Total pages in book: 139
Estimated words: 135958 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 680(@200wpm)___ 544(@250wpm)___ 453(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 135958 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 680(@200wpm)___ 544(@250wpm)___ 453(@300wpm)
That had started to grate on the nerves of some of the upperclassmen girls. I’d caught the envy and bitterness coming from them, but when I mentioned it to Brooke, she’d laughed and said, “What are they going to do? Take me out?” She’d been mocking as she added the last bit, but there was a roughness in her tone.
I never brought it up again. That wasn’t the normal Brooke I knew, but there were times I heard that side of her come out on the phone—when she was talking to her family. Always her family.
She was so secretive about them.
As I followed the headmistress down the hall, I’d assumed we would be going to her office, or even my room, but when she veered to the front entrance, I slowed down.
Going to the door, she turned and flicked her hand toward it, the same quick, sharp movement as before. “Your presence is needed outside.” Her hand smoothed down her pencil skirt and straightened her collar before she raised her chin and began to leave.
“Oh.”
I looked back at her.
A fierce frown clouded her face. Distaste flashed in her eyes. “You are not to speak a word of this to anyone. Do you understand?”
I nodded slowly.
She sniffed, rotating back around as if she were a soldier. “You are dismissed from all classes until Miss Bennett no longer needs your presence.”
And with that, she walked away, her heels clipping out a sharp staccato on the floor.
CHAPTER THREE
Present day
Kai Bennett still looked the same as he had on that day: smoldering black eyes, prominent cheekbones, the same luscious features as all of his siblings.
I remembered that day, and I hated it, but the same shiver curled around my spine. It was writhing around me, because this was bad. This was so bad.
“Who wants to try Eggwhite Chips and throw up with me?” Carol tossed the bags of snacks on the counter. “Anyone? Anyone?” Her voice dropped to imitate the “Bueller? Bueller?” line from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Rustling through the bags, she continued, “By the way, I got that new job, so after you give me a round of applause, I was thinking we could all get wasted tonight. The job pays better. More money for the bills, right?”
The rustling stopped.
Her voice grew clearer. “Anyone? Wasted? Bueller?”
Silence.
Absolute silence.
I had to look away, but I couldn’t.
Blade had hit the pause button when Carol came in, so I was staring at those dark eyes and feeling my insides shrivel into a puddle.
I was lost in my memories again. I’d returned to that day.
I hadn’t been prepared that day. I’d thought I was, considering the status of Kai and his family. But that day had been the first real eye opener for me as to how powerful the Bennett family was—and by Bennett family, I really mean The Bennett Family.
They were mafia, and they were ruthless.
Brooke had gotten word that her father and brother were coming to visit her.
We had visitor days at Hillcrest, but for Brooke to be pulled out of class and be waiting for them on the front steps of the school wasn’t normal. If a family called ahead, they would have the student waiting for them, but usually in her room, not the front steps. And not with her roommate/best friend acting as a source of support.
Brooke had been pale when I pushed open those doors, hunched over with her arms wrapped around her knees. She’d lifted her head to look at me, and I saw tears streaks on her face. They were fresh.
Even as I sat beside her, she couldn’t stop crying to talk. A gurgling sound had come out of her throat when she tried, so eventually I’d just told her it’d be fine.
I’d had no idea what would be fine, but I didn’t know what else to say.
I’d pulled her into my arms, cleaned off the streaked mascara and tears, and stroked her hair and back. We sat there for forty-five minutes. The bell rang, and I tensed, knowing some of the girls would come out to see what was going on. A few of the classrooms had windows facing where we were so I had no doubt they’d seen us.
When no one came out, I glanced back.
The headmistress and three other instructors were there, their arms wide, blocking people from coming to us. I saw them shoo the others away until the next class started, and even then, the headmistress had stayed.
She looked at me, and I saw her fear.
It was brief and gone so quickly, but it stuck deep in me.
Thinking back on it now, I realized that’d been the first time I felt afraid of Kai Bennett. There’d been an uneasiness when Brooke talked about him, or because she wouldn’t talk about him. She talked about Cord. She was proud of him. She gushed about Tanner, and she adored Jonah. But Kai? There was a tension. She’d been scared of him.