Total pages in book: 136
Estimated words: 131789 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 659(@200wpm)___ 527(@250wpm)___ 439(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 131789 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 659(@200wpm)___ 527(@250wpm)___ 439(@300wpm)
A puff of dirt springs up from his landing.
Carter dives for his buddy. “He’s out cold,” he says in dismay.
The cheers are piercing, ricocheting off the glass.
“Well, look at that,” Lawson drawls. “The king is dead.” Winking, he shoves the flask in my bloodstained hand. “Long live the king.”
Chapter 53
RJ
I’ve been in mosh pits that were less suffocating. When the fight ends, the crowd crushes in on me. I taste beer and maybe vodka raining down on my head and dripping down my face to mix with the blood filling my mouth. People I’ve never met are smacking me on the back to congratulate me. You’d think I shot laser beams out of my dick instead of simply knocking a dude out with a punch. Still, I can’t deny I’m relishing the victory.
Lucas shoves his way through the excited mass. “Dude, that was incredible. You’re my freaking hero.”
Fenn hands me a towel and bottle of water. I use them to clean my face up but abandon the task halfway when I spot Duke at the door.
I run to catch him before he slips out to lick his wounds. I find him out back in the glow of his phone, checking his bank account to confirm I’d made good on my threat.
“How’d you do it?” he demands, bewildered, when he hears my approach. He looks like I feel: thoroughly pulverized. I guess it makes me feel better that it wasn’t a completely lopsided bout. No matter how it ended. “How the hell did you pull that off?”
I shrug because I’m not one to divulge secrets. “Tell you what,” I say instead. “I’ll make you deal.”
We’re not about to bury the hatchet over some bruises and bare knuckles. This isn’t that kind of bromance. But I’m also not so naïve to think I can make off with more than half a million dollars scot-free. People die for that amount of money.
“You can have it all back. Every cent.”
Skeptical, Duke scoffs. “Why would you do that?”
“I told you. I only wanted to mind my own business. You do the same, and we don’t have a problem.” I tip my head at him. “That includes keeping your mouth shut about me and Sloane. Agreed?”
“That’s it?”
It’s ridiculous we had to go through all this to come to a simple agreement.
“That’s it.”
After a beat, Duke shrugs. “Fine. Deal.”
Before we can awkwardly shake on it, Fenn and the guys bombard us to hurl some parting taunts at Duke and whisk me away with some other over-enthused seniors to the soccer field, where they are intent on celebrating the supposed revolution. You’d think the Berlin Wall had fallen, the way these idiots rip off their shirts and shotgun cans of beer while hollering and dancing around in the dark. They become primal animals freed from their cages, and, if anything, it makes the case why Duke’s regime held so long.
The atmosphere is contagious, however. Maybe it’s the liquor Lawson pours down my throat. Or the relief that the entire stupid ordeal is over. I indulge more than I should, basking in my own victorious radiance. It’s a party, after all.
I’m not wasted enough to forget my nightly ritual with Sloane, but my fingers are definitely unsteady as I type out a text.
“Stop texting,” Fenn orders, trying to smack the phone out of my hand.
“Fuck off. Gotta text Sloane good night.”
Lawson busts out in laughter. “Remy. Stop. You’re embarrassing yourself.”
“For real.” Fenn nods in agreement. “You’re not acting like the dude who just took out Duke Jessup, you pussy-whipped asshole.”
Despite their pawing hands, I manage to hit send before they can confiscate my phone, hoping Sloane won’t be too upset if I don’t acknowledge her response right away. The boys are clearly not going to allow me to duck out early tonight.
“Not gonna lie,” Silas says from his spot on the grass. “I was sure he had you beat.”
Fenn snorts. “Don’t sound so disappointed.”
“Duke was felled by his fatal flaw,” Lawson drawls. “The guy loves to hear himself talk.”
“What shall the crown bestow upon us as his first decree?” Fenn asks me, his tone mocking.
“Don’t even start.”
I never asked for power, nor do I want it. You’d think a bunch of spoiled delinquents would have a healthier disdain for authority.
After a couple hours or so, the group thins until only Fenn and I are left lying on the grass, watching for UFOs. Soft blades of meticulously manicured grass poke at my arms. The cold that’s threatened to break the relentless heatwave has finally arrived, the chilly dampness seeping into my back.
“I ran into Casey earlier,” I tell him. “She said you told her about you and Sloane.”
“Had to. She asked me to kiss her.” He’s got a good buzz on and still coming down from the elated high, but I can hear the pain in his voice. “Couldn’t do it to her.”