Chapter 18 #3
“What a disrespectful fuckboy, that Bohnes,” Nisha grumbles, gesturing at me. “Go on now. Get cleaned up. Chop-chop. We have business to take care of today, oh humble Queen of the Crimson Crew.”
“Fuck you,” I laugh, lifting my gaze from the sink to the mirror.
The same old Scarlett stares back at me. Big brown eyes. Long dark lashes. Parted lips.
“What do you want out of Chet?” I look over at Nisha, having just caught sight of a lovesick glimmer in my reflection. There are sparkles in my eyes. It’s the human side of me, peeking out. That sneaky other half. The rest of me is a bloodthirsty demon. I wish I had a red spade tail to swish.
“What do I want?” Nisha’s staring back at me with a question in her own eyes.
What’s our crew’s motto? Don’t fuck with us and we won’t fuck with you.
That’s always been it. We were fucked with.
A nest of pretty girl hornets. “What I want is to have Lucy back. What we need is for this to be over with quickly. What we crave is his pain.” She shrugs her shoulders, draped in a gold puffer jacket.
“You’re the boss, so I trust your judgement. ”
I exhale and offer up a single nod. Shit. I can’t argue that. I look back at the mirror and try to imagine sending Bastian into the club looking for a date. Allowing Chet to put him in a car. Assuming we can follow them. Assuming we can make sure Basti isn’t harmed before we all descend on them.
Once Chet is alone with Basti, that’ll be our chance to get him without Jonas butting in.
A victim of the Crimson Crew’s vengeful ghosts, like the ones I admire from old folklore. Murderous ghosts.
“We’ll kill all of his security and then…
” I don’t go any further with that. I want to get creative in the moment.
Like, really just feel it all out when the time comes.
That feeling of emotional frostbite returns to my fingers as I slip into a stall and clean up, switching into a pair of (ding-ding-ding) Prescott high gym sweats.
Hot. Now everyone will have to wonder if I had sex on campus or if I’m just suffering under the blood moon.
“Bring me that girl, Stacey Langford.” I step out of the stall with the bloody pants folded over my arm.
I have an idea in mind for these. As in, who it is that’s going to clean them.
“I’ll go over the school with her from top to bottom.
Give her all the keys. Beat up Officer Herpes together, so he’ll respect her.
That sort of thing. Oh, and I want to talk to that girl, True. ”
“On it, babe,” Nisha says, opening the bathroom door to find three men standing there.
The fourth one is…I hear movement in the ceiling and sigh.
Bohnes is up there, and I only heard him because he wants me to.
He’s my Nightmare, and I’m his. This is just how we roll. We’re both huge red flags, I get it.
“Here, Doki-Doki Boy, you can be in charge of washing these. Bet ya have plenty of experience getting blood out of fabric.” I hand them over to Ash.
It’s halfway meant to be a joke and also…
not. He takes them readily, draping them over his own arm as Alexei stands stiffly beside him, desperate not to touch anything in this horrible place.
“You’re not wrong about that,” Ash admits, almost sheepishly. “I’ve been cleaning up blood since, God, before I can even remember.”
“If the devil exists, then he lived inside your brother,” Widow growls, still holding my fucking purse.
It looks ridiculous slung over his shoulder, and the best part is that he doesn’t care.
Denim-fleece jacket undone. Abs and pecs peeking between the halves of the fabric. Cigarette hanging out of his mouth.
The way he looks down at me from harvest moon eyes, it’s a knockout.
“If the devil exists, then he lives inside my father,” Ash whispers crazily under his breath.
I lift a brow as an old ceiling tile crashes to the floor.
Bohnes drops down on top of it, cracking it to pieces under his black boots.
He stands up straight, dressed in a black trench coat and a muscle tank with a skull on it, ivy dripping from its eyes.
I wait for him to wipe off the dust before I start talking.
“Don’t interfere with my duties today or I’ll be pissed. I’m training the next generation. Might not be enough, but it’s what I’ve got time for.” I think I’ll give True over to Stacey, help her build a girl gang base in the school before she ever gets here.
“Let Prescott rot for all I give a fuck,” Bohnes remarks, waving his hand dismissively, like he didn’t just ninja drop out of the ceiling.
“It’s not our problem,” Alexei agrees, adjusting the button on his leather glove and giving another group of students a warning look.
They stay well on their side of the hallway as they pass, whispering about the legendary Marie.
He’s dressed in a suit that’s worth more than a teacher’s yearly salary.
Every student knows he’s part of the mob.
The staff, too. Every student also still calls him Marie to his face.
“Marie, if you’re hiring, my brothers and I want in.” A pair of boys—I know everyone, this is Sticks and Manny—strut past. Prescott hot. That special sort of inked, broken boy that we craft so well around here. Muah. Prime Prescott beef. Should I introduce a few to Emma? Is that mean? Or a favor?
“You’ve looked at them long enough,” Widow snaps, throwing my purse back at me and taking off after the boys. Probably to offer them jobs. He won’t be gone long. I can already see him throwing looks at me over his shoulder. Simp. Stalker. Call it what you will.
“As long as I’m with you, I don’t care what we do today.” Ash is staring me down, that same obsession-in-the-rain look that he pulls off so well. Death is the only barrier that could keep us apart. Even then, it’d be short-lived.
“Are all four of you stalkers? That ain’t romantic.
That’s gross.” Nisha scowls as I take her by the shoulders and encourage her to walk away.
She does, but she isn’t happy about it, throwing a glare over her shoulder.
She and Hype probably have a healthy relationship going on, one where it’s normal to go into a room and lock the door behind you.
Not us.
No fucking way am I letting these men position themselves in a way that I can’t immediately access them.
That’s not allowed—ever.
I move back over to my lovers, arms crossed. I don’t run errands. That’s the perk of being the boss. I’ll wait here until Nisha gets someone to go grab Stacey. She doesn’t run errands either. That’s the perk of being the lieutenant.