by Bella King
“If you keep me here, Andrew is going to find out about it,” I said, watching her face for a reaction. I was looking for a flicker of fear, but I didn’t get one at first.
Laney grinned, but her smile wasn’t a happy one. I could see the first glimmer of distress in her jade-colored eyes. “So what?” She said in a shrill voice.
“He knows about you, and he’s in love with me,” I said, bluffing on the second part. “Why do you think he brought me into the gang in the first place?”
Now Laney looked nervous. If what I said was true, then that meant she was toying with her own life by keeping me here. She was obviously afraid of Andrew, as was Natasha. She may have stepped over a line before, but she knew better than to fuck with him directly.
“Don’t lie to me,” she said, shaking the knife at me.
“I’m not,” I said calmly, regaining some of my composure at the signs of her weakness. “He’s going to be rightfully pissed at you when he finds out about this.”
“Don’t you dare tell him,” she said, waving the knife around wildly in front of me.
“Listen, I don’t want to get you in trouble. To be honest, I think this whole gang war thing is a joke, but Andrew is going to hear about this if you don’t leave me alone,” I said, pulling out whatever I could from my imagination to create a compelling story.
Her face relaxed a bit. “You’re just as screwed as I am, huh?”
I was confused by her words, but I nodded anyway. “I don’t like any of this, but Andrew and I are in love, so I do what he says.”
Laney lowered the knife. “I got pulled into Natasha’s mess because she said she would kill my boyfriend if I didn’t cooperate with her,” she admitted.
I felt a little glint of empathy toward her. If she wasn’t fabricating this, then she was in just as much of a bad situation as I was, if not worse.
“So, that’s why I have to do this,” she said, lifting the blade back up to my throat. “I’m sorry, April, but I don’t want to lose my soulmate.”
Fuck, no! Was this really the way things ended? I had done everything I could to avoid this moment, and now she was going to kill me anyway. It wasn’t fair, but life had never been fair to me.
I closed my eyes as her hand trembled against my throat. I could feel the blade slowly pressing deeper into the wound she had already made, splitting fresh skin into two parts. I was done.
Chapter 10
A fist pounded against the door behind me, causing both Laney and me to jump. It was heavy and urgent, and probably was the only reason I survived this encounter with Laney.
The handle to the door jingled behind me. They, in a sudden burst, the door behind me flew open, shining raw daylight into the room. I let out a sigh of relief as a fist flew past my head and landed squarely into Laney’s soft jaw.
I could smell a pleasant cologne as the figure behind me swept around me, throwing another fist at Laney. She crumbled onto the floor, knocked cold by those two hits.
I looked up at my savior. Daniel was here.
“You’re lucky I saw you, Rose,” he said, shaking his head and looking me over. “You’re in a tight mess now, aren’t you?”
I nodded. “Get me out of here before I kill this cunt,” I said, glaring at Laney’s limp body.
“I might have already done that for you,” Daniel said, kicking a foot into Laney to check if she was still alive. Her body moved, curling up to defend her from further blows. “Eh, she’s fine. Let’s get you out of this,” he said.
I gasped in fresh air as the roped that bound me to the chair were cut loose, freeing my body from the prison that I thought I would die in. I gazed down at Daniel’s handsome face as he cut the ropes that held my feet to each leg of the chair. He was my hero today.
“Wow, so I guess she did a real number on you,” he said, standing up touching the blood on my neck.
His fingers stung against my open wound. I winced, retracting my head. “Is it bad?”
He shook his head. “Not the worst I’ve seen. You’ll be fine.”
I stood up but sat back down just as quickly. My legs felt like overcooked pasta and I was a bit dizzy.
“I guess you need some help,” Daniel said, bending over and offering me his shoulder to wrap my arm around.
I took a breath and tried to stand up again, this time using Daniel as my crutch. He was sturdy and helpful, lifting me up with him as he stood straight. Even though I felt wobbly, I knew that he would keep me from falling over.
“Thank you,” I said, looking again to Laney, who was still curled up on the floor in a fetal position.
“No problem. It’s kind of my job to protect you,” he said with a wink.
What was that about Andrew liking to share his women? I wondered if Daniel was included in that. If not, he certainly should have been. I was super attracted to him after he saved me. It was a bit silly, but my emotions were never something I had much control over. I liked who I liked.
“Andrew is going to kill me,” I said as Daniel dragged me out of the closet into an empty hallway.
“Why is that?” he asked, smiling with his brow furrowed.
“Because I told Laney that he had sent me.”
Daniel chuckled. “He’s pretty tough about snitching, but Laney was in there about to kill you, so I think he’ll understand. He’ll probably just give you a larger task for initiation though, so that you can make up for it.”
“Oh, great,” I replied sarcastically. “So, somebody else can kill me instead of him.”
Daniel laughed. “You’re cute when you’re angry, Rose.”
I gripped his shoulder tighter as I felt myself starting to fade back out of consciousness. I knew I was in good hands, but I still struggled to hold myself up now that the adrenaline was wearing off. I didn’t want to slip away into the darkness again. Unfortunately, I had no choice. The dark closed on me once again, lending my life up to fate.
BREAK
“She’s fine, man. Stop freaking out,” a deep voice said from above me.
“I don’t know. She’s been out for over an hour.”
“She’s been patched up. She’ll be fine,” he first voice assured.
My eyes fluttered open, and I was greeted by the sight of four attractive men, all with dazzling bright eyes, standing over me. I was lying in a white bed, like I had died and gone to heaven.
Wait a minute. Had I died and gone to heaven?
I jerked my body upright, nearly hitting my head against Troy’s head as I rose.
“Woah, relax,” Andrew said, patting my legs from over the covers. “You’re safe now.”
“What the hell happened?” I asked looking around at my new surroundings. We were in the men’s dormitory, and guys shuffled around us like we weren’t even there.
“You’re a tough girl, Rose, but not tough enough. I think you need better training,” Andrew said, shaking his head. “Laney got the better of you so easily.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m aware,” I replied drily.
“I thought David was supposed to give you a weapon,” Andrew said, looking beside him at David.
“I’m working on it,” he said, holding his palms out. “It takes time to get these things.”
Andrew shook his head. “Do better next time. I don’t want our members to get killed by little redheads who should be easily shanked if they get too close.”
To be fair, Laney had sprung on me unexpectantly. It was entirely my fault that I had been captured by her. Even with a weapon, I wouldn’t have had time to defend myself. It wasn’t Daniel’s fault, but I didn’t say anything. I still wanted a knife or something from him.
“What time is it?” I asked, unable to figure out how long this ordeal had lasted.
Troy looked at a gold watch on his thick wrist. “Six in the evening. School is officially out.”
“Which means its time to party,” Martin said, looking excited.
Daniel placed a hand on my shoulder as I sat upright
in bed. “I think Rose isn’t in the mood to party.”
Andrew shrugged. “She’s welcome to join once she feels better. You got a hold of those blunt wraps, right?”
Daniel nodded. “They’re mango flavored.”
Troy and Martin rubbed their hands together, licking their lips at the thought of smoking something fruity. I was rather partial to it myself, but I probably wasn’t going to partake in the festivities. I needed to get some rest.
“I think I’m going to relax for a bit,” I said.
Andrew nodded. “That’s fine. I can escort you back to your dormitory.”
Wait a second. I had to go there? Somebody would probably kill me after what had happened between Laney and me. There was no way that place was safe at all. I was afraid even to sleep there now. Why couldn’t I stay in the men’s dormitory. Nobody here seemed to mind.
“On second thought, can you guys wait for me while I get changed? I want to join you,” I said, pushing the sheets off my body and bringing my legs over the side of the bed.
“Are you sure?” Daniel asked, knowing firsthand how damaged I was from my encounter with Laney.
I nodded. “Really, I think I’ll be fine.”
“I told you,” Andrew said, almost dismissively, turning around and starting to walk away.
“Aren’t you going to escort me back?” I called out.
“You’re healthy enough to go by yourself,” he replied, waving a hand without looking back at me.
I huffed, crossing my arms and standing up. “Okay, but will one of you guys escort me?” I asked, looking around at the three remaining men.
Daniel held up a hand. “I’ll go with you. I’m the one who brought you here in the first place.”
I smiled at him, then shot a contrasting glare at Andrew as he walked away. He didn’t have to be so harsh about me, but I understood that he might have been a bit pissed off that I got caught so easily. He didn’t seem to be in the best mood. I hoped he didn’t view me as weak after this. I was far from that.
“Come on,” Daniel said, waving his hand as he walked away from the bed toward the dormitory exit.
I jumped out of bed and followed after him, smiling back at Troy and Martin as I left. They stood with their arms crossed, smirking as I left. I knew that they enjoyed the view.
“You’re lucky to be alive,” Daniel said, stating the obvious as we exited the dormitory.
“Yeah, and so is Laney. I’ll make that bitch squeak next time I see her,” I replied with exaggerated aggression.
Truthfully, I didn’t really want to have anything to do with her anymore. If her story about being forced to join Natasha was true, which it sounded like it was, then she was in just as much of a desperate situation as I was. It wouldn’t be fair to harm her, even if she did try to murder me.
On the other hand, if she ever tried something like that again, I would have to fight back with equal fury. I wasn’t going to let some haughty rich girl get the better of me.
“Next time you want to sneak around at night, or you’re looking to avoid the main staircase into the women’s dormitory, you should take the secret entrance in the back,” Daniel said casually as we walked down the hall.
“There’s another way in?” I asked, looking up at him.
He nodded. “I’ll show you.”
On the way to the women’s side of the building, we took another route, circumventing the main hallways where the bathrooms were, and circling around to a part of the school that I wasn’t familiar with. There weren’t very many people there.
“You’re going to have to trust me on this one,” Daniel said, pulling me into an abandoned classroom and shutting the door.
I looked around us. There didn’t seem to be any way out of this classroom, aside from leaping out the window. “Is it like, a secret passage?” I asked, wondering if it was some kind of wall or bookshelf that would flip around at the press of a hidden button.
“Sort of,” Daniel said with a mischievous grin. “I’m the one who discovered it. I was looking for a way to get into the women’s dormitory without being noticed.”
I laughed. “So that you could spy on the women?”
He shrugged. “No, so I could steal stuff.”
I stopped to watch him as he walked up to the window and unlatched the lock on the top. He pulled it up and motioned out of it with his hand. “After you.”
I pointed to my chest and raised my eyebrows. “You’re good-looking and everything, but I’m not jumping out of a window for you,” I said.
He chuckled. “You’re going to have to trust me on this one. There’s a ledge that you’ll hit about five feet down.”
“You first,” I said, slowly walking up to him.
“I want to make sure you get through,” he replied with a smile. “Trust me.”
Should I have trusted a man who was aligned with Andrew? Probably not, but he had saved me before, so I doubted he wanted to kill me. I knew that we were four stories off the ground, and the ceilings were high on every floor. If there wasn’t a ledge below the window, then I would be little more than a pile of broken bones when I hit the ground below.
“How do you get back?” I asked, sticking a leg out the window.
“You go out the front, usually, but you can get back this way if you leave the window open. I wouldn’t recommend it though. I don’t want other people to find it. The school will shut off this area if they figure out that you can sneak into the women’s dormitory from here,” he said.
“Got it,” I replied, sticking another leg out the window and sitting on the edge. I looked down, but I didn’t see much. I certainly didn’t see a ledge, but I would have to lean out pretty far to see what was directly below me. By that time, I would have already fallen.
“Go on,” Daniel urged, placing a hand on my back.
“Don’t push me,” I yelped, panicking at his touch.
“I’m not pushing you. Just drop down and you’ll be fine,” Daniel explained.
“You are pushing me,” I said, grabbing at his hand.
Daniel laughed, and shoved me out of the window.
I felt myself falling through the air. For a moment, my body surrendered to its fate, tumbling through the abyss with not a single care in the world. I had been through so much that I didn’t care much if this was the way I went. I always wondered what it would be like to fall to my death.
Then, my feet hit solid ground, much sooner than my body anticipated. I crumpled in a heap on a dirty stone ledge, banging both knees against it with a painful thud. I caught myself on my hands and looked up.
I was about five feet below the window I had been seated on, my hands and knees covered in moist debris and dead leaves that had blown onto the narrow ledge. A few inches further, and I could have slipped over and fallen to my death. There was a real disregard for safety with the people at Ridgeview Boarding School.
I saw Daniel’s legs dangling down over me, and I jumped out of the way as he began to fall. He landed on his feet as I scrambled to mine. He smiled at me as though this were all fun and games and said, “Let’s go.”
I stepped aside, letting him lead the way. Daniel walked along the ledge and around a corner of the building. From this high up, we could see the entire field behind the building. I didn’t go outside very often, even during recess, but there was something quite pleasant about being up here with a view of the outdoors. I wanted to stay here instead of going back into the dormitory.
I made a mental note to come back out here sometimes and watch the sunset. It would be the perfect spot for it.
“Come on,” Daniel urged, poking his head back around the corner.
I followed after him, stepping carefully around the wall and onto the other side of the school building. I followed him along the ledge for another 20 feet until we came to a rusty ventilation exhaust protruding from worn stone on the side of the building.
Daniel reached his large hands around the grate and tugged on it, pulling i
t out of place. How the hell had he found his path to the dormitory? He must have been doing some crazy shit in order to stumble upon this sort of route.
“You can climb up here, and it’ll drop down into the shower room,” Daniel said. “I’ll circle back around and wait for you at the staircase.”
‘Wait,” I said, grabbing his sleeve before he could leave. “Can you come with me?”
He chuckled. “Why?”
I looked at the open ventilation shaft, afraid of the darkness within it. I didn’t want him to know I was freaked out by it, but I also didn’t want to go through that thing alone. “What if I get lost in there?” I asked, looking up at him with large, pleading eyes.
“It’s one way. There’s no way for you to get lost if you keep moving,” he said in a condescending tone, patting me on the top of my head.
I suppose he thought that was a cute thing to do, but I didn’t like to feel like I was small and helpless. This whole time, I was being bossed around by a bunch of big men, and I needed to make sure they knew their place. I wasn’t a joke.
I swatted his arm away, frowning at his demeanor toward me. “I’m not an idiot,” I declared.
Daniel smirked. “I never said you were.”
“Listen buddy, I’ve been through hell and back, and just because I’m a woman doesn’t mean I need you or anyone else’s help here,” I said, turning a bit pink in the cheeks.
He chuckled, which only made me angrier. “I mean it,” I said, gritting my teeth.
“I was the one who saved your ass from Laney,” he said, his smirk growing into an arrogant grin.
“I could have saved myself,” I said, crossing my arms. That was a straight-up lie, but he didn’t need to know that.
Daniel shook his head. “I have no idea why Andrew brought you on board. You’re a little shrimp of a woman.”
I punched him in the chest as hard as I could, but my hand bounced off his pec with a light thud. Daniel burst out laughing, nearly slipping off the ledge as he keeled over in amusement. There were tears in his eyes as he laughed at my expense.
I was frustrated with my inability to fight back, and Daniel was only making it worse. It wasn’t my fault that I wasn’t built like a goddamn tank like him and the others. I did the best that I could, and that had to be enough.
