15. Juliet
15
JULIET
I don’t wait for him to realize my plan. I take off running. My sneakers squeak against the dirty, cracked pavement as I round Gio and sprint toward the opposite side of the parking lot. The dried sweat sticking to my skin that once cooled, heats up once more.
“Fuck!” Gio curses a split second before the sound of his heavy footsteps follows me.
I glance over my shoulder to see his hulking, big ass body barreling right towards me faster than I anticipated a man of his size to be able to run. “Shit. Shit. Shit.” Pushing more power into my thighs, I pick up the pace.
Exhaustion clings to me and I regret how hard I went in the gym before this. All along, though, I hope he went harder and that it makes it more difficult to catch up with me. If I had to guess, he and the Scorpion Kings have a plan to fuck me up—no doubt Megan has been hounding them to do it and I just gave them the perfect opening.
My feet pound against the loose debris in the parking lot as I cut around the bowling alley and dive across the street. A speeding Camry honks, barely missing me, but thankfully cutting off Gio. His loud “Motherfucker!” is music to my ears.
Throwing my head back with a laugh, I call behind me. “Serves you right, asshole!”
“Goddamn it, Juliet!” Gio’s voice follows me further as I continue my way up the street, running until I swear my lungs are going to burst.
My heartbeat races in my ears, throbbing in time with the rush of my blood through my body. Adrenaline courses through me. I laugh again as I catch sight of a chain link fence separating the end of one alleyway with an opening on the other end. Right next to it, however, is a double-wide dumpster. I hang a right into the alley, listening to the sound of Gio’s filthy mouth at my back as I do.
“When I fucking catch you, Prep Girl, I’m gonna spank your ass so fucking red!”
“I’d like to see you try, Playboy!” I scream back.
A side door slams open and a man in a stained white kitchen uniform ambles out with two trash bags in each hand. As he heaves them up, finally spotting me, I dive around him and hook my hands onto the top of the dumpster. Using my momentum, I launch my foot onto the edge, praying I don’t fall in as I reach for the top of the fence just beyond it. My fingers connect with thin metal wiring. With relief, I sail over the top of the fence, landing rather hard on the other side. I ignore the reverberation of pain up my calves. I’m not stupid enough to stop now. Gio’s athletic enough that the fence won’t be much of a hindrance. It’s just something to slow him down.
Think, Jules. Think! Where the hell can I go to lose him? Do I go back to the gym? No, I don’t want Cory to get involved. If I let Cory protect me once then I’ll keep relying on him again and again. I need to figure this shit out myself.
Panting for breath, I slow my run as I make it out of the other end of the alley. Scanning my surroundings, I spot a park to the left and just as I pivot in its direction, a roaring SUV with a rusted-out underside skids up on the sidewalk nearly colliding with me. I jump out of the way as the vehicle jolts to a halt and the passenger's side door opens.
Horror descends as a familiar face appears around the hood as Nolan circles towards me. I back up, stopping as I slam into a second chest. Gio’s hands land on my upper arms and grip tight. “I told you to stop running, Prep Girl,” he heaves.
“Out of breath much?” I counter. In my head, though, I’m freaking the fuck out. How the hell had he managed to call and tell them where I was heading as he ran after me? Nolan opens the back door and gestures inside.
“Nope.” I back up further into Gio’s chest, shaking my head. “No way in hell am I getting into that car.”
“We’re not giving you a choice, Princess,” Nolan replies. “I suggest you don’t fight it.”
“And I suggest you fuck off! ”
“ G. ” That’s all Nolan says, and yet the sheer tone of that single syllable and letter is enough to let me know that he’s done with what he likely considers my bullshit.
Gio picks me up off the ground and in a matter of seconds, I find myself thrown over a big meaty shoulder and hauled towards the back of the SUV. “Oh fuck no!” I buck against Gio’s hold and he curses again, slapping a hand over my ass more to keep me anchored onto his shoulder than to cop a feel, but indignation still rips through me.
“Hands off!” I shriek, bucking again, punching him in the back of the head.
This was exactly what I feared when I made the switch from Prep to Public—the nightmares come roaring back. Hands reaching out of the dark, grabbing on to my limbs, tearing my clothes. Teeth sinking into my flesh. Disgustingly lewd moans filtering into my ears.
None of it’s real. It’s not there. It’s just the phantom of my nightmares, but the trigger is obvious. Gio’s fucking hand on my ass. I struggle harder, fighting him and the feelings that are rising up within me faster and faster. My blood boils. The earlier adrenaline that had been waning comes back, crashing over me like a tidal wave.
I can’t breathe, but I don’t let that stop me. I punch the back of his head over and over again. I lift my legs trying to kick him or knee him in the face. I don’t care if it means I’ll land face-first on the pavement. I don’t care if I get punched back or bruised. I just need his hand off me or I swear I’m going to throw up.
“Jesus, for fuck’s sake!” Gio finally releases me, but only to toss me into the backseat of the SUV. I crawl away from him on my hands and ass until my spine slams into the opposite door.
Stay calm, I try to urge myself. Not that it does much good. Bile threatens to come up my throat. I’m honestly shocked it hasn’t made its entrance yet.
Breathe. In and out. Count. Five. I reach for the door’s handle. I need to get out. Four. Low masculine voices bite at each other behind me. Three. Locked. The door’s locked. Fuck. Two. A body hops into the backseat with me. Not Gio. One. The front passenger door opens and closes and the SUV pulls away from the curb.
I close my eyes and breathe deeply through my nose. I picture all of my emotions and bundle them together. Rage. Hate. Fear. Anxiety. I squeeze them all into a ball and stuff them down, deep down. Further and further until I can’t feel them anymore.
A firm hand touches my shoulder and when I expect to jerk back automatically, I surprise myself by not moving at all. Instead, my eyes open and I watch as Nolan leans around me, grabs the seatbelt, and pulls it over my chest before clipping it into place. His hand grazes my breast, but he doesn't stop or cop a feel. He just glares at me as if he hates my guts and can't believe he's doing this.
Why are they doing this?
When I speak, my voice is smooth and monotone. “Where are you taking me?” I demand.
Gio looks over the back of the passenger seat in front of me with a wild, annoyed look. He’s holding on to the back of his head and scowling. “You just lost your shit on me and now you’re calm?”
I frown at him. “That’s what you get for kidnapping me, asshole,” I reply.
My eyes flash to the man in the driver's seat. I recognize him now as the same one who stopped me in the back hallway of The Dionysus Lounge after my interview. He doesn't say a word to me, but he does release a low chuckle as if he finds my words amusing.
Gio ignores my words and rounds on his friend. “Don’t fucking laugh at that, Lex,” he snaps. “The bitch damn near gave me a concussion!”
Lex goes still and his smile drops away. Slowly, as Nolan sits back and sighs now that I’m buckled in, Lex turns his head to Gio and scowls. “Don’t call her that,” he growls, his voice deepening impossibly until I swear I can feel a reverberating bass deep in my ears.
Silence stretches between the two of them, sliding through the vehicle until it’s filled with a strange sort of tension. I wait a beat and when none of the men say anything, I decide enough is enough. I jerk on the door handle, recapturing all of their attention.
“Let me out,” I demand coldly.
In response, Lex turns his gaze back to the windshield and pulls on his seatbelt. Nolan shifts next to me and reclines against the seat.
“No,” is all he says.
Scowling, I jerk harder on the handle, wishing I could break it off. My fingers squeeze the hard plastic to keep myself from planting a fist in the man’s face. He’s built like a Greek god, all lean muscles and chiseled features, and I have no doubt I’d bruise my knuckles if I tried.
A thundering rumble from overhead keeps me from speaking again and I frown as I glance out of the window just as the sky opens up and it begins to rain. My hard grip on the door handle eases, but only a little. I cast a dark look at the man in front of me, but Gio is looking at himself in the pull-down visor mirror, turning his head one way and then the other.
When his eyes finally connect with mine in the reflection, his narrow. “Thank you would be the appropriate response,” he gripes.
“ Thank you? ” I scoff.
Before I can tell him where he can shove that thought, his irritated expression morphs into amusement and he replies with a swift, “You’re welcome.”
I gape at him, my mouth opening and closing for several seconds as I try and fail to muster an appropriate response. What do I say to that? He certainly knows I wasn’t actually thanking him. So, instead, I merely release the handle and sit back in my seat, folding my arms as I glare from Gio to Nolan and then to the third and final man in their trio. I start a bit when I notice that instead of keeping his gaze firmly trained ahead as he meanders down the back alley we're stopped in, Lex’s eyes are focused on me in the rearview mirror.
What I once thought were dull brown eyes are actually not brown at all … they’re a dark silver. Deep and covered in a layer of smoke that it took me until now to realize it. Brown is a normal color, it’s the most common. Perhaps that’s why I assumed his were brown. Now, I know better. Lex’s eyes are the color of a switchblade, and they’re just as threatening.
Unable to help myself, I look away and out the window to my right.
Moments pass and it isn’t until the familiar sight of my apartment building and the shitty green and brown pool nearby comes into view that I realize they’re taking me home. I sit up straighter as Lex pulls through the parking lot and slows over a few speed bumps before he finds a parking spot in front of my building.
The second the car stops, I unbuckle my seatbelt and reach for the door handle. Pausing just before my fingers touch it, I look back over my shoulder at Nolan. I expect him to be facing forward, ignoring my presence even though it’s clear the three of them planned this. Nolan isn’t ignoring me, though. Cinnamon eyes stare at me—through me—as my hand hovers over the door handle. I blow out a long breath.
“Say it,” I tell him, lowering my hand with a scowl.
He arches one brow and I roll my eyes.
“I’m not stupid,” I say in response to his unspoken question. “You obviously have something you want to get off your chest. You wouldn’t have your boy kidnap me for a quick ride home to avoid the rain out of the goodness of your hearts.” In fact, I doubt any of them have any good inside their cold, dead hearts, but I don’t say as much.
Nolan straightens in his seat and nods to Lex. A moment later, the telltale sound of the door locks disengaging fills the quiet. I narrow my eyes on Nolan and wait.
“Consider this your last warning, Juliet,” he says quietly. “If you want to survive the rest of this school year, stop making waves. Keep your head down and don’t pick any fights.”
That's why they chased my ass down and kidnapped me? To warn me off? I glare at the back of Lex’s head, stewing in my rage. No. This wasn’t just a verbal warning, it's a physical one. A silent ‘look what we can do’ as if they're telling me that they can kidnap me off the street and no one around will do a thing. Because no one in Silverwood cares about the daughter of the town’s villain.
I close my eyes, not because I’m afraid, but because I can feel a fresh bloom of rage pulsing inside me. When I open them again, I fix him with a dark glare, ignoring the two sets of eyes on me from the front seat, and lean close to the King of the Scorpions. Closer and closer I draw until I swear I can smell the underlying spice of his aftershave in my nostrils.
“Newsflash, asshole,” I murmur quietly, “I’m not the one making waves. If I need to defend myself, I will. Nothing will stop that—not the school, not this bumfuck town, and certainly not you or your boys.”
Nolan’s nostrils flare. “I know you didn’t create the ad,” he replies coolly. “But your response to it—you may not be aware, but we’re on the team at Silverwood Public and we need our teammates to remain unharmed for their part in our games. Keep your hands to yourself in the future.”
“ No. ”
He stiffens at my one-word answer and then he blinks. “No?” He says the word back to me slowly, as if the sound of it confuses him.
“No,” I repeat. “You can’t tell me what to do, Nolan. I’m not one of your minions.” I cast a scathing look at Gio and Lex when both look over their shoulders at us. “If someone comes after me,” I continue, returning my gaze to their leader, “I’m going to give as good as I get. You tell your boys to stay off my back and they won’t get hurt.”
Nolan unbuckles himself and moves closer to me, pressing me back into the car door. “You’re ballsy for an ex-prep girl,” he says quietly, threateningly. “You do realize I could make you listen to me, don’t you?”
The idea of Nolan Pierce making me do anything only leads to one conclusion. He's threatening to fuck me to get me to do what he says? Bull-fucking-shit. I laugh, but the sound is hollow. The only thing I actually hear is the hard and fast beat of my heart rate speeding back up. “You think so?”
“I know so.” Nolan deadpans. He lifts two fingers and captures a tendril of my hair that has fallen in front of my face. Carefully sifting the strand between the pads of his thumb and forefinger, he stares back at me. “No one gives a shit about the girl whose dad destroyed half of the town’s finances,” he says and I barely manage not to flinch at the words. “If I were to strip you bare right here and now, no one would come save you. I could do such awful things to you, Juliet Donovan. I could make you like it or I could make you hate it.”
“I would hate it,” I snap back, fear at his words slamming through me even as my hands curl into fists. “There’s no fucking way on Earth you could ever make me like your hands on me.”
“Never say never, Jules,” Nolan says, shortening my name as if we’re friends. He continues to stroke my hair, almost thoughtfully. “I can make many women love things they might not otherwise want.”
“ Not. Me. ” I hiss the two words through clenched teeth.
He smirks as if he’s not convinced. “ Nolan. ” That one word comes from the front, from Lex. It sounds like both a warning and a plea, and immediately, it makes the man in front of me release my hair and sit back.
“If you don’t get out now,” Nolan says, casually, “we’ll take that to mean you agree to pay for this little ride.”
I scoff and reach for the handle. “Oh yeah?” I snark. “With what money? You seem to forget, but I’m not a princess anymore.”
The door handle clicks under the pressure of my hand and it swings out. Rain slaps the nape of my neck as I inch back out of the vehicle rather than turn and hop out like any normal person. I just can’t do it. I can’t turn my back when I know a predator—three of them, technically—is watching me.
Nolan grins as he leans out to grip the handle. “If you don’t have cash, princess, then there’s only one other way for you to pay,” he replies. “With your pussy, of course—or if you want to give all of us a go, your pussy … your ass … and your pretty little mouth.”
With that comment from him, I can’t seem to get out of the car fast enough. The second my sneakers hit the wet pavement, I turn and whirl away from them. The sound of two men’s laughter echoes back to me as I rush for my building. Nolan and Gio’s amusement follows me up the outside staircase. Lex’s on the other hand … isn’t there. He doesn’t laugh with his friends at the thought of force-fucking me.
As I reach the top of the staircase and the railing that looks out over the parking lot, I pause and look down. Through the windshield of the beat-up SUV, I see Lex’s gray eyes staring back at me with that impenetrable gaze of his. A shiver skates down my spine and I hoof it to the end of the row, not stopping this time until I’m inside my apartment with the door shut and locked behind me.