Royal Bully Page 6

  I sucked in a sharp breath. “School’s not going to be the same, is it?”

  His eyes flashed, and then he was looking away. “No.”

  That was all I got.

  Minutes later, fifteen to be exact, I understood exactly what he was saying.

  We had pulled up to Eagle Elite University, and everything had changed, even the way the air felt against my face.

  Serena went first; her thigh-high black boots were so tall that I had a hard time thinking about walking in them, she stood in front of the black Maserati and crossed her arms.

  Serena wore a leather jacket over her white shirt, her skirt was indecently short, and her cleavage was ready to pop out. Red leather gloves were tight around her hands, sunglasses were perched perfectly on her nose. Her black lipstick against her perfectly white straight teeth looked so intimidating that even though she’d always been nice to me, I was suddenly petrified.

  Next was Junior, flanked to her right, arms crossed, looking too bulky, a bit broken, he stood to her right like he was ready to protect her, he locked eyes on her like he would do anything for her. He was all muscle, and for the first time since enrolling, I noticed an Eagle tattoo down the left side of his neck by his ear, his hair was buzzed short to the sides of his head, but on top it was long, luscious like a freaking supermodel’s golden halo. And like slow motion, Asher moved to the right and held out his hand to me.

  Me.

  Wait.

  I looked at his hand.

  Then I looked back up at the two of them. Serena nodded slowly while Junior looked away like he wanted nothing to do with it.

  His hesitation seemed wrong.

  Slow motion, it was all slow motion, just like drinking poison and knowing it’s going to kill you as it slides quickly down your throat, your life flashes before your eyes, you tell yourself you’ll fight, you’ll scream. You tell yourself that you’re different.

  And then the poison hits.

  And you realize, you’re just like them.

  I took Asher’s hand, noticing the cuts on both of us that bonded us together right along with the sickness in my chest that said I couldn’t survive without him.

  And just like that, the rest of the cars pulled up.

  And one by one, all of the cousins got out.

  Serena and Junior in front. Maksim, Breaker, Izzy, Violet, and us in back.

  All wearing black.

  Maybe because this was like their funeral.

  Maybe because it was everyone else’s.

  I swallowed the lump of fear in my throat as the most beautiful and lethal people in the known world walked right up behind us, fully armed, and looked down at their kingdom. Evil grins on their faces like they couldn’t wait to bring on suffering and destruction.

  And I had to wonder, is this what their parents had in mind when they had kids? To make carbon copies of themselves? Or to create better lives for them?

  All I knew was that the devil descended on Eagle Elite that day.

  And I held his hand.

  “What happens next?” I asked in a hollow voice.

  Serena was the first to answer, she turned to me, handed me a pair of Gucci sunglasses, and said. “Whatever the hell we want.”

  “Yours to command,” Junior said with a smirk like he was going to bow to a queen, and maybe, he was.

  “After you cousin.” Asher put a hand on her shoulder.

  And I watched the princess begin her reign of terror as she walked ahead of everyone down a line of gawking students to take her place in history.

  Chapter Eight

  Asher

  I would take it to my grave—but I finally understood what it felt like, that raw power coursing through your veins with each pump feeding the addiction, the justification for more and more until you’re sick with it.

  Students watched us in awe as we made our way down the sidewalk. Professors paled, the braver students pulled out their cameras and started snapping pictures.

  Serena kept her head held high, her smug smile in place, I knew the princess had finally found her throne, and she would bring death and destruction because she was good at it.

  Because she was Nixon Abandonato’s firstborn.

  Because he’d trained her well.

  Too well as far as I was concerned, at least I wasn’t the unlucky son of a bitch that had to spar with her, no that honor went all the way to Junior.

  I watched them closely. I knew what we had to do. One day they’d realize I was saving their lives, protecting us from a war, keeping the families together.

  “I don’t know if I can do this,” Claire said, squeezing my hand.

  “Tough shit,” Serena said in a cold voice. “You made your choice, you’re one of us now.” Her face softened a bit even though she continued walking. “You’ve always been. You’re Nikolai’s niece, the fact that you ever thought you could have a normal life is laughable.” She gritted her teeth. “We’re in this curse together.”

  Claire licked her lips “At least we have each other.”

  Junior glanced behind us as four of our cousins followed closely behind. “We just brought a fucking army; they don’t stand a chance.”

  “They never did,” I muttered as more students started gathering around us. I leaned down and whispered into Claire’s ear, “Play along.”

  She frowned.

  Not enough time to explain.

  It was the perfect opportunity.

  My brain worked in violent, manipulative ways, and I knew all of Serena’s hot buttons, she hated losing control, and she was jealous as shit.

  She gave Junior a black eye when she found out he had to go to a strip club to grab an informant.

  I always wondered why she was so pissed over it, now at least I knew.

  I mean, the guy was there five seconds.

  Maybe six, and that’s me being generous.

  My father’s words coursed through me.

  Break their hearts.

  The opposite of love is hate.

  I let go of Claire’s hand and stopped walking. “Now’s good.”

  Serena stopped and slowly turned to look at me, her head tilted to the side. “What?”

  “We can’t just walk by and make them think it’s a fashion show.” I shrugged. “That girl, right there.” I pointed to a gorgeous girl with bright blue eyes and red hair, she was staring at us like she needed to get laid by anyone offering, so much sexual repression, you could feel it coming off of her as she watched us.

  “He’s right.” Claire piped up in a strong voice putting her hand on my shoulder. “You need to make a statement, show everyone that you have the power, the control, can do whatever the hell you want.”

  “Junior—” I pointed to the girl “—give that girl what she’s been asking for ever since she saw us walking this way, she’s practically begging to get screwed, and she can’t keep her eyes off you, own her, control her, give it to her.”

  “She’s pretty.” This from Claire, I sighed in relief. It was working out even better.

  “What the hell kind of statement does that make?” Serena stared me down, I knew she was trying to figure out my angle, but saying she cared meant exposing both her and Junior, it meant admitting what they were doing even though it was painfully clear.

  The last thing she wanted was for him to touch anyone but her.

  The first thing he needed to do was prove he hadn’t been touching her, and the easiest way to do that? Have the cousins watch him seduce the shit out of this girl, choose her, and then have them report back to the bosses.

  The story would be legendary.

  How Junior gave zero fucks.

  How Serena encouraged it despite her broken heart.

  Junior’s eyes flicked from Serena to me and back like he was waiting for her to say no, to claim him, to say something like I love you, this is stupid. I wondered if he realized that his hesitation would be his downfall if he didn’t act. His hesitation in front of the bosses would have given him away. His gaze fell to Serena again—I watched him steel his heart as if he was wrapping armor around it to keep it safe, to keep them safe.

  And I knew it wouldn’t work.

  And it would be my fault.

  A small part of me hoped he wouldn’t take the bait, then again it didn’t matter, he knew who his heart belonged to, sadly Serena wouldn’t care, she’d see it as putting the family first, as cheating, as not choosing her even if he’d chosen her every single day for the rest of her life.

  And Junior? His weakness was that he wanted to make his dad proud, he wanted to be a legend, was already halfway there, so when I said jump, he knew he had no choice because, in the rankings of our family, I had been the only one willing to do the killing myself, the only one to go in first, which meant I was a made man already.

  Junior, however, was not.

  Not yet, at least.

  “Whatever, it’s not a big deal,” he finally said, then turned around and plastered a smile on his face that I’m pretty sure even made half the female staff clench their thighs together.

  He crooked his finger at the pretty girl and waited.

  She frowned, pointed to herself, then slowly walked forward.

  Junior towered over her, all muscle and sex.

  Her lips parted as if she was expecting him to kiss her.

  “You. I want you for the day, maybe the night.”

  Oh hell. I kept my face impassive.

  Serena reached inside her leather jacket for her gun.

  She didn’t pull it out, but I knew her finger had already flipped off the safety.

  “Ohhh.” The girl’s voice was shaky at best. “Um, okay—”

  He devoured her words with the kind of kiss that changes a girl’s world, the kind they compare every other kiss to, deep, hard, and then soft, he ran his hands down her arms and then fucking thrust his body against hers before pulling her shirt free. With a wicked grin, he pulled back and then leaned down and ran his hands up her thigh-high socks until he touched the bare skin of her thighs.

  She held on to his head.

  A female professor started walking toward us.

  When she was within a foot, she crossed her arms. “Stop this right now!”

  “Stop what?” Junior didn’t even look at her, “This is a university, right? Why would you discourage students from learning? Just think of it as hands-on—” he grinned as one hand disappeared under her skirt, the girl let out a shriek and almost collapsed against him. Holy shit, he was definitely overselling as she trembled in his hands “—experience.”

  Claire sucked in a sharp breath next to me.

  I wrapped an arm around her and lazily watched with everyone else. Show no emotion, play your games.

  Win.

  “That feels…” The girl shook her head.

  “—that’s it.” Junior grinned. “Hands, fingers too,” The professor gasped as Junior literally had a sexual experience in the middle of the lawn. “Human Anatomy at its finest.” He winked at her, then said in a low voice, “You want next?”

  “That’s it!” she roared. “I’m calling the dean.”

  “You must be new.” Serena’s voice was brittle, shaky, she was pissed, livid, shit she was going to kill someone today.

  “Does that matter?” the poor professor said in a stern voice.

  “Oh, buttercup.” Serena burst out laughing. “How adorable!” She started circling her while I watched, while I let them do what they were supposed to do, while I pulled the strings. “Listen carefully, we own this school. It was built for us. This is our world; you should say thank you!”

  “For what?”

  “Letting you live in it.” Serena tilted her head and then reached up and kissed the teacher on both cheeks and whispered. “And then, for letting you live at all.”

  “How dare yo—”

  That’s when the superintendent came running. “Serena! Darling! I’m so sorry, I had no idea you would be here so soon this morning!” He gave the professor a stern look and started to sweat. “Is there anything you need to—”

  “—Fire her,” I said behind Serena. “She’s disrespectful. Make sure she’s blacklisted, no references. I’ll have one of my guys follow her home, you know… to keep her safe.” I flashed a smile.

  The professor looked ready to puke as I snapped my fingers, and Maksim came running. He was Andrei’s. Happy for the most part, but loved the smell of blood way too much.

  “Go with her,” I barked.

  He nodded and grabbed her by the elbow and walked her away. His eyes gleaming the entire time.

  “’Bout finished back there, Junior?” I flashed the superintendent a smile while Serena regained her composure, hurt flashed across her face though when she saw Junior stand, tug the girl’s skirt a bit, and then kiss her again, leaving her stupid and swaying on her feet.

  “Not sure,” Junior said with a rasp. “This one tastes good; you know how I like the responsive ones.”

  “So have fun with her today and pick a new toy tomorrow,” Serena said in a chilled voice.

  “That what you want, Serena?” Junior’s arrogance slipped as he glared at her. “A new girl for me every day? Like a sex holiday? Because if you’re saying you don’t want a part of this, tell me now.”

  Shit. He threw the gauntlet. It would be so easy for her to just roll her eyes and ignore his taunt. He was shaking, with rage, guilt, with love for a girl he needed to claim. I didn’t realize how much Junior needed her until that moment.

  Choose me.

  Be with me.

  Fuck the world.

  She stiffened. “Why do you think I care?” Her smile was brittle. “How cute, you holding a candle still?”

  “So, you don’t care,” His knuckles grazed the girl’s hard nipples through her white shirt. “Pity.”

  “Junior…” She took a step forward. I could sense her cracking, wanting to tell him to stop, that it mattered. That they mattered.

  “It could be fun for him.” Claire laughed. “Right, Serena? Spread your oats? See what you really like, I mean, isn’t that what college is all about?”

  Serena gave her an incredulous look and then looked ready to hang her head and burst into tears as she whispered, “Yeah, sounds like a blast.”

  “All you have to do is say no, Serena,” Junior said with hatred dripping from every word he spoke into the universe. His eyes were bright, unfocused, like every second she didn’t run toward him, a piece of his soul was lost, a piece of his heart crunched beneath her stilettos.

  I knew he wanted her to claim him.

  I knew she wouldn’t.

  It wasn’t in us to give up.

  We fought.

  And at the end of the day, Serena Abandonato, my cousin, had to stay strong, had to set an example. Her hands were officially tied, he’d already broken her trust, and now she had to prove to him that it didn’t matter, because if anyone thought it did, they would know our weakness.

  Each other.

  “No, she’s right.” Serena leveled him with another chilly stare as she jerked off her sunglasses and grit her teeth. “Sleep with whoever you want, just wear a condom, and try not to get too violent Junior, you know whose blood runs through your veins.”

  “Serena!” I yelled. “Too far.”

  The fact that she even referenced that he had De Lange blood was enough to start a war within the Families. We didn’t talk about rats. We didn’t claim them even if they were in our own family line.

  “Not. Far. Enough.” She said with tears in her eyes.

  Junior shoved the girl away and charged toward Serena.

  She pulled out a knife and held it to his neck at about the exact same time he had one pointed at her right eyeball, nearly touching her eyelashes.

  “Say it again, and I’m stealing something pretty,” he roared in front of her face.

  “Not before I slit your voice box to keep you from torturing people with your moans every time you try to get a girl off.” Her lower lip trembled.

  “You’re dead to me.” You could hear the pain in his voice, the anger. She’d been his world.

  He’d been hers.

  “I hate you.” She spat in his face and then turned on her high heels and kept walking, grabbing the superintendent by the tie so he’d follow her.

  Junior grabbed the random girl’s hand. “Shall we?”

  Shit.

  “What have we done?” Claire whispered under her breath.

  “Saved their fucking lives,” I said in a sad voice. “Now, let’s go to US History.”

  Chapter Nine

  Claire

  The rest of the day past in a blur; by the time we made it back to the house or the compound as I was starting to think of it, everyone was tense.

  Nixon was standing at the door, arms crossed, Chase was right behind him. I gulped and tried to keep myself from freaking the hell out when I saw my uncle Nikolai between them, Tex towering over everyone, and then it just kept getting worse as the sea of mafia bosses parted.

  Phoenix.

  Dante.

  Sergio.

  I knew all of their names now.

  Knew the danger and weight those names carried.

  I was surrounded by death.

  I was surrounded by men and women who dealt with it on a daily basis, some of them with smiles on their faces.

  And they were all looking at us expectantly, at me expectantly, especially Chase, his blue eyes flashed to Asher then back to me.

  I gripped his hand tighter.

  Only to have him release it suddenly.

  What was happening?

  Junior and Serena walked in behind us.

  I could feel their anger.

  I didn’t know what to do, I knew I helped create the tension, I knew I fed the hate.

  “How’d it go?” Chase asked like he didn’t know. He wasn’t looking at Asher, he was looking at me.

  “Great.” I swallowed the dryness in my throat. “I think we scared everyone shitless.”

  His smile spread wide. “All of you come with us.”

  I looked at Asher. He gritted his teeth and then gave me a slow nod.

  We followed the men, the bosses quietly through the house, around a long hallway, and down dark stairs into an even darker basement.