“What’s the point in hanging out for one night, pretending reality doesn’t exist, if you just have to go back to reality the rest of the year? It’s not worth it.”
“Maybe it is.”
“Shit,” I say. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. No judgment of you or Dixie. If you’re okay being her dirty little secret, that’s your business. I don’t think any different of either of you. It’s just not something I could handle.”
“I’mnot the dirty little secret,” he says, staring at me.
“Then… She’s yours?” I ask skeptically, cocking my head. “How? She’s pretty and popular and everyone loves her.”
“This isn’t about us,” he mutters. “It’s about you and Royal. You turned your back on a Dolce. There will be consequences.”
“I didn’t turn my back on him,” I say. “I offered to be with him, and he didn’t want that.”
I look up and see the three Dolce boys approaching, their posse of football dudes and Dolce girls trailing behind. I glance over to warn Colt, but he’s already gone, melted into the crowd.
“I thought I told you not to talk to that guy,” Royal says, stopping in front of me.
“Oh, I thought it was Maverick I wasn’t allowed to talk to,” I say. “There are so many people I’m not supposed to talk to, I forget them all. Maybe you should just tell me to stay away from all guys.”
“Fine,” Royal grits out. “Stay away from all guys.”
“Got it,” I say, sidestepping him.
Duke reaches out an arm in front of me, resting a hand on the locker and blocking my way. “And I thought I told you that the next thing you put in your mouth at this school would be my dick.”
“I’m awfully hungry,” I say, biting viciously into the dough. “I don’t know if I’d risk putting something in my mouth that you don’t want me to bite off.”
Duke leans closer to me, his pose threatening. “I can make you swallow all your teeth to keep that belly full while I fuck that pretty little mouth. Don’t worry, Cherry Pie. I’ll top them off with gravy.”
“Fucking try it.”
Baron crosses his arms and looks down at me, the stem of his sucker pulling the corner of his mouth down in a deeper scowl. “This one’s getting awfully mouthy,” he says. “I think she needs a reminder of her place.”
“Trust me, I know my place,” I say. “And I know yours. I’m happy to leave you alone. And yet, you’re the ones always getting up in my space.”
Royal scoffs quietly. “That’s what you were doing outside my house? Leaving us alone?”
I swallow hard, glancing from him to his brothers. I can’t tell by their faces if he’s already filled them in about that little incident.
“Take her in the basement,” Royal says, nodding to a door a bit down the hall. “We’ll give her a little reminder.”
My heart stammers in my chest, but I suddenly realize they must be talking about the very place I need to go most—the Midnight Swans’ lair.
But fuck if I want to go down there like this.
An excited murmur ripples out from us, starting with their football buddies and traveling down the hall in both directions. I take in my surroundings. There’s a classroom before the door he indicated, but even if I called for help, there’s no guaranteed that the teacher is in already. Classes haven’t started, and lots of people are still eating breakfast and going to lockers. The nearest door to the outside is at the end of the hall past the café. I’m fast, but their legs are longer, and I’ve seen them on the football field. They would catch me in two steps.
Fighting seems like a better option. I’ve incapacitated lots of people in fights.
Baron reaches for me, and I swing. My fist lands squarely between his eyes, sending his glasses flying. His sucker tumbles from his lips and rolls across the hall. He stumbles back, cursing and covering his nose. Duke grabs me around the middle and hustles me down the hall. I throw an elbow, hitting him in the ribs. He curses, but he keeps going. I kick him in the shins, my heel searching for a good blow to his kneecap.
Royal opens the door and shoves me into the library. For a second, I think he’s going to knock me out or threaten me to make me stop fighting. Instead, he goes to a corner and pulls away a whole section of the old-fashioned bookshelf. It swings open to reveal a darkened doorway. Fucking cool, if I weren’t about to be trapped in there.
Duke shoves me toward the door, dropping me back on my feet. I grab the sides of the doorframe, but Royal pushes me inside.
I stumble and pitch forward in the darkness, but Royal grabs me, keeping me from tumbling down a set of stone steps. As my eyes adjust, I can see them and the wall beside them, but I can’t make out a single thing at the bottom. Before I can turn to fight, Royal shoves me forward. I stumble down the steps, barely keeping my feet under me.
When I reach the bottom of the stairs, he releases me and shoves me forward again just as the door above closes, plunging us into darkness. My shins collide with something hard, and I trip and topple forward. My hand meets the floor, a cold, smooth stone. I scramble to my feet and spin around, raising my fists to throw a punch if anyone dares touch me. I heard the scuff of footsteps and take a slow step back, my heart racing in my chest.