Revenge: A Reverse Harem High School Bully Romance (Montlake Prep Book 4)

by Nora Cobb

  This is a work of fiction. Any names, characters, places, events, and incidents are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons—living or dead—is entirely coincidental.

  Revenge copyright @ 2020 by Nora Cobb and Scholae Palatina Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embedded in critical articles or reviews.

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  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  REVENGE

  CHAPTER 1

  CHAPTER 2

  CHAPTER 3

  CHAPTER 4

  CHAPTER 5

  CHAPTER 6

  CHAPTER 7

  CHAPTER 8

  CHAPTER 9

  CHAPTER 10

  CHAPTER 11

  CHAPTER 12

  CHAPTER 13

  CHAPTER 14

  CHAPTER 15

  CHAPTER 16

  CHAPTER 17

  CHAPTER 18

  CHAPTER 19

  CHAPTER 20

  CHAPTER 21

  CHAPTER 22

  CHAPTER 23

  CHAPTER 24

  CHAPTER 25

  MERCY: Montlake Prep Book 5

  REVENGE

  CHAPTER 1

  Natalie

  Something has changed. I can tell the moment I start to walk across the Montlake campus from the parking deck. The dirty looks I used to get have morphed into smiles. I have to pause for a moment and look behind my shoulder. No. There’s no one behind me. The welcoming smiles are directed at me. Some smiles are timid, while others are broad and open. But these insincere smiles are more hideous than the dirty looks.

  “Hey, Natalie,” a junior I tutor waves at me, and I can only stare. Tabby Wilton has always avoided me except for in the library. Being seen with me is a definite no way. Not going to happen today. Not in this lifetime or the next. But there Tabby is, waving at me from across the quad as if she likes me. What the fuck is wrong with these people?

  “Hey, Tabby.” I raise a limp hand and let it drop quickly. She giggles, and I watch her, waiting for her to say something rude. She doesn’t say anything. Nothing good or bad. That’s it. She just wanted to say hi. They all just want to say hi. After months of dissing me and making my life more of a hell than it already was, they all just want to be friends.

  Un-fucking-believable.

  I hurry into North Hall to my locker. Most kids just ignore me, and I’m good with that. I trust that. But soon, the same thing happens all over again as I walk to class. Smiles and shy hellos follow me as I walk down the hallway. Well, not everyone is happy to see me. There are sour looks mixed with indifference, but there’s been a shift. I’m not the most hated student at Montlake anymore. I may still be on the shit list, but my standing is dropping fast. I’ll never be popular, but I’m no longer hunted.

  The realization causes my shoulders to relax. I hadn’t noticed how tense I’d been until today. Sure, I told myself I could handle it, and I did my best. At first, I clung to the high road, and then later, I struck back at them. They expected me to play the game lowdown and dirty, but I didn’t. I played the game like I had a brain in my head. I played it like an adult, because that’s what I am. I’m not cursing and kicking at knees on the sidewalk. No, let them act tacky by ruining my reputation online. I had no time for tacky. I went for what would hurt the most. I went for the money in their bank accounts. Bitches.

  “What are you smiling about?” asks Jacob.

  He is sitting across from me at the second lunch table. Sitting here has become a habit for me. I don’t waste twenty minutes trying to figure out where I’m going to eat lunch without being taunted. I don’t hide in my car anymore either. I don’t need to anymore, judging by the change in the collective attitude.

  “So, what’s going on?” I ask him.

  “What do you mean?” He frowns and looks over at the first table.

  Arielle is sitting with Cora and Lexi, and the mini-coven is speaking in hushed tones. They must sense that we’re staring. Lexi gives me an odd look, but Cora’s face is blank, and she quickly turns away. I turn away before Arielle glances over. Arielle Blackwater is becoming a queen without a court to support her. She’s slowly sinking while I’m rising to the top.

  “Nothing.” I shrug my shoulders. “People are a little nicer to me today. That’s all.”

  Jacob smiles. “It’s because you have three captains at your table. Good to be you.”

  “Finally,” I smile. It wasn’t my plan to climb to the top, but I’m starting to like the view. Things could’ve been different if they’d been decent from the start.

  Troy comes into the cafeteria, walking past the first table without a glance in Arielle’s direction, and sits down next to me. Before winter break, our only interaction was to scream at each other. Now, he hangs out at my house. Are we friends? I’m not sure. Troy hurt me, but I’ve been hurt worse.

  “Here,” Troy holds out his phone. “I’m going to send you something.”

  “What?” I ask, screwing up my face. “I don’t want any pictures of you.”

  Troy won’t look at me as he hits send on his phone. “It’s my dad’s contact at Columbia. You may want to have your uncle give him a call.”

  My phone chimes in my bag, and quickly, I pull it out, staring down at the screen. It’s a screenshot of his father’s address book with a name, a number, and “Columbia” written underneath it.

  “Wow, your dad still writes on paper?” I tease.

  Troy laughs and then bumps my arm. I smile as I nudge him back. Is this me? I hated this guy, and now, he’s helping me. It’s the code. I know my worth, and they’ll treat me according to how highly I value myself.

  I shrug my shoulders. “I’m pretty set. Plus, Uncle Phil has offered me a job with him.” I stare at the screen, wondering how this works. “But, I guess I could call.”

  Troy shakes his head as Jacob snatches my phone out of my hand to take a look. “You don’t call,” explains Troy. “Uncle Phil calls and expresses an interest in the school and in making a donation.”

  “I don’t think that will work,” I reply.

  “It might.” Jacob hands the phone back to me. “But it probably won’t. Besides, it’s only a gift. You’re not buying a spot, and you can’t expect that.”

  “Then why do it?” I ask.

  “Because it puts you on their radar,” explains Troy. “Besides, your uncle’s not going to be blatant about it. Not every admin is as tasteless as Cromwell.”

  “Will your father mind?” I ask. “Your mother ...”

  Troy holds up his hand to stop me from saying it. “My father is impressed with you,” he continues. “He’s thinking of offering you a job if you stay here.” Troy shrugs his shoulders. “You have options.”

  He smiles at me with that devilish twinkle in his eyes. My shoulders tense, wondering why I should trust the boy that made me hide and eat my lunch in the courtyard of the now-demolished art building. I must be crazy. Troy reaches over to my plate and plucks a grape tomato off my salad.

  “Relax, Natalie.” He pops it in his mouth. “Fear is magnetic.”

  He watches Jacob, who’s been looking a little glum. Jacob ignored me in calculus. He didn’t rest his feet on the back of my chair, and he barely spoke to Lucas. They exchanged a few words
in low voices, but neither one of them is sharing. I’ve been so focused on my life that I’ve barely asked Jacob about his. God, I suck as a girlfriend.

  “What’s troubling you, Fleming?” asks Troy.

  Jacob lifts his shoulders with a sigh and then lets them fall. “Dad is threatening to cut me off.”

  I gasp and then ask questions as if I’ve lost my hearing. “What? Why?”

  “He found out that I want to go pro after college and not work for the family business.” He frowns at the table. “I mean, eventually I’d work for the family after I blew out a knee or something, but I have no head for numbers. I’m good at sports, not investing.”

  I don’t know what to say, but Troy immediately asks the right questions. “So, he’s removing you from the business?”

  Jacob meets Troy’s stern gaze and responds with a harsh laugh. “I’m going to be disowned if I play ball. In fact, he doesn’t want me going to Notre Dame. He knows that if I go there, I’ll find a way to play ball. I’m to attend a school without a football team or one so crappy that I’ll never attract a recruiter.”

  I don’t know what to say. I can tell that losing money and status isn’t troubling Jacob the way it would fuck Troy’s day up. Jacob has always had status, and I don’t think he quite understands what life will be without it. My mind strays, and I think about my parents. I never thought about life without them. It was inconceivable. Life without them was a variable that would never happen until it did.

  “Jacob.” Troy pauses, and then continues, “Man, I’m sure your dad isn’t serious. I mean, who will he leave it to? Does your sister even come home anymore?”

  Jacob laughs at the suggestion. “My sister made it clear that she wants nothing to do with my father after she left home for college. Of course, she’s never told Dad to his face. She just doesn’t call.”

  “You could live with me.” My voice is quiet, but I’m sincere. “You know you can.”

  Jacob smiles, but his eyes reveal the tension that he really feels. “That’s sweet of you, Nat. But I’ll figure it out.”

  “We’ll figure it out, Jacob,” adds Troy. “We got this.”

  Troy holds out his hand, and Jacob grabs it. They shake across the table, attracting a few looks from kids at surrounding tables. But only we know what’s happening. I hadn’t realized how tight Jacob and Troy were until this moment. Troy was hateful toward me until I understood the code, or at least, the parts that matter. A part of me knew some rules instinctively. But there’s something deeper between Jacob and Troy that isn’t about the code. A reason why Jacob refuses to ever kick Troy to the curb.

  My gaze goes to the archway as Lucas walks in. It’s almost psychic the way I know when he’s around. My radar is set to him. Arielle also watches as Lucas walks past the first table and immediately sits down beside me. My back straightens as I smile to myself. I’m surrounded by the three top team captains in Montlake. All rich, all handsome, and behind me all the way. I can feel the looks from the other tables, and it’s apparent that my status has flipped over completely. Once the outcast, now I’m the queen. Almost.

  “Lucas?” Cora stands at the edge of our table. “Arielle wants you to come and speak with her about something.” Lucas flashes a scathing look at Cora. “I’m just the messenger,” she quickly explains. “Don’t shoot me the dirty looks.”

  “Cora,” Troy pats the table across from him. “Come sit down and visit for a while.”

  Cora looks back at the first table toward a glaring Arielle. She turns back toward a smug Troy. And then her gaze rises as Cora looks toward Mancuso, who is also watching intently. I know where she’d like to go. We all do, but she won’t dare risk it.

  “I better go back, Lucas,” Cora turns to leave. “I gave you the message.”

  Wow, that was telling. She’d rather deal with Arielle’s shit attitude than sit near Troy. Involuntarily, I shrink away from him and move a little closer to Lucas. It only makes Troy lean closer until I can sense his body heat near my arm. I glance at him, and Troy is giving me an even look. His face is as passive as if he were a tamed lion, but even tamed lions attack.

  My attention goes back to Lucas as he lets out a sigh.

  Jacob smirks. “What’s wrong, Romeo?” Troy also smirks, but Lucas looks troubled, and his expression wipes the humor off their faces.

  “My father was upset that I helped Nat,” replies Lucas, “but he’s even more upset that Arielle will gain a part of our holdings one way or another.”

  “That’s only if she outlives you,” replies Troy.

  “But I plan on divorcing her,” says Lucas. “Our lawyer is looking for a loophole. There wasn’t one in the initial contract, but there might be one now that we’re married. The contract never specified how long we’d have to stay together.”

  Our table is silent as we think over what Lucas has just said. I want to say something encouraging, but what do I have to say? I don’t know anything about contracts. Lucas is the one who told me about shares. Suddenly, becoming a marine biologist doesn’t seem so practical. Not with this crowd. When I helped Uncle Phil, I won, but there were losses. Before I can speak, Troy weighs in.

  “She’s not a devoted wife, Lu,” he says, “Sit tight. Arielle will do something to make that contract null and void.”

  “I thought marrying Nat would’ve been enough,” Lucas replies, “but that wouldn’t have been the case. Even if you and Arielle had married, my parents would have been in debt to hers. I need something more. I need her to be unfaithful.”

  “Lucas, I need to speak to you?” Arielle’s artificial sweetness interrupts our conversation.

  Fuck. How long has Arielle been standing there? I jump when I hear her voice. Lucas looks at Jacob, and he shakes his head once, sending the code that he didn’t hear anything. Lucas takes in a breath.

  “About what?” he asks.

  Arielle looks around the table at each one of us. “In private,” she adds.

  Lucas scoffs. “Why bother? I’m only going to tell them later.”

  Troy claps his hands together. “Tell us now, Arielle,” he says. “Save him from texting.”

  “Lucas, I don’t want your friends to hear.” Her eyes narrow on me. “Especially not her.”

  Lucas leans back in his chair and crosses his arms over his chest. “It’s a waste of my time because I’d tell Natalie first.”

  It’s apparent that Arielle is doing her best to hold onto her temper, but she is also failing miserably. Her face is turning red to her roots as her hand grips the edge of the lunch table. Her ring sparkles in the low light of the cafeteria, but it looks more like a weapon than a token of love. Her lips press together into a thin, pale line. It’s a surprise that Arielle can actually open her mouth to speak through her tightly clenched jaw.

  “Lucas, I need to speak to you in private. Away from your friends.”

  Lucas stands up so suddenly that Arielle takes a step back.

  “I said no,” he snarls at her. “You’re taking up enough of my time. Don’t bother me when I’m here.”

  “How dare you? Where do you come off speaking to me like that?” Arielle raises her finger to Lucas’ face. “I’m your wife, and don’t you ever forget that.”

  “You’re my contractual agreement,” he scoffs. “And don’t you ever forget that.”

  Lucas turns to leave, and Arielle grabs his arm, pulling at him so hard that the neckline of his cashmere sweater stretches over his shoulder.

  “You better be careful, Lucas.” Arielle looks back at me sharply. “We have an agreement, and you better not break it.”

  Lucas yanks his arm out of Arielle’s grasp. His face is contorted in anger, and the whole cafeteria is silent. Mr. Yeats is on duty, but he doesn’t do anything but gape as beads of sweat roll off his forehead. So much for adult intervention.

  Lucas walks toward Arielle, and she is forced to take a step backward. His body tenses as he makes her take another awkward step back. Arielle cannot
stand her ground, not against Lucas. And I see a glimpse of hope out of this mess. He keeps moving forward until Arielle’s ass is pinned to our table.

  “Tomorrow,” Lucas’ voice is hoarse with anger. “Tomorrow, you will be sitting at the second table. And if you’re not there, I will have my team drag you there.”

  Lucas stands back, allowing Arielle to move away from the table. She stares around the quiet room. And her hard look dares anyone to comment. She gives Lucas a scathing look then tilts her nose in the air before leaving the cafeteria. If I hadn’t been sitting next to him, I would’ve missed the signal Lucas gave Cora. She’s up and moving, calling out Arielle’s name as she and Lexi hurry out of the room behind her.

  CHAPTER 2

  Troy

  Monday evenings, my mother goes to her developmental meeting for women supporting women in business. My mother’s group rents the community room at the lawn and tennis club every Monday to listen to an invited lecturer. As far as I can tell, they spend the latter half of the evening drinking wine and whining. On Monday nights, Dad and I sit in the living room together, doing nothing. Absolutely nothing. We switch on the television and stream, or listen to music, but there’s no end goal to our time together. This Monday, I invited Natalie to join us, thinking it would be a nice turnaround.