Chapter Thirteen
Cal
I pace the classroom, thrumming with pent-up energy. Ever since yesterday afternoon, my mind has been fucked over this girl. If Trey were here, he’d bust my balls over it too. Tell me I was being a pussy.
It’s not what we do.
We don’t obsess over girls.
Trey, me, Jordy, Roan.
The Hornets toy and play, but never obsess.
The rat changed shit up for Roan and Jordy has apparently always had some voodoo claim over Roux, but this is not me.
I straighten my stupid tie, irritated that Karen gave me a lecture about professionalism between classes yesterday. Apparently she’s going to ride my ass unless I wear one. I had to borrow this shit from Dad because I don’t do ties.
Lately, I’m doing a lot of crap that’s not me.
I swung by the hospital this morning to bitch at Trey about Charlotte. I told him it was his fault for not waking up. He didn’t respond, but I imagine if he heard me, he’d be laughing on the inside.
My eyes flit over to the clock. Thirty minutes until my first class starts. I continue my pacing, my body buzzing from the several cups of coffee I’ve already had. The moment I sense another presence, I know it’s her without having to actually see her.
“You’re early,” I growl as I greedily drink her up.
Today, she wears tight-ass black leggings, pink sneakers, and a V-neck black T-shirt. All of it hugs her sexy curves. It drives me fucking mad. She sets down her bag beside her desk. Something’s different about her. I can feel it crackling in the air. Slowly, as though she’s a rabid animal, I approach her.
She turns to face me but won’t look at me. I walk up to her until her tits brush against my chest. From this angle, I get a prime view right down her shirt. I see the edges of a black, lacy bra and fuck if I don’t want to tear it off with my teeth.
“I told him no,” she whispers, her words chilling my blood. “I thought this time I was stronger. That he would hear me this one time.”
All lust-filled thoughts are pushed off a cliff as dread rumbles through me like a thunderstorm.
I grip the hair at the back of her head, tugging down so that her face is forced to look up at me. Tears cling to her lashes that bear no makeup today. Her pink, glossy bottom lip wobbles. It’s her throat that’s colored with purple bruises that has me exploding with rage.
“Who did this to you?” I demand, my voice cutting the air like razor blades. I know who did this. I fucking know. I just need to hear it.
She swallows and a tear leaks out. “Ryan.”
I gently stroke her throat, inspecting the damage. “There’s more?”
Her head pulls to the side like she wants to escape the truth, but I hold her firmly, my arm encircling her waist. She fists my tie as the tears continue to stream down her red cheeks.
“I called the cops to the house last night,” she murmurs. “A woman officer helped me file a report and encouraged me to get a restraining order against him. I’m sure his dad is going to be pissed, but I don’t care.”
She trembles in fear that has me feeling shit I have no business feeling. Possessiveness. The urge to protect and hold her. Unreal. Yet, I can’t let her go.
“What. Did. He. Do?”
She blinks hard, sending tears flinging from her lashes. “I spat the pill out.” Her eyes plead for me to believe her.
“Good girl,” I croon, hating that I’ve given her the praise, but also loving the way she leans in closer, aching for it. “What else?”
“He stuck his finger inside me.” She sobs. “It hurt.”
Against my will, I hug her to me. Sure, she fucked Trey over, but she’s Hollis’s little sister. Roux’s best friend. A motherfucking Hornet.
Ryan will pay for this.
I will destroy him.
“And?”
“And he pulled my shorts off. I, uh, I was so scared. I tried to scream.”
I stroke her soft blond hair and kiss the top of her head. “Did he…”
“No.”
“You fought him off?”
“Penny put a gun to his head.”
A bark of a laugh escapes me. I knew I liked that girl. Charlotte laughs through her tears, the sound warming cold parts of me.
“Too bad she didn’t pull the trigger,” I grumble.
“Too bad,” Charlotte agrees.
We’re silent for a moment, neither of us pulling away.
“I was terrified, Cal.”
Rather than reminding her she’s not allowed to call me that, I pet her hair like she’s mine. “You’re safe now.”
“He won’t stop,” she whispers. “A restraining order is just a piece of paper. He doesn’t care. He’s crazy.”
“I thought you had claws, English. Where are they?”
“I don’t know how to use them.”
I pull away slightly and study her tearstained face. “Maybe I ought to show you.”
“Better than the alternative,” she agrees. “I refuse to let him hurt me anymore.”
Leaning forward, I surprise us both when I nip at her bottom lip before releasing her. “That’s right, loser.” I wink at her. “You’re mine to torment. No one else’s.”
She smiles, her fingertips touching her lip, and it smacks me right in the chest. So fucking beautiful. This girl makes it really damn hard to hate her. You have to be some kind of psychopath to actually want to hurt her. I know Ryan’s type. He’s another version of Wes. They get something in their warped heads and don’t stop until they’ve ruined it completely.
Ryan is going to feel every painful thing he’s done to her tenfold.
I’ll make damned sure of it.
It’s nearly seven by the time I drive past Howie’s Hamburgers. Man, I miss that place. If I wasn’t so blind with my purpose, I’d stop by and grab a burger.
“That place smells good,” Roan says, practically salivating all over my window.
“It’s Trey’s favorite. We used to eat there almost every day.”
Jordy stays silent from the back seat. It means a lot that he came. I know what a risk this puts him in, but he’s a Hornet and we have Hornet shit to take care of.
“Where is this place?” Roan asks. “Are we close?”
“Yeah. Everyone who’s anyone hangs out at the Alpha Gamma Rho house,” I tell them, heading toward our old frat house. “Corvallis Chaos.”
“Keepin’ the tradition alive,” Jordy says. “Creating Hornet chaos all over Oregon.”
“Like you weren’t up to some shit at OHP?” I taunt.
Jordy laughs. “With Daddy Hornet.”
Roan shakes his head. “Don’t call him that.”
“He’s your daddy and the OG Hornet,” Jordy throws back. “At least I know where you got your winning personality from.”
Roan tries to punch him, but Jordy is quick, anticipating his move. They both laugh but sober up when I pull up behind a few cars. We grow serious, knowing what we need to do.
“Hollis is going to kill me,” Roan grumbles. “But then he’ll also suck my dick because it’s for a good cause.”
Jordy groans. “Keep letting that shit slip into conversation and I’ll start telling you how many times in a row I can get your sister to come on my tongue.”
“You fucking asshole,” Roan growls.
“Enough, children,” I chide. “It’s time to go talk to this motherfucker.” I climb out of the truck and pull my baseball bat out from beneath the seat. “And by talk, I mean scare the shit out of him.”
Roan and Jordy back me up as I stride across the lawn to the new frat president for Alpha Gamma Rho, Zayne. As soon as he sees me, he sets his beer down and his brows lift.
“I didn’t do it,” he jokes.
“Where’s Ryan Cunningham?” I demand.
The amusement fades and his eyes flash with anger. “Probably trying to get into some bitch’s pants with a pocket full of roofies.”
“Where?”
“Last I saw him, he was inside. Kitchen.”
“Thanks, man.”
I stalk toward the front door when Zayne calls out after me. “Don’t get blood in the grout.”
“Ain’t promising shit,” I call out over my shoulder, as I lift my bat to tap the front door. “Little pig, little pig, let me in.”
Jordy reaches past me, twisting the knob. I kick the door open and search the space for this motherfucker. He’s standing in the kitchen in between two girls, grinning at them like he didn’t just try to rape my fucking girl . His eyes widen when he sees us. He grabs one of the girls, pushing her toward us as he takes off out the back door. I sprint after him, whipping him against the side of the head with my bat, using not nearly as much force as I want to. He topples over and tries to scramble to his feet.
I swing again, hitting him across his upper arm. He howls in pain but still manages to hop over the outer railing on the back porch. We Hornets fly over the railing, hot on his trail. Roan sprints past me, tackling him. Since he’s a fucking brute fireman, he manages to get this scrawny asshole trapped in his grip. He stands back up, keeping him pinned to his chest, forcing Ryan to face me.
I hand Jordy my bat and crack my neck. “You messed with the wrong bitch.”
“Fuck you,” Ryan snarls.
My fist swings hard, slamming into his jaw. He groans and works his jaw, cursing at me under his breath. I shake out the pain in my fist and then slam it into his gut. A crowd begins to form around us, but no one does shit. Ryan clearly doesn’t have any allies here.
“My dad will destroy you,” Ryan threatens.
“He can fucking try,” I spit out, landing another punch, this time right between the eyes.
Blood bursts from his nose and his head sways.
“You need to get something straight, Cuntingham. Charlotte’s a Hornet. You’re shit on the bottom of my foot. You touch one of us again and I’ll cut your dick off.”
Ryan curses, clearly not understanding my threat.
I’m serious as fuck.
“Anyone got a pocketknife?” I bark out.
Ryan glares at me, still unafraid.
“I got you, bro,” Zayne says as he appears, offering me the one from his pocket.
Panic finally starts to surface in Ryan’s eyes. “What the fuck are you going to do?”
I undo the top of his jeans and shove them down. He howls and tries to kick me, but Jordy and Zayne are quick to assist, kneeling to grab his legs. I saw through his boxers with the knife until I expose his flaccid cock.
“Don’t fucking touch me!” he bellows. “I said fucking stop!”
“What’s that? Stop? Are you telling me no? I’m sorry,” I mock. “I don’t understand the word.”
“Cal, please,” he begs like a pussy.
“You weren’t in the mood for granting Charlotte mercy last night.” I skim over the welts on his arm. Claw marks. My girl put up a fight just like she said. “I’m not feeling gracious either, motherfucker.”
He starts to piss because he’s fucking scared. Jordy curses, but doesn’t let go. I wait for this little bitch to stop pissing before I grab his wet dick. He screams in horror when I pull his dick taut and begin carving the letters C-A-L along his shaft. His howls of pain don’t stop me. Nothing stops me. I want him to remember every painful second of this moment. Once I’ve finished, I stand, getting right in his punk-ass face.
“Good luck explaining to your dad why you have another man’s name carved into your dick,” I grind out. “Hopefully it’ll serve as a good reminder that if you touch Charlotte fucking English, I will finish what I started and cut your motherfucking cock off.”
He whimpers. “I get it. I swear.”
I pat his head. “Good boy. Now clean yourself up and warn all these people they better not say shit. Your cock depends on it.”
Jordy and Zayne step away from him. Roan shoves him to the grass and kicks him in the stomach.
“Touch my sister-in-law again and we won’t go so easy. We don’t give a shit who your dad is,” Roan growls.
We leave him sobbing on the ground. I try to hand the knife back to Zayne and he laughs.
“Fucking keep it,” he says.
I follow him into the kitchen. After I clean off the blood and piss, I tuck away my souvenir and smile at Zayne.
“We were just headed for burgers. Want to come with us?”
He smirks. “Let me grab my wallet.”
As soon as he walks off, Jordy shakes his head, grinning. “Your name?”
“Rapist shithead was too long for his baby dick,” I explain. “Plus, I don’t want him to ever forget who the fuck he messed with.”