“The twins are going to kill her.”
Clary laughs. “It will be worth it. I heard he’s phenomenal in bed.”
I narrow my eyes at her. “That’s not the point.”
She grins at me, winking. “Let her get some.”
“What are we going to do? She’s going to see us and it’s clear she’s not ready for anyone to know.”
Clary’s eyebrows bunch together as she seems to gather her thoughts. “You aren’t annoyed she hasn’t divulged to you?”
I shrug, not really seeing it that way. “If it had something to do with me, she’d tell me. She’s the one person who has been honest with me from the start. If she’s not telling me, it’s not because she thinks I won’t be supportive but because she’s trying to figure out if there’s anything to tell me. When she’s ready, I won’t get her to shut up about him.”
“You really aren’t like most people,” Clary murmurs.
I wink, teasing her, “If you’re going to hit on me, at least buy me food first.”
She laughs, shaking her head. “If I was into girls, trust me, I’d take you up on that.”
Laughing, we’re both interrupted by the shrill of my ringtone. We squeal, jumping apart when we see Selina’s name on the screen.
“Hello?” I answer.
“Where are you? I’m in the carpark.”
I clear my throat, standing and pulling Clary with me. “We just arrived,” I answer, then remember the section we drove into. “We’re in Row D.”
“Row D?” she squeaks. “Um, where? I’m here.”
“Woah, that’s quick.” I look around, pretending to look for her. “Selina,” I yell, ending the call and waving.
Clary laughs, shoving her head back into the boot, her arse sticking in the air as she reaches for something. “You suck at acting.”
I smack her arse, shushing her as Selina nears. “Hey, you been here long?”
Her face reddens. “Not long. How long have you been here?”
“Few minutes,” I lie, and she relaxes, beaming over at me before frowning at Clary.
“What is she doing?”
“No idea,” I mutter, crossing my arms over my chest.
“Ah ha,” Clary mutters, beckoning us over. “I found that damn spray. It got loose.”
“Um, why do you have a pair of knickers with Danielle’s name and face on them?” I ask sheepishly, eyeing Clary warily.
Arching her eyebrow, she gives us both a dry look. “Because I like her kissing my arse, that’s why,” she answers sarcastically. “For the revenge plan of course.”
“And that includes posters of her too?” Selina asks, picking up a leaflet before laughing.
“I knew Ivy didn’t want me to bring animals, and I’m guessing you won’t reach her level and her hurt her physically. It was last minute, but I managed to get them done.”
“And what is that exactly?” I ask, my lips twitching when I read the poster.
For every drink thrown on me, I will donate £100 to charity. If you are caught, then it’s you who must pay. Let the fun begin.
Clary grins, rubbing her hands together before picking up the small spray bottle. “This is a toxic spray. It’s rare to get now. It was originally made for practical jokes, but when people started getting reactions to it and the complaints were made, it was banned.”
“What is it?” I ask, going to take it, but she pulls it back, away from me.
“You don’t want to do that. One spray of this and you’ll stink for hours. And the best thing about it is that water or any liquid magnifies the smell, making it stronger. When Danielle goes to wash it off, she’ll just make it worse. Only soap mixed with hot water can remove the smell. Add in people throwing drinks at her, she’ll reek by the end of it and no one will want to stand near her.”
Impressive. “But what’s stopping her from leaving?”
Her answering grin is evil. “Then the first part of the plan will stop that. We’re going to sabotage her car. I kind of let myself into her house earlier after getting off the phone to you and took the spare set of keys. What does Danielle pride herself in more than being popular?”
“Fashion,” Selina answers, looking as intrigued as I.
“Exactly! So, when someone finds those hideous pants, she’ll be embarrassed. She won’t live that down, and someone is bound to get her downfall on camera and use it against her.” She takes a deep breath before continuing. “The only way to get a group of people to come and look is to make it look like her car was broken into. She leaves half her shit in the boot, so she’ll want to see it’s okay. We just have to make sure the person hosting will announce the car.”
“Ah, leave that to me,” Selina adds, blushing. “I know someone who’s friends with the guy hosting on stage.”
Clary nods. “Let’s get this car done first. She usually has V.I.P parking but I swapped the ticket when I was around her house earlier and put her in A.” She hands us each a pile of posters. “Hand these out to anyone and everyone.”
“Is it wrong that I’m excited?” Selina muses.
“Nope. It’s our time. Is everyone ready?”
“Hell yeah,” I cheer, waiting until she locks her boot before leaving.
*** *** ***
Trashing Danielle’s car was harder than we all thought. People kept walking by so Clary, ever the actress, acted like a spoiled brat who couldn’t find her Jimmy Choo shoes. It worked, more than once. And it was dark enough that no one could see the slashed tyres, making it impossible for Danielle to escape from her upcoming misery so easily.
Now it’s time for the spray, and if it weren’t for Facebook, where Danielle has posted constant selfies, we would never have found her in such a huge crowd.
It’s larger than I imagined and has more than one stage. It has a fair few, spread out amongst beer tents, food vendors and a fair. There’s something to do at every turn.
Danielle and her friends are hanging out in the main stage area near the beer tent, where a group of lads have their shirts off, trying to stay on the mechanical bull.
We had handed out the posters not long after entering the main area and made sure to tell people to pass the posters on.
“That girl is going to throw that drink at her,” Selina hisses, pulling on our arms.
“What?” I yell over the music, then look in her line of sight, seeing a girl around our age holding the poster up, staring in Danielle’s direction.
“Here’s my chance,” Clary declares, rounding her shoulders. We watch her leave, following behind the girl holding a beer.
She pretends to trip, the cup flying out of her hand and splashing all over Danielle’s bare legs. I laugh at Danielle’s thunderous expression, but I soon lose sight of her as a crowd of people drunkenly stumble into the beer tent. A flicker of movement catches my attention and I watch as Clary blends into the crowd, spraying the toxin all over Danielle.
“No,” Selina painfully whispers, her expression filled with anguish and heartache.
I gawp at Carter, who has a girl rubbing herself over him, before turning back to Selina. Clary comes back, grinning. I quickly snatch the bottle from her hand and make my way through the crowd, ignoring them when they call my name.
As I get closer, I notice Carter subtly trying to elbow the girl out of the way, looking annoyed.
It doesn’t matter. Selina doesn’t deserve to see shit like that.
I pretend to bump into the girl humping Carter’s leg, spraying her without anyone noticing before stepping back. I force a glare, snatching the beer out of Carter’s hand and throwing it all over her bare skin, since she’s only wearing a bikini type top. Hopefully the liquid will cause the smell to increase on bare skin.
“Watch where you’re fucking going,” I snap at her. She stares at me, dumbfounded, wiping the droplets of water off her skin.
An arm grips my bicep, stopping me from leaving. “Ivy?”
I glare at Carter. “You’re lucky it was h
er I got and not you, because you wouldn’t like where I got you.”
“Huh?” he mumbles, but then glances over my shoulder, his eyes widening before staring at the girl still standing there. “Shit!”
“Exactly!”
Before he can say anything else, I storm towards the girls. When I reach them, Selina ducks her head. “You know?”
“Not until earlier. I guessed you would tell me when you were ready. I’m not making excuses for him, but it looked like he was trying to shove her off without using force.”
She nods, lifting her head. Her mouth opens, a squeak escaping as she looks over my shoulder. I turn, rolling my eyes at Carter walking towards us.
“Can I catch up with you all later?” Selina asks. “I’m not ready for the twins to find out and they’re walking towards us.”
“Go,” I rush out, pushing her towards Carter. He stops short, seeing the twins also, and makes a beeline between the tents, hiding from view.
“I’m kind of jealous. He’s so fucking hot. It’s that cocky attitude that always put me off him.”
I laugh, shaking my head, and spin to face the oncoming twins, pretending to be surprised to see them.
When I look down at the paper in their hands, the blood rushes from my face. They laugh. “I guess we don’t need to ask if this was your doing. Your expression says it all.”
“Actually, it was all Clary’s idea.”
Lucca takes a step back, his lips curled. “Please don’t tell me you sacrificed an animal.”
Clary glares at him. “I didn’t know the locker had no air holes, Lucca. If I did, I wouldn’t have put a frog in her locker. I didn’t bloody sacrifice it.”
He chuckles, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. “Good, because the kinky shit needs to be tamed if we’re ever going to be together.”
“We’re never going to be together,” she snaps, trying to shrug his arm off.
He sniffs, not slighted in the least. “Of course we are.”
My phone alerts me of a message, distracting me, so I miss her reply. I pull it out, reading the message from Selina.
SELINA: Carter has sorted the announcement. He’s not on stage for another forty minutes, so hopefully she doesn’t leave before then.
SELINA: This is great! I just watched someone spill a drink all over her shoes. I think she’s crying.
IVY: Are you okay?
SELINA: Yes, I’ll talk to you after.
Meeting Clary’s gaze, I wave my phone at her. “Selina has the other part of the plan ready. It will be in forty minutes.”
“What plan?” Ethan asks.
“I’d tell you, but then I’d have to kill you,” I tease.
“Does it have anything to do with Danielle getting drinks thrown on her?” Lucca asks, his lips twitching as he stares at something over my shoulder.
“Maybe,” Clary muses.
“Well, if we have forty minutes until whatever you’ve got planned goes ahead, let’s go have some fun,” Ethan announces.
“Yeah, I’ve always wanted to get you alone on the ghost train,” Lucca flirts, fluttering his lashes at her.
She rolls her eyes as she shrugs, letting me decide what to do. I’m not sure how I feel about going on a ride. I’ve never been on one. But it beats standing around waiting to get payback on Danielle. She’s not worth it.
“Why not,” I announce, turning to leave.
Arms reach out to steady me when I bump into a wall of solid muscle. Lifting my head, I lock gazes with dark green eyes.
CHAPTER TWENTY
KAIDEN
The music festival isn’t something I normally attended. It’s not my scene at all. But when I found out Ivy was coming, I knew I had to be here, if for nothing else but to make sure she was safe.
Grant hands me a beer as I follow Ivy’s movements. “Cheers.”
Seeing who I’m staring at, Grant questions, “Does she know you’re here?”
“No, not yet. I’ve got a feeling she’ll be here soon,” I tell him as I keep Danielle in my peripheral vision.
“Have you seen who else is here?” Grant bites out.
I sigh, knowing he’s referring to Carter Remington. “Yes.”
“And you’re okay with that?”
“He saved her life,” I remind him. “And we’re not part of our ancestors’ feud.”
“Does he know that?”
“He will when I get around to talking to him. Right now, he has his own problems going on, starting with the girl dry humping him.”
“Isn’t that his best friend’s sister?”
“Yep. Which is why he hasn’t shoved her off. She’s got her brother so far wrapped around her finger he does anything she asks. Carter’s trying to keep the peace.”
Ivy, Clary and Selina come into view and I step to attention, scanning the area.
“Before you go off to her, there’s something I need to tell you,” Grant declares.
“What’s that?” I ask, briefly glancing at him.
“My lawyer called. It seems Mum hid money from my father. It was to be released to me the second I was out from under his thumb. Sam’s parents were the beneficiaries.”
“That’s good news, right?” I ask, giving him my full attention for a minute.
“Yes, it is. But I’m not ready to go back,” he admits, looking away.
“Then don’t. Stay with us.”
He nods, not saying anything further on the subject. “Are you going to go over?”
“I want to see what they’re up to,” I admit, my lips twitching into a smirk. Clary walked off a moment ago with a black canister in her hand, leaving Ivy and Selina behind, standing close to each other.
There’s a commotion near the entry of the tent, but something in Selina’s expression has me on alert. Sorrow and devastation fill her expression.
Ivy notices, following Selina’s line of sight to where Carter is, and I grin as I watch her get angry.
I lean back against the post, watching it all play out.
“Are you not going to intervene? Why is she going to Carter?” Grant asks, looking ready to start a fight.
I place my hand on his chest, stopping him. “He’s fucking Selina. She’s getting payback, watch. Look at her expression,” I demand. Her lips move, her expression hard as she gives Carter shit.
“Carter and Selina?” Grant asks, gaping.
I chuckle. “Selina thought she was being sly, but she forgot that I have spies on the gates who keep me informed of who comes and goes. I also have a friend whose brother is friends with Carter’s group, and he mentioned seeing her.”
“No offence, because she’s hot as hell, but I thought she was a frigid virgin.”
I laugh, shrugging. “She isn’t now.”
I spot the twins walking up behind them and know it’s time to reveal myself, otherwise they’ll have them doing all kinds of shit and I’ll never find her again.
Grant eyes my hand. “Are you going to tell her?”
I filled him in earlier about Kieran and what message my father sent. Since the roof incident, there’s been a change in Grant. There’s still a weight he carries with him, but the darkness that was plaguing him no longer exists. His attitude has also changed, not only with life itself but with school. Ivy’s speech helped him more than I believe he even realises.
Which was why I trusted him with earlier events, knowing he’d have my back. He’s another set of eyes that can watch out for Ivy.
“Yes, as soon as I get her alone. She deserves to know he isn’t far, that she’s in danger by keeping that recording.”
He glances over my shoulder. “I’d hurry before you lose your chance, because the twins look ready to party.”
Smirking, I give him a chin lift as I pass him my beer.
Her back is to me, and with people weaving in and out, no one else notices me, not until she turns and bumps into me.
Reaching out, I steady her. “You really need to stop falling all over me.”
>
“Kaiden,” she breathes, licking her bottom lip.
Looking over her shoulder, I address the twins. “I need to speak to Ivy. Alone.”
“We’ll take Clary on some rides,” Ethan offers, his gaze flicking to Ivy.
“Or ride her,” Lucca flirts, winking at Clary.
“I don’t think so, Kingsley. We’ve got plans,” Clary argues.
I grit my teeth. “And she’ll be back. I wouldn’t pull her away if it wasn’t important.”
“Fucking her isn’t important. What we are doing, is,” she snaps back, crossing her arms over her chest.
Ivy ducks her head before facing Clary. “It’s fine. I’ll meet you at the car in thirty minutes.”
Clary doesn’t seem convinced and looks from Ivy to me, then back to Ivy. “Are you sure?”
Ivy nods. “Yes. Don’t forget to be there.”
They say their goodbyes before I take Ivy’s hand, pulling her away from the crowd and towards the carpark.
On our way, I look to her. “Do you want to tell Selina to meet you after she’s finished tearing Carter apart?”
The flash of fear has me feeling like a jerk. She’s worried I’ll go after Selina for being with Carter. Even before Ivy, I wouldn’t have done that; maybe just isolated her at school so she had no one. The Remington’s were the enemy, had been before I was born, but things have changed.
“How did you know?”
“I’ve known for a while. It started during your recovery,” I admit.
“Please leave her alone. She likes him, probably even loves him. She deserves to be happy.”
I hold my hands up in surrender. “If I was going to do something, it would have already happened.”
I take her hand again, heading down the line of parked cars to where mine is parked in the corner.
“Whose car is this?” she asks, eyeing the black sleek exterior with its black tinted windows.
“It’s my mum’s.”
She twirls to face me, grinning. “You didn’t want to ruin your car, did you?”
I give her a sheepish smile, shrugging. “We tried racing here once, but it has so many potholes it caused damage to the car. Mum’s is better equipped to handle it.”
Crowd of Lies (Kingsley Academy Book 2) Page 18
