with them!”
My fingers are hurting from the amount of pressure I’m putting on this table so I don’t move. I don’t answer. Our eyes are locked as he’s dragged out the door, struggling heavily. I won’t avert my eyes as they take him away. I know he can see it in my eyes that I’m going to do everything in my power to get him out. I’ve already made up my mind. I won’t regret not listening to him. My safety is not as important as his. Not to me.
Fury (New Adult Romance) - #1.5 Fierce Series Page 4
