King smirks. “He did today.”
“Good,” I say, but a flutter of uncertainty tickles my ribs from within. Maybe pushing back against the Darlings isn’t such a good idea. Maybe we should join them instead of fighting them. I know better than to suggest that to King. My brothers have set their sights on ruling this town, and there’s no stopping them now. If the Darlings had reacted differently, if they’d been even a little bit welcoming, my brothers might have opened ranks enough to allow them in. They might have considered the Darlings worthy. But it’s too late now.
King pats my knee as we pull up to our house. “Hope you’re ready,” he says. “Tomorrow we’re going in swinging.”
*
The next day, my brothers are allowed back at school. I’ve given up on being someone I’m not, and the fear I felt the day before is gone. I’m not a shrinking violet, and I couldn’t be if I tried. Now that I have the attention of Willow Heights, I just have to turn it to something positive, use it to do good and help people.
We leave the house early, which is unlike us. An undercurrent of tension in the car makes me jittery, but my brothers assure me everything is fine. When we pull up to Willow Heights, King swings the Rover into the first parking spot, the one near the walkway.
“What are you doing?” I ask slowly.
“We’re taking what’s ours,” King says, shutting off the engine.
“And you couldn’t have told me?” I ask, climbing out. “Devlin’s going to lose it.”
“Here’s hoping,” Duke says, draping an arm over my shoulder. “I can’t wait to see the look on that asshole’s face when he realizes we outbid him for this.”
“Next, we take their spots on the football team,” King says.
I roll my eyes. “You’re not going to quit, are you?”
“Fuck no,” Baron says, holding up a hand for Duke to slap.
“We’re making a point,” King says. “When they back off and realize we’re here to stay, that we own this school now, we’ll have no problem with them. But first they have to accept that there’s a new rule in this town.”
“And if they ever touch you again, I’ll fucking kill them,” Royal growls behind me.
I turn to him, and like always, it steadies my mind. This crazy plan, this crazy prank, doesn’t seem too crazy if he’s on board with it. His dark gaze holds mine, and I center myself. Royal squeezes my hand for a second before his eyes focus on something behind me. I hear the roar of an engine, and before I even look, I know the Darlings have arrived.
The Bel Air skids to a stop so suddenly that a shriek of brakes sounds, and white smoke drifts up from the tires.
Devlin is out of the car and in our faces in two seconds flat, the door hanging open and the engine still running.
“What the fuck is this?” he demands, looking at the Rover like it’s some old beater car. I know it’s not the car he objects to, though. It’s us. Our new money. Our power. Our claim to a throne he once ascended. A throne he thought he’d always own because of his name.
“This is our parking spot,” King says calmly.
Devlin isn’t calm. He grabs King, and I scoot away, ready for another brawl. These Arkansas kids have short fuses. Royal likes to fight more than can possibly be healthy, but he doesn’t lose his temper. We know how to take shit without letting it ruffle us. The Darlings? They don’t even try.
They throw punches first, ask questions never.
Devlin’s fist connects with King’s jaw before he leaps back, dancing on his toes like a boxer. “There’s more where that came from,” Devlin snarls. “Get back in your car and go park where you were yesterday, over there with the trash. That’s where your family belongs.”
King spits blood at Devlin’s feet. “Take it up with your admin. They know we belong right here. And pretty soon you’ll know it, too.”
A dozen or so kids have gathered to watch the standoff. Preston hops from the Bel Air to back his brother, and even Colt climbs out. The toes of his cowboy boots peek out from the hem of his slacks, and I can’t help but wonder if he was thinking of me this morning. The thought makes a little charge go through me. I thought they’d look cheesy, but somehow, he makes it look good. He grins when he catches me checking him out, and I pull my attention away from him.
A huge, cotton candy-pink truck hops the curb and comes roaring into the parking lot and pulls into the space next to ours. I gape at the bubblegum monstrosity, but no one else seems surprised by the vehicle or the cartoon who stumbles out of it. She barely keeps her feet, grabbing onto her truck bed to steady herself on her six-inch heels. Her leather, hot-pink skirt barely covers her ass, and her enormous breasts strain against a white button-up shirt.
“Sorry, y’all,” she says in a breathy, sweet southern accent. “Did I interrupt somethin’?” She shakes soft, platinum curls back from her face and looks around at us.
“No,” Devlin snaps before turning and storming into the building.
Redneck Barbie gives us a wounded look, then strides past us, calling after Devlin. Preston steps into the Bel Air and pulls off to park somewhere else, and the crowd begins to disperse. Somehow, I don’t think this is over, though.
“That’s Dolly,” a conspiratorial murmur tickles my ear. I look up to see Colt behind me. He nods at the retreating figure of the Barbie girl and shoots me that lazy grin. “She’s got a thing for Devlin, if you couldn’t tell.”