by KC Kean
“I can’t decide if the real Oscar is better or scarier than the joker he usually is,” he murmurs, looking at the door Oscar just went through, and I giggle.
“Does it matter? He’s still our Oscar,” I say, and everyone smiles.
Kai steps by me, placing a kiss on my temple as he passes.
“You ready? By the time we’re done with this, Ian should have brought everyone’s belongings up,” Rafe says, making me pause.
“Ian, as in, Ian the driver?” I ask, and he nods in confirmation.
Roman steps up beside me, wrapping an arm around my shoulder.
“Yeah, Ian the driver. He actually brought Oscar and me here without any bodyguards, and we actually weren’t drugged or knocked out. He was a godsend, Princess, well done for making good allies.”
Wow. Who knew on my first official day of classes at Featherstone, I would ask a driver his name, and he would show such loyalty? I wonder if he’ll let me take him everywhere with me, once I survive The Games of course.
*****
We take the same path back to the main building of Beechwood Hall, the sky bright with the sun out, not a cloud in the sky, but the chill in the air makes me shudder. Wandering aimlessly on autopilot, we step into the exact same room that I shot Veronica. Not that you’d know, they clearly have an excellent clean-up crew. Not a single blood drop can be seen on the cream carpets.
The layout of the room is completely different today. There aren’t any large tables set up, instead, the space is empty except for the long oak table that seats The Ring members. The anxiety seems to kick up a notch at our arrival, the chatter that filled the room dims to a mere murmur, and I smile wide at everyone around the room.
They’re all sitting there already, Rico and Dietrichson to the right, with Travis and Patrick separating them from Juliana, Maria, Reggie, and Betty Morgan. Juliana offers a soft smile, which looks out of place when she’s in her ‘ice queen’ mode. She sits rigid, her face completely blank, devoid of any emotion. With her pure white fitted power suit on, she looks as though her gaze alone could slice you in half.
Looking further down the line, my fists clench at my sides as my eyes fall on Rico and Dickhead Dietrichson. They’re already glaring in our direction, but I make sure to keep my face neutral. I don’t want these wankers thinking they impact me. Watching Rico clench his hands on the table, I can tell he’s itching to pay us back. Dietrichson’s top lip rises with a sneer, showing his veneers. Fuck them.
Standing on either side of the doors we’ve just walked through, are other students from Featherstone. I spot Wren, with Becky and Brett, but I don’t recognize anyone else from classes. It blows my mind that they are here by choice. I’m slowly learning it’s irrelevant how I feel, these Featherstone students know what they’ve signed up for.
The family members stand on the opposite side of the room, all with pleased smiles on their faces. Not an ounce of fear or worry for their child’s safety.
All the students are dressed casually, like us, while their parents think this is a business dinner with men wearing three-piece suits and some women are wearing cocktail dresses. What the fuck is that about?
Rafe squeezes my shoulder as he goes to stand with the other parents, looking completely out of place in his denim jeans and henley t-shirt, as the doors shut behind us. Standing in the center of the room, Maria nods for us to join the other students, and we slowly make our way over.
A middle-aged man steps to the center of the room, smiling as he looks us all over.
“Fantastic, we’re all here! Let’s get to it, shall we?” He says, clapping his hands in front of himself in excitement. “Good afternoon, for those of you who don’t know me, my name is Harris Franks, and I teach Laundering, Fraud and Gambling at Featherstone Academy. I can see a few of my students here.”
This is the guy who teaches Red’s L.F.G. course? He looks like a fucking sleazeball, with his slicked-back hair, pointed shiny shoes, and a wandering eye, inappropriately checking all the students out. He clearly loves himself too, his speech screams Barbette Dietrichson. I see her across the room, smiling proudly at him. I roll my eyes at her usual shit, ready to get on with it. I feel one of my Aceholes stroke a finger down my back, and it relaxes the tension in my body, making me almost shudder at the contact.
“So, this is your Orientation, which is simply an introduction and run through of what is to be expected.” He points his arm towards the far wall to our left where there is a map of Beechwood and all of its grounds. “The Games will officially start tomorrow. You will have three games to complete in total, which will take place on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday...if you survive that long.” He chuckles, and I want to punch him in the face. He’s so fucking cliche, attempting to play the typical villain.
Roman wraps his fingers around my clenched hand, forcing me to unclench it so he can intertwine our fingers. I look up to him, and he offers a comforting smile while stroking his thumb over my knuckles. I think he’s trying to calm me down. I’m obviously not covering my annoyance as well as I thought.
“You won’t find out what The Game for the day will be until that morning. Tuesday and Thursday are your well-deserved relaxation days. We’ve decided this year to hold a gala dinner on Friday for all those participants that complete all the challenges. Okay?” He asks, leering at us all. He’s overplaying his role here, like the creepy hand guy from Scary Movie Two. “Perfect, so without further ado, let’s do a roll call. When I call your groups, along with your bloodline and skillset for Featherstone, you will simply step forward.”
He claps his hands again, and rushes to grab a tablet from a chair propped up against the right side of the wall. Nobody speaks a word as we all wait for him to proceed.
“Okay, group one is Wren Dietrichson, Ace, skillset for Business and Embezzlement. Rebecca Brown, Diamond, skillset for Infiltration, and Brett Rhodes, Diamond, skillset for Drug Trafficking.”
Wren steps forward with a conniving grin on her face like she’s fucking amazing. I hope I get the chance to ruin that fucking face. Barbette smiles brightly at her daughter, and they make me sick. Becky steps forward, and I watch as Harris Franks runs his eyes over her body from head to toe. A part of me wants to feel sorry for her but she’s too much of a bitch for me to truly care. Brett stands there like he fucking runs the world, someone needs to remind him and Becky that they’re Diamond. I really need to stop rolling my eyes.
“Group two is Neil Portman and Eliza Walker, Jokers, who both produce narcotics for their skillset.”
A scrawny blonde girl steps forward, with a guy just as small, barely touching five feet, two inches with shoulder-length brown hair. They’re holding hands and smiling wide.
“We have a lone runner, Conor Starker, Club, whose skillset is torture.” Harris shudders as he speaks the words, and the guy steps forward. He must be over six feet tall, with tattoos on his shaved head and a scar running down his cheek.
I mean, even I would be nervous of running into him in a dark alley.
“Group three is Taylor Doherty, Heart, and Zoe Borg, Spade, who both have skillsets in Espionage and Extortion. Along with Freddie Richards, Spade, who is training in all things trafficking.”
“Finally, we have group four, the Steeles.” Fuck that sounds good. I hear one of my guys hum in agreement beside me and it makes me smile. Harris flicks through the documents on his tablet before continuing. “Sorry, there are a few of you, right?” He says, looking at me with a wink. Roman growls, draining a little color from Harris’ face.
“Get on with it, cunt face,” Oscar grunts, and he instantly looks away.
“Yes, sorry. So, we have Kai Steele-Fuse, Ace, trained in Business and Technology. Oscar Steele-O’Shay, Ace, who specializes in Science and Combat. Roman Steele-Rivera, Ace, Skilled Assassin.” He gulps, glancing quickly in his direction, before continuing. “That leaves Luna Steele, Ace, our resident thief, infiltrator and weapons expert, and Parker Steele, Ace, with his own cho
sen skill sets, Tech and weaponry construction.”
I fucking love that he actually says ‘chosen’, letting everyone know Parker is paving his own way. No Rico Manetti needed.
We all step forward as one, and the sound of a palm slapping on wood draws my attention to where The Ring are sitting. Rico’s eyes are blazing with fury as he stares us down. Motherfucker wants my Parker Parker. Over.My.Dead.Body.
I hold his gaze and grin, unable to stop myself from adding fuel to the fire.
“That’s all of the participants for this year's Games. Good luck. We’ll be back here tomorrow at eight a.m.” Harris says, but I don’t shift my gaze.
I feel Roman lean in close, his breath blowing against my ear. “Don’t worry, Princess. We’ll kill him. Whatever it takes.” He kisses my cheek and I nod.
We’ll make him suffer for everything he has done, payback’s gonna be a bitch.
CHAPTER NINE
(Roman)
My heart is thundering in my chest, but I wear my indifferent mask. I need to show a strong front, so the others don’t panic and see my strain too.
It’s seven fifty on Monday morning, and we’re making the slow walk back over to the main hall to find out what the first game will be. I can feel a dark cloud building over our heads, only getting stronger and darker with each step we take.
On instinct, the four of us guys walk perfectly to protect our girl. Not that she needs it, but it appeases us at least. Oscar takes the front, leading the way, with Kai and Parker on either side of Luna, while I take up the back. I frown at the sky, the sunny fall day completely luring us into a trap, hinting that today could be a good day.
We’re all in black from head to toe, wearing matching black pants, t-shirt, combat boots, with leather jackets hiding our guns by covering our shoulder holsters. We don’t know what to expect, so we all brought a gun and a knife. Just another casual Monday in the fucked-up world of Featherstone.
Oscar stops just outside of the doors leading into the building, he turns around opening his arms waiting expectantly for Luna. She doesn’t waste a moment before stepping into his embrace, and I can feel their love for one another from here.
Yesterday, when Oscar showed such vulnerability, I was in shock. I’ve never seen him like that, but he didn’t shy away or hide from us in the end. He let us take care of him, mainly Luna, who we all turn to when we feel lost. Somehow, she’s able to pick us back up again.
Parker and Kai join in the hug, wrapping their arms around our girl, and I refuse to let my worries stop me from joining the moment. My arms stretch wide, not actually touching Luna, but I rest my head against hers. Breathing her in, I let her vanilla scent consume me.
We’ve all trained for this, even Luna. She may not have realized it at the time, but as hopeful as Rafe was about her not having to attend Featherstone, he still made sure she was prepared.
“I still think we should have had #TeamAceholes printed on our t-shirts,” Oscar grumbles, making Luna giggle, and it relaxes the atmosphere. As annoying as this asshole can be, he’s always able to break the tension. Not that I’m going to tell him I appreciate it, because I’ll never hear the end of it.
“We are not wearing matching slogan t-shirts, Oscar,” I respond, making him groan.
“But think of the Christmas cards we could do? Thanksgiving would be so awesome if we …” I slap this douche around the head, effectively shutting him up. “Ow, Rome. If Luna suggested it you would’ve worn them,” he whines, rubbing the back of his head.
“Damn right I would, but she isn’t a fucking pussy like you. So I have nothing to worry about,” I say confidently, until I hear Luna chuckle, but it sounds way more wicked than usual. Stepping around Kai, she strokes her hand down my back.
“I’m going to remember that, baby. I just might surprise you,” she purrs, before heading in through the door, giving me no option but to follow her inside, with a semi in my pants. A simple touch from my Princess, mixed with her voice, and I’m having to count backwards, the concentration distracting my thoughts. I do not want to walk in there with my cock noticeable through these damn pants.
Parker pats me on the shoulder as he passes, clearly aware of the effect she has on me. Kai and Oscar follow behind, and I adjust myself discreetly as I step inside.
Walking down the hallway, it's almost eerily quiet, and as we turn into the main room I’m surprised to see everyone else is already there waiting. The tense atmosphere swallowing us up.
I cast a glance to my father, who offers a reassuring smile from the large table that sits The Ring. It doesn’t do anything to help the situation, but I appreciate the sentiment. The deep wrinkles around his eyes show his strain and worry, and I’m glad my mother isn’t here. When this is all over, I’m taking Luna to meet her again.
A smaller hand grips my shoulder, and I already know it isn’t Luna because she’s in front of me. My skin crawls, knowing the only other person here with the balls to touch me. Glancing down, I’m not wrong.
“Get your fucking hand off me, Wren,” I grunt, shrugging her off. This girl is just never going to learn. I shouldn’t be surprised that she wants to cause a scene. She’s been too quiet since we’ve been here, but she doesn’t know we have the footage of her setting up security cameras in Luna’s room. It definitely doesn’t help that the last time I saw her, I was trying to convince her to come with Oscar and me for some alone time so that we could interrogate her.
“Roman, baby, don’t be like that. We were having so much fun at the party on Saturday night, weren’t we?” She tries to be seductive, but her voice just grates on me.
“No, no, we weren’t, Wren. Now, fuck off.”
This conversation now has everyone’s attention in the room. I look to Luna, and she’s sneering at this bitch hanging off my arm. Fuck. Her protectiveness is doing nothing to help the situation I’ve got going on in my pants. My heart swells knowing she has claimed me as one of her Aceholes.
Wren glares up at me, a sinister glint flickering in her eyes, and I already know she thinks she’s going to ruin me with whatever comes out of her mouth next.
“Does your little whore of a wife know you were trying to fuck me at the party? Hmm?” She walks her fingers up my chest, and before I can grab her wrists, Luna does it for me.
Hanging off my arm, Luna keeps her grip on Wren’s wrist as she looks up at me.
“Hey, baby.”
“Hey, Princess.” I can’t help but grin at the calm approach she’s portraying because her eyes give away the fire building inside.
“Is this bitch talking about Saturday night, when I had to practically force you to be in her presence? The same Saturday night where you were luring her into the gazebo ready for me to fuck up her face?” She smiles sweetly up at me before turning her gaze to Wren. “That Saturday night?”
Wren stares with her mouth open as Luna’s words slowly sink in. She tries to pull her arm out of Luna's grip, but she doesn’t relent. Instead, she drops her arm from me and steps right up into Wren’s face.
“I swear to god, I’m coming for you, Wren Dietrichson, and you won’t even see it coming. Now get your hands off my husband.” She pushes Wren back, releasing her wrist as she does, but the blackness that takes over Wren’s eyes tells me she’s not done.
Lifting her arm, she goes to slap Luna across the cheek. Luna doesn’t waste a moment, stopping the hand coming towards her face, while simultaneously forming a fist with her right hand. The crack that vibrates off the walls when Luna punches her straight in the face gives me too much pleasure, and I can’t help but smirk. Which is nothing compared to the slow clap that Oscar starts, making Parker laugh behind his hand as he tries to keep a straight face.
Wren wails on the floor, clutching her nose to try and stop the blood from going everywhere. Real tears prick her eyes as Barbette scurries over.
“What the fuck have you done? I’ll have your head for this!” she yells, as the room breaks into chaos.
; I pull Luna away from them, spinning her behind me, where I know the guys will be.
“Quiet!” Somebody shouts, and the room comes to a stop. Looking to see who spoke, I’m surprised to see Juliana Gibbs glaring daggers at Barbette as she braces herself on the table with clenched hands. “When you’re quite fucking done, Barbette, we’ll continue. Like mother, like daughter is all I can say … touching people without their explicit permission.” Standing to her full height, she straightens her blazer. “Now, sit the fuck down.”
Following her own words, Juliana takes a seat, watching as the Dietrichsons begrudgingly do as they’re told. Barbette’s death glare burns holes into Juliana, while Wren cups her nose. I can’t say she didn’t ask for it.
Looking behind me, I see Luna standing in the middle of the other guys. Parker behind her, and Oscar and Kai to each side while she tries to fake glare at me.
“You didn’t have to move me away,” she mumbles, and it only makes me smile more. Leaning in to whisper in her ear, I grip her waist.
“Princess, don’t play me. I can see the sparkle in your eyes. You’re wondering when I’ll be able to manhandle you like that in private.” I bite down on her earlobe. “Soon, Princess. Real soon.” I growl, feeling her shudder against me.
Standing back, I turn to face The Ring as everyone else is, only to see Maria Steele looking at me with a raised eyebrow. This woman has me made, but I can see the humor in her eyes, so I flash her a wink as Harris Franks comes to stand in the center of the room. I can’t handle the sight of him, he thinks he’s slick in his pinstripe pants and gelled back hair, but he looks creepy as shit.
“Good morning, students. Let’s not waste any time and get straight to it, yes?” He rubs his hands together in front of him, as he looks at us all. “Perfect, this morning we will be doing The Tunnel over in Zone A. You’ll get all the information upon arrival. If you'd like to follow me, we’ll be making our way over there in your groups.”
