Caught in the Trap: A Reverse Harem Academy Bully Romance (Mafia Lords of Knightswood Academy Book 1)

by Ivy Clyde

  “How were they able to drug you?” asked Dimitri, taking a seat on the opposite couch. “Weren’t you supposed to be on a date with Andrei tonight?”

  “How do you know about that?”

  “That’s not important.” He leaned forward, keeping his piercing eyes on me.

  “Andrei’s brother wasn’t well,” I began, thinking about how the evening started and spiraled so horribly out of control. “He got stuck at home, looking after him. By the time he messaged me, I was already in the cafeteria. Some guy approached me, said his name was ‘Judah’ and asked me to dance. He seemed okay, you know? No groping, no touching in inappropriate places. So, I didn’t think much about it when he got me a drink.”

  Dimitri’s fingers clamped onto the glass tumbler but he kept a straight face as he said, “Go on.”

  “The drink was obviously spiked because after taking it, I got a terrible headache. My head was spinning and my vision was blurring. He took me out of the party hall for some fresh air but he managed to drag me back to his buddy, Saxon. They had it all planned from before.”

  A breath shuddered out of Dimitri as he threw back his drink in one go. “Saxon has been watching you too. He didn’t see you go into the cafeteria with Andrei and took the advantage of finding you alone.”

  I coughed, feeling the itchiness in my dry throat.

  “You want some water?” he asked, concern flooding his beautiful eyes.

  I nodded. He walked away to the kitchenette to get me some water. In the few moments he disappeared, my glance fell on the cell phone sitting on the hand rest of the couch. I’d let way too many opportunities pass me by. Getting to my feet, I crossed the short distance and snatched the phone and dropped it in the pocket of my skirt to join my own phone.

  “Here, you go,” said Dimitri, appearing in the living room with a bottle of water.

  “Thanks,” I said, taking it from him. Pulling off the cap, I gulped the chilled water down my throat, not stopping until more than half the bottle was empty. “Better,” I said, wiping my mouth. Noticing his gaze on me, I thought of the other thing pressing on my mind. “What were you doing there?”

  “At the crypt?”

  I nodded.

  “The campus was too loud and rowdy tonight. I knew you were supposed to be with Andrei tonight, so there was no point in me hanging around. He would look after you. I needed some time to think, so I went to that lone corner of the cemetery where no one would disturb me.”

  “So, it was sheer dumb luck that you happened to be in the same place Saxon decided to take me?”

  “Pretty much.” He poured himself another drink and gulped it down. Dimitri had already been drinking before and now he was taking shots of whiskey. The man could hold his liquor.

  “It’s my fault for being stupid,” I said. Bitterness laced my voice, bringing my mind back to all the opportunities I’d let go just to avoid trouble. I’d trusted Stella when she said Andrei and Dimitri were enough to keep the bullies off me. Bastards like Saxon and Miranda never backed off. They would keep attacking their prey until they were broken and too useless to play with.

  “I need to go,” I said, suddenly shooting to my feet. My spirits lifted when I felt my legs held strong under me. “Thanks for the jacket. I promise I’ll return this one back to you.”

  “What?”

  “Well, I lost the last one you gave me at the racecourse,” I mumbled, thinking of Andrei throwing it away. “But I promise to give this one back.”

  A sudden smile lit up his face, creating a stark contrast from his usually cold exterior. He was beautiful. Monster or not, at that moment, Dimitri Volkov was the most beautiful man in my life. If I wasn’t bent on paying back Saxon for what he’d done to me, I would have simply sat back and spent the rest of the night with him.

  There’s no rest for the wicked, I told myself, walking toward the door.

  “Call me if you need anything,” Dimitri’s voice called from the couch.

  “I will. Thank you, Dimitri,” I said, turning back to look at him. “I’ll never forget what you did for me tonight.”

  He gave a nod and let me walk out of his apartment. His phone jostled against mine, the heaviness making a sliver of guilt wash over me. It will help to prove he has nothing to do with the stolen files as well as the massacre of Andrei’s family, I told myself as I took the stairs to go back to my own room. My idea was to break into it and find out the passwords to his accounts in the Volkov mainframe network and anything else I could get my hands on to prove his and his family’s innocence about the stolen transaction file.

  Reaching my room, I took off Dimitri’s jacket and stripped out of the torn gown. Still naked, I put the electric kettle to boil and moved away to take some regular clothes out of the closet. With the credit card Nikolai gave me, I’d recently bought myself a few pairs of jeans and my favorite oversized hoodies.

  It only took a minute for the water to boil but it was enough time to pull on a pair of jeans and a hoodie. Stuffing the length of my hair inside, I went into the kitchenette.

  Placing two spoons of instant coffee powder into a mug, I poured the boiled water over it. Mixing up the brew, I took a mouthful of the bitter beverage. Most of the effects of the drug had worn off by now but I decided it would be better to drink the intensely strong coffee to keep my mind clear.

  Three more gulps later, I went back into my bedroom. All the screenshots showing Saxon’s stash of cocaine were saved in a USB drive along with a few chosen videos of him raping his unconscious victims. These have to be enough, I told myself as my fingers closed over the drive. Shoving it in my pocket, I extracted the ‘lightening’ cable from a drawer to help me to transfer all the files into an iPhone.

  Pulling down the hood low over my face, I hurried out of my dorm apartment. Miranda was probably high and out of her mind by now. She would never notice me breaking into her phone, planting all the files and then using it to send the evidence to the local police department.

  I took the stairs instead of the elevators, hoping to stay away from all sight. Keeping my hood lowered, I crossed the hallways leading out of the dorm building. The night had gone colder but the hoodie kept me warm. The students loitering the grounds were drunk and high, evident from the way they laughed raucously and swayed while walking.

  It struck me how these filthy rich kids were completely unsupervised. None of them would be able to blame anyone if they got hurt. No proof, no punishment. It felt like Knightswood Academy was training them early about the world they would soon be stepping into.

  Clearing my head, I kept to the shadows and followed the path that would take me up the hill to the cemetery. It would be a poor way to repay Dimitri if some other predator got hold of me. The bare tree trunks lining the way gave me plenty of cover as I made my way toward the spot where I’d seen Miranda.

  Minutes passed away. My breath rose up in clouds before my eyes as I searched the wide cemetery field for Miranda. Many more groups had formed since I was last there. A few of those circles were openly having orgies. Averting my eyes from the panting, moaning couples, I looked for my target.

  I spotted Miranda a few minutes later. She was slumped against a guy’s shoulder who looked as high as her. Reaching her, I swept my gaze around the ground to look for her purse. In the glow of the small bonfire they’d built, the rhinestones on her bag glinted brightly.

  Picking up the purse, I went through its contents, easily locating her phone inside it. Miranda and the others around her circle made no comment as they swayed gently, completely unaware that someone was stealing from one of their own.

  As soon as the screen came to life, it asked for Miranda’s fingerprints. Clever, I thought, kneeling down beside her. But not when you’re so high someone can easily do this. Taking her right hand, I pressed each of her fingers onto the spot indicated on the screen. The phone unlocked itself just as the pad of her middle finger touched it.

  “Yes!” I hissed, pulling out the USB drive
and the cable to connect it with the phone.

  With the way I was hunched over the phone by Miranda’s side, anyone would think I was part of the circle. The couple of minutes it took to upload everything into the phone was nerve-wracking, but once it was done, I quickly formed the email to send the police department of Philly.

  It was another several minutes before all the files were sent out one by one.

  A heavy breath left me. It was finally done. To make the job complete so that Miranda couldn’t be aware of what her phone contained until it was too late, I hid the files in a new inconspicuous folder.

  “Done,” I breathed, putting her phone back into the purse and placing it by her side. Miranda barely lifted her head. Giving my head a shake, I stood up and turned around to run back to the main campus.

  Saxon would be eliminated from my list of problems in the next few days and Miranda would be handled by the rest of the student body of Knightswood Academy that hated snitches. A savage grin lifted the corners of my mouth as I crossed the grounds and headed back toward the dorms.

  31

  Skye

  The day after Halloween was an off day for all students.

  Other than Dimitri, no one knew what happened between me and Saxon. I didn’t want to scare Stella nor get Andrei mad and ruin my plans for Saxon. As far as Christian was concerned, I doubted he would care at all. Even though the thought left my heart hurting, I decided to suck it up and wait for the show to start.

  I kept my ears open for any sounds of struggles or gossips in the hallways of the dorm that day, hoping to be on the scene when the cops arrived. However, my waiting was needless because they showed up two days later during our Math class where the whole senior year was gathered.

  I sat with Stella in the back row when the door to the classroom was pushed open. Dr. Henley’s hand paused in the middle of writing a formula on the whiteboard. All our attention went to the lady who strode in like she owned the place. She wore a neat black pantsuit and her beady eyes were framed with glasses. Her auburn hair was combed back and tightly pulled into a bun.

  “What’s Thorne doing here?” Stella muttered from beside me.

  “Thorne?”

  “That’s the principal.”

  “Wow. Really?”

  Stella shook her head and gestured for me to return my attention to the front. Two cops in uniform had stepped inside the classroom after her. My heart raced faster.

  “I’m here to borrow Mr. Saxon De Reers,” said Principal Thorne. She looked up at the class. “Mr. De Reers, please step forward.” The tight strictness in her voice allowed for no disobedience.

  Saxon stood up from the sea of students, looking hesitant. “What’s this about?”

  “The cops are here to search your dorm room. I believed it to be fair that you be present while they carry on their investigation.”

  Saxon’s brows furrowed. “What investigation?”

  “They believe you’re in possession of illegal narcotics.”

  The low hum of chattering in the classroom fell dead at Thorne’s announcement. Every eye went to Saxon. Drugs and illegal stuff were plentiful in the academy. I’d seen enough proof of that on Halloween night. More than one face in the crowd looked tense. If the cops combed the whole academy, they would have to arrest half the student body.

  “Come, Mr. De Reers,” said Thorne, beckoning Saxon with a wave of her hand. “Don’t keep the gentlemen waiting.”

  Saxon stayed in his seat, still looking haughty. “Do they even have a warrant to do that?” he asked, sneering at the two police officers.

  “Yes, we do,” said one of the cops, stepping forward. “If you come this way, we’ll hand it to you.”

  Saxon’s jaws moved as he ground his teeth together. He stalked forward, glaring at both the cops.

  As it would happen, the bell signifying the end of the lesson rang up.

  Students got to their feet like a single bodied monster and hurried to exit the classroom. I was among them, hurrying forward.

  “Wait for me,” called Stella from behind me but I didn’t stop. I wanted a front-row seat to this show. She caught up with me as I stepped out into the grounds, running past me so she could stand in my way.

  “What are you doing?” I asked, frustration coursing through me.

  “We have a lab session right now.”

  “Yeah…I’m not going. Saxon’s about to get arrested and I don’t want to miss the sweet, sweet sight.”

  “How do you know he’ll be arrested?” she asked, looking worried.

  “Are you hearing yourself? We’re talking about Saxon De Reers.”

  “Still, do you think he’ll leave his stuff lying around for the cops to find?”

  “Only one way to find out.” I moved past her and ran toward the dorm building. Saxon, Principal Thorne, and the two cops had already disappeared along with a handful of students following them.

  “I don’t think I’ve missed these many classes before,” said Stella, running beside me. She was panting but I could see the curious interest in her face.

  “Any idea where Saxon lives?” I asked as we ran inside the dorm building.

  “The ninth floor,” said Stella.

  We waited impatiently for one of the elevators to come down. Stella looked excited and scared at the same time. I could understand how she felt. She didn’t want to get her hope high and then be disappointed.

  I reached for her hand and held it in mine. “It will be okay,” I said, giving it a squeeze. “He won’t always be around to torment you.”

  “I hope you’re right,” she said in a low, subdued voice.

  “Come on. Let’s go find out.” We hurried inside the elevator just as a group of junior boys came out of it.

  I hit ‘9’ on the panel and waited for the elevator to take us up.

  When the doors slid open, we found ourselves behind a crowd that had already gathered there. We pushed through until we reached near the open doorway to Saxon’s room. Saxon’s loud, protesting voice told me the cops had found the cabinet where he hid his stash.

  “It’s not mine!” he was shouting. “Someone planted them in there.”

  I shook my head internally. The screenshots I sent the cops showed him taking the drugs out from the cabinet as well as him taking them. The angle in the photos was enough to confirm that he was in that very room.

  “Where is your laptop, Mr. De Reers?” one of the cops’ voices reached us through the open door.

  “Why do you want with my laptop?” Saxon’s voice had lost some of its cockiness now.

  “We have a warrant to confiscate it as well,” said another cop. “Please write your username and password on a paper and hand it to us along with the laptop.”

  Stella’s hand squeezed mine. I turned to look at her. The wildly hopeful expression on her face felt like a reward. I gave a nod, silently telling her things were about to get better.

  I should have done this much sooner, I repeated to myself. He could have never touched me if I had.

  “Don’t touch me!” we heard Saxon shouting.

  “You have the right to remain silent and refuse to answer questions,” said one of the cops in a tight voice, stating the usual lines they used at arrests.

  “What the fuck are you doing?” screamed Saxon at the cop who came at him with a handcuff. “Do you have any idea who I am? I’ll fucking ruin you all.”

  “Quiet!” Principal Thorne shouted. Her voice wasn’t as high as Saxon’s who was struggling against a police officer. “Go with them quietly, Mr. De Reers and call your attorney. You’ve brought enough shame to this school today.”

  “Wow,” I breathed as Thorne strode out of the room, her back ramrod straight.

  “Don’t the rest of you have classes to go to?” she asked in an icy tone, looking around at us. She shook her head and walked away, leaving the rest of us to hang back and watch what was happening to Saxon. Through the gap between the bodies, I saw one of the cops cuffing Sa
xon.

  “Anything you say may be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to consult an attorney before speaking to the police and to have an attorney present during questioning.”

  Murmurs rose up in the crowd but before anyone could do anything, more cops pushed their way through and entered the room. They’d even brought two dogs with them. Saxon was led away by the two cops who came first while the other men began tearing through the room in search of more narcotics.

  “Let’s get out of here,” whispered Stella as the cops began shooing at us.

  “Yeah.”

  We moved down the hallway to reach the elevators.

  “Best day in a while, huh?” I asked her.

  She pressed a hand to her mouth to stifle the giggle that escaped her.

  “We must celebrate,” she said. “I’m positive that Saxon will get expelled for bringing the police force to the academy. Thorne doesn’t tolerate students no matter who they are once the cops and lawyers get involved.”

  “Good,” I said with a satisfied grin. “He had this coming to him and worse.”

  She nodded. Next moment, she hesitated. “Do you mind if I go meet Mr. Lincoln now and get my essay back from him? We can meet at the cafeteria for lunch in fifteen minutes.”

  “Sure. Go ahead. I’ll see you there.”

  Stella stepped inside the elevator but I hung back, deciding to take the stairs since I lived just below the ninth floor. Walking to the corner, I pushed the door and climbed down but I’d barely made it a few steps when fingers gripped my upper arm and pulled me back. I would have fallen if strong arms didn’t break my fall.

  “You,” I breathed, feeling my heart beating fast. It was Christian, glaring at me with his jewel-like hard eyes.

  “It was you, right?” he asked, pulling me against him.

  I pushed at him but he had no intention of letting me go. “What are you talking about?”

  “Saxon’s arrest. It was your doing.”

  I stopped struggling and stared up at him. “You can’t really prove that.”

  “I don’t need to prove anything,” he said, pushing me away from him suddenly. I stumbled backward but caught myself. “I could see it in the way you were smiling. Do you have any idea what would happen if his family knows it was you? Even my uncle wouldn’t have an excuse to protect you.”