“Scar,” he growls deeply, as I turn to face him placing my hand on his chest and I hear Ace groan behind me.
“I won’t let you go with him,” he snarls, scowling. His brows meeting in the middle of his forehead.
“Let me?” I ask, raising a brow.
“You know what I mean, Scar, I don’t trust him,” he adds, glaring behind me at where Ace stands. And there it is, Drake’s need to be in control, thinking he can be in control of what I do.
“Neither do I, Drake, but I have some questions about his uncle, that he might be able to give me answers to,” I say.
“I’ll go with you,” he says, but Ace steps forward.
“No can-do, Dragon Boy, I only want Little Red,” he says with a smirk.
“I’ll be quick. Come on, Drake, you really think I can’t take this prick?” I turn to find Ace scowling at my words.
Drake reluctantly steps back as I turn to follow Ace through the crowd that has now scattered away. I hear Carrington snicker something to Ace, but he ignores her just the same. I turn back and notice the other Horsemen following us as well. I can see Jade and Kai arguing with Drake, and everyone else seems to have gone back to partying. We walk across the sand to the large white three-story house with the floor length glass windows that sits at the farthest end with a deck leading out to the ocean. Great… they’re gonna throw me in, probably with weights tied to my feet. I was right, this one belongs to the Servites.
When we reach the front of the house, Ace opens the door and turns to me.
“After you, Red,” he says, motioning for me to go through the door.
“I’m not going in there with you. Anything you gotta say to me, say it here,” I say, and he turns to me again stepping into my personal space. I try to step back but find another hard body at my back.
“Scared of me, Little Red. Think the big bad wolf’s gonna hurt you? Because you should be. You came into my home and started causing some problems. Now get in before I pick you up and take you there myself.”
“You wouldn’t,” I say scowling at him.
“Careful, Red, you don’t want to tempt the wolf,” answers Sebastian from behind me. I scoff and push through Ace making my way into the house with them close behind me. Inside the house is sleek and modern, with dark walls, black furniture, and metal accents. The floor is a dark, almost-black wood, nothing compared to the pristine white exterior. I hear the door close behind me and find that both Alek and Beckett stayed outside. It’s only Ace, Sebastian, and me inside this huge house.
“What do you want with me?” I ask, falling back on the leather couch behind me. If I’m gonna be here a while might as well get comfortable.
“That’s a loaded question. One I’ll have to get back to you on when I have the answer. Not sure what we’re gonna do with you yet, Little Red.”
I stand up pissed at the little pet name he’s given me.
“Enough with the nickname. My name is Scarlett, my friends call me Scar. You can call me Scarlett.”
“Feisty little one. My uncle was right,” he says, and my blood is boiling at the mention of his uncle.
“What the fuck does your uncle have to do with me?” I shout.
“Bingo. That’s what I want to know.”
“Then why don’t you ask him.”
He steps in closer, his face coming down to meet mine.
“I’m asking you. Why are you here?”
I let go of a breath I didn’t know I was holding in, as a chuckle escapes me, and I sit back down. I cross my legs and lean back on the couch. “I’m here because your old man came in and took me and my friends out of our home to bring us to this pathetic place.”
“Servite… pathetic, compared to the slums you were living in,” sneers Sebastian.
I turn scowling at him, jerk.
“At least we didn’t have some arrogant pricks walking around calling themselves kings, oh wait… my bad, Horsemen.” I laugh harder and I can tell I’ve hit a nerve.
Sebastian scoffs and turns away sitting down on the couch across from me. “I don’t believe you. I heard my dad and uncle arguing about the stupid little charity program my uncle suggested we implement at the academy. Bring the poor kids from the rundown neighborhood into our pristine halls.”
“That was your uncle’s idea?” I ask questioningly and he’s got my attention.
“And it was all to get you here. His exact words were, ‘I need the Steele girl close.’ So, I ask you again. What is your deal with my uncle?”
I contemplate his answer and it sickens me. Why does Agent Servite want me here? To make sure my mom doesn’t contact me? I think it’s a bit much for that. He knows she hasn’t tried to contact me in years, why would she now?
“I asked you a question,” he says as he leans forward to my level.
“First, you need to get the fuck out of my face.” I say, standing up causing him to slowly straighten up. I must admit being this close to him is doing weird things to me, sending heat all through my body to all the wrong places. And fuck when he licks his lips I nearly moan. “And second, I already told you I have no fucking clue why I’m here. All I know is that your uncle is a sick son of a bitch with a hard-on for little girls. So, fuck me if I don’t care to entertain his nephew.” I say, pushing through him to get away.
He grabs my arm and spins me to him, my body clashing with his hard chest. The impact makes my breath hitch and I look up into his eyes. Big fucking mistake. His eyes, now a deep blue color, stare intensely at me, looking for answers they won’t find.
“Careful, Red, you don’t want to provoke me.”
I smirk, licking my lips as his gaze drops to my mouth and I can see the want grow in his eyes. Two can play at this game.
“But it’s been so fun,” I whisper, leaning my face closer to his. We’re now only centimeters away from our lips making contact.
He steps back slightly, loosening his grip on me and I manage to pull away.
“Next time you put your hands on me will be the last time,” I say walking away, leaving him standing there.
“Next time I put my hands on you, it’ll be to make you cum for me,” he says, causing me to stop. I turn around slowly raising a brow at him.
“Only in your dreams, Horseman.” I wink just to fuck with him and hear a groan escape him as I walk away and out the door.
Outside I find Alek and Beckett sitting on the porch, standing when they see me approach.
“You better be careful, new girl. No one fucks with Ace and lives to tell the tale. You remind your boy of that next time he wants to lay his dirty hands on him, or any of us,” comes from Alek as he eyes me glaringly.
I scoff at him. “Don’t worry, little mutt, I’ll keep out of your hair as long as your alpha stays out of mine.”
“Fuck you,” he sneers, as I turn away flipping him off making my way back to my people.
Back at the party, I find Drake and Kai leaning against the table, while Jade and Stella sit on the tabletop with drinks in their hands. Stella spots me instantly calling out my name causing Drake to turn possessively.
“Scarlett, over here,” she squeals, waving me over. Looks like someone’s had a few too many.
“What’d you guys do to her?” I ask.
“Oh nothing, Silver here thinks she can hang with me. Little does she know daddy was an alcoholic, gave me my first drink at eleven,” says Jade laughingly.
“That’s pretty fucked up, kind of cool though,” Stella says, giggling, and Kai takes the cup from her hand. “Hey,” she squeals reaching back for it, but failing miserably.
“Why don’t Jade and I take you over to the water, get you to cool off a bit,” he says, holding his arm out for her. Jade laughs as Stella snuggles into Kai.
“Babysitting duty at my first Servite party. We’re gonna have to figure this out, Silver, not cool,” Jade says, handing me her drink as she climbs off the table. “You cool?” she asks.
&n
bsp; “Yeah, I’m good, sis.” She nods and takes off after Kai and Stella while I turn to Drake who’s still leaning against the table, drink in hand, a deep scowl on his face.
“Just say it.” I say to him, taking a swig of my drink.
“That was reckless of you, going with those guys. Scar, you don’t fucking know them.”
“Reckless is my middle name, Dragon.”
“I’m serious,” he snarls, straightening up.
“So am I. Look, Dragon, guys like them, they’re harmless. All bark, no bite. Rich pricks who think the world should grovel at their feet, and we’re just lucky to be breathing the same damn air they are. Throw in a couple of fucked up poor kids and their order gets shifted. They just gotta show everyone they’re still in charge.”
“Unlucky for them you’re not one to bow down to anyone,” he says turning to me.
“Yeah, well they’ll figure that out sooner or later.”
“Did you find out anything about Agent Servite?” he asks.
“Only that his nephew is as clueless as I am as to why we’re here. Anyway, enough talk about them… You gonna take me to the water or what?” I ask, drinking the last of the liquor in the cup.
He bites his lip and moves into me, his arms wrapping around my waist.
“Looks like you have an admirer. Horseman doesn’t seem to like me putting my arms around you,” he says as I turn to look their way. And Drake’s right. Ace’s face is fuming as he looks toward Drake and me.
“Let’s give him something to watch,” I say, giving Drake a kiss on the lips before turning and pulling him with me toward the water. I turn to look at Ace and notice he’s gone, but his three boys, the Horsemen, are glaring down at me.
SIX
ACE
Scarlett Steele. An alluring angel with long dark hair, the silkiest porcelain skin, and wide eyes in the prettiest shade of blue draped in long, thick lashes. A captivating enchantress with the most luscious, kissable lips, and a body you’d only find photoshopped on swimsuit models in magazines. A sultry vixen. A vision like nothing I’ve ever seen before. An exquisitely beautiful work of art. A perfectly sculpted masterpiece. I could go on.
I mean, don’t get me wrong, Carrington’s hot, with long blonde hair and a rack that used to drive me crazy. The other girls here at Servite are also not bad looking, but none like her. She’s something entirely different. Like her own species of the perfect woman. And that mouth on her. She’s feisty, sassy, with a snarky attitude and filthy mouth. The perfect woman. My perfect woman. Not at all what I had in mind when the four of us were told some poor foster kids from the shitty neighborhood next door were coming to our school. To say she caught me off guard, would be an understatement. She’s more than I bargained for, more than I expected to find when she walked out of my father’s office earlier today.
When I overheard my father, the headmaster of Servite Academy, and my uncle talking about bringing some troubled, foster kids from the slums of Pleasant Hills to “perfect our school’s image,” I never imagined someone that looked like her. She looks like a sweet, innocent angel and a devious rebel all wrapped up in a perfectly shaped and tempting package. This isn’t how it was supposed to go. She isn’t supposed to cause a shift in our order.
But now she’s here, breaking every damn rule we’ve set in stone and causing this shift in our reign by challenging us in front of our loyal disciples. She’s tough, gutsy, and sexy as hell, in her tiny cut-off shorts and barely-there bikini top, her toned abs on full display and her small but plump breasts and perky nipples perfectly visible through the thin fabric of her top. And all that ink. Fuck me. She’s covered in tattoos flawlessly placed across her skin, and something about them has me wanting to run my tongue and trace over every single black line drawn on her body. From her neck, down her back, to her waist, up her abdomen, around her breasts, and in between those fucking thighs. I’m instantly hard just thinking about her squirming beneath me, curving her back, and moaning breathlessly as I lick over every inch of her skin. Fuck. I shift in my jeans trying to cover my hard-on.
But there’s something about her that doesn’t sit well with me. Something about her that doesn’t quite make sense. The real reason she is here. My uncle implemented this entire program to bring her and her sister here. He went through a lot to ensure they arrived, pissed off a hell of a lot of important people and donors to the academy, all to ensure that she attend Servite. But one question remains. Why? Why go through all this trouble? Who is she? What is she? Why is she here? He won’t tell me if I ask, and I know she knows more than she’s letting on. She’s hiding something. She’s lying about her connection to my Uncle Wesley. And I will find out what secret she’s keeping from me.
As for my uncle, Wesley Servite, ex-chief of police, now head of security, defense, and law enforcement for Servite Academy, well, he’s hiding more than you could ever imagine. He graduated top of his class at Servite Academy eighteen years ago, and went on to attend Holland University, one of the top three Ivy League universities, majoring in criminal justice. Upon graduating from Holland with a master’s degree, he joined the police academy and quickly moved his way up the chain of command. After nearly twelve years, he decided to step down and take a more prestigious position here at Servite. He still has an in with the Hillcrest Police Department and as you may have guessed, he’s as corrupt as they come. He’s pretentious, arrogant, and has a troubling superiority complex.
Servite Academy is just the front for the real business my father and his little brother run. Their true business being the manufacture and distribution of illegal pharmaceuticals throughout the streets of Pleasant Hills, Hillcrest Hills, and all the neighboring towns. They are what keeps the shitty neighborhoods from improving, the addicts from sobering up, the crime rate from dropping. Their drugs fill the streets, corrupting the minds of its inhabitants, feeding into poverty and crime. But I know there’s something more. Something more nefarious. Something me and my boys have not been let in on yet. My father, my uncle, Stephan Silver, and Malcolm Smoak at the helm of an illegal, corrupt, and heinous empire. But where does she fit in all this. I can’t ask my uncle; he won’t answer me. I need to get it out of her one way or another.
But then, as if there wasn’t enough in my way, there’s the issue of the pet at her side. That damn dragon boy, Damon Drake, always in her shadows is going to be a problem. He obviously wants her, it’s clear as day. The way he stands over her protectively, possessively. Hell, if she were mine, I know for sure I wouldn’t let any fucker near her. But they’re a team, a family, maybe even a couple. But I can assure you they won’t be for long. One way or another I’ll make sure of that. I need to find out who she is, what she is, why she’s here. I need to unravel the mystery that is Scarlett Steele. And I just might have a hell of a time unraveling her.
I hear Bass’s footsteps approaching as he walks into the house, the front door closing loudly behind him. I came inside when I saw her getting hot and heavy with the dragon boy down by the beach. Something about seeing his hands all over her exposed body, where mine belong, made my blood boil. I shouldn’t give a fuck, she’s nothing to me. But she’s somehow managed to creep her way under my skin. Which is fucking crazy, given the fact that I just met the girl.
And I have a feeling she knows it. She turned around and stole a glance from me before turning back and kissing the damn dragon. I know she did it deliberately. I felt her shift in energy when we were close. The way her breathing faltered, her heart rate quickened, and her body reacted to me. She’s somehow figured out the effect she has on me. She knows she’s gotten under my skin and that I quite like her being there. But if she knows she has an advantage, that can be a problem. Around here no one has the upper hand on us.
“You disappeared,” says Bass, coming over to the bar I’m leaning against facing the party raging outside. The view is amazing from here, the sun now completely set and the moonlight illuminating the sky reflecting off
of the ocean. Bright lights along the stone path in front of the beach houses light up the sanded area where the partygoers stand. Bass grabs a bottle of tequila and two shot glasses from one of the glass shelves behind us, pouring one and sliding it to me before pouring himself another. Not looking up at him I down the shot in one swift gulp before he’s even finished pouring his own, sliding it back for him to refill it. He chuckles, shaking his head gently, but says nothing.
“Those new kids from Pleasant Hills are gonna be a problem,” he says after downing his shot in one full swig as well.
I respond, not bothering to turn around to look at him but instead I keep my eyes on the people outside crowded along the private beach. Partying like their lives depend on it, these are the people who bow down to us. The ones who follow our every command, the rules we set for them, never once questioning our motives.
“The guys are harmless. A couple of punks if I ever saw any. Think they’ve seen everything because they grew up parentless and poor in the slums. The girls, they’re feisty and catty, but in the end they’ll conform. It’s her, she’s gonna be a problem.” I catch a glimpse of her with her group standing along the edge of the water. The three guys, fierce protectors at her side, the two girls, her loyal friends, sisters, and another I hadn’t seen standing with them before. Stella Silver, the quiet girl next door. The loner who hides in the shadows and watches everything and everyone, in a place like this somehow managing to stay out of the limelight she was born into. How does the cautious introvert fit into all this?
“Yeah, she’s something else. Man, did you see how she made Carrington her little bitch, thought she was gonna blow a fuse then and there. Fuck, I would have paid to see her headlock Kins that way. Might still just for the fuck of it. I’m sure she’d be down for some extra cash or a good time,” he says laughing.
“What’s your cousin doing with them?” I ask, ignoring his remark. Stella Silver is Bass’s cousin, who has pretty much always stayed behind the scenes. She’s not involved in the family business and as far as we know has no idea what it truly entails. Her father didn’t have such an important part in the legacy as does Bass’s father but nonetheless she’s a Silver. Of course, she’s one of us being family and all, but she had a falling out with the girls when she told Bass his ex, Kinsley, was cheating on him. Naturally, Bass was grateful to Stella for opening his eyes to the deceit and immediately ended things with Kins giving her the boot and cold shoulder. Stella’s always been loyal to Bass, but the girls, well let’s just say they’re less forgiving.
The Four Horsemen : A Servite Academy For Troubled Teens Novel Page 7
