4 Asher
“I’d spent years learning how to kill monsters. Turns out the worst ones wore designer clothes and fake smiles.”
When we pull up in front of the school, it feels like every set of eyes in the parking lot immediately locks onto us.
I park my MTT Y2K between two pristine Audi R8s before climbing off and helping Scarlett off the back of the bike.
Carefully, I tilt her chin upward and remove her helmet.
Her auburn hair spills around her shoulders in messy waves as those bright blue eyes catch mine.
For half a second, her tongue darts nervously across her lips, and my body instantly reacts.
Fuck. The ten-minute ride here nearly killed me.
Having Scarlett pressed against my back with her arms wrapped tightly around my waist had given me the hardest fucking time trying to keep my thoughts under control.
I’d adjusted myself the second we got off the bike, but nothing was fixing this problem anytime soon.
And that was dangerous, because Scarlett Vale wasn’t supposed to become a distraction.
She was the assignment. My first job since getting out of Special Forces.
I grab her hand and pull her gently toward the front entrance as whispers immediately start following us through the parking lot.
“Does he know who that is?”
“Who the hell is he?”
“That’s social suicide hanging out with Scarlett Vale.”
I feel Scarlett tense beside me.
The second we step through the front doors; she lets go of my hand and looks up at me nervously.
“They’re right, you know,” she says quietly. “Everyone in this place will ostracize you if they see you hanging around me and Harper. We’re basically popularity killers around here.” Her laugh is hollow.
“If you want any kind of social life during your last three months of high school, you should probably stay away from me. I can handle myself.” She turns to walk away, but I catch her wrist and pull her gently back toward me.
“First of all,” I say calmly, “who gives a fuck what any of these uptight rich assholes think?”
Her eyes widen slightly.
“They walk around acting untouchable because mommy and daddy have money. Trust me, Red, the real world doesn’t work like that.” I step closer, lowering my voice.
“And second… who says I want a social life?” Her breath catches.
“What if I want my social life to include you?”
A faint blush spreads across her cheeks, and for a second, I almost forget why I’m actually here.
Almost, because the truth is, getting close to Scarlett isn’t optional anymore, not after last night, and after seeing her bloody and terrified in my arms last night, there’s no chance in hell I’m letting her out of my sight now.
Especially not with Celeste involved. We head into the main office to grab my class schedule and locker assignment.
Grant clearly pulled strings because every single class I have matches Scarlett’s schedule perfectly, and my locker is only a few doors down from hers.
Knowing what I know now about Celeste and her friends, that’s probably for the best.
“Here,” Scarlett says softly as she takes the schedule from my hands. “Let me see your classes so I can help you figure out where everything is. The school’s divided by subjects, so all the math classes are together, English is in another hall, science….”
She stops abruptly while staring at the paper.
“Oh.”
“What?”
“We…” She looks up at me suspiciously. “We have all the same classes.”
I force myself not to smirk.
“Well, that’s convenient.” Scarlett narrows her eyes slightly.
“Maybe they figured it would help if the new guy knew someone,” she says slowly. “But how would they know we already knew each other?”
I shrug casually.
“Guess it’s fate, Red.” She rolls her eyes, but there’s the smallest hint of a smile tugging at her lips.
“Come on,” I say, throwing my arm over her shoulders as we head toward the hallway. “Let’s get moving before we’re late.” This time, she doesn’t pull away.
After years in Special Forces and months of brutal training designed to prepare us for torture and capture, I can honestly say high school might be worse.
At Raven Hills Academy, classes are eighty minutes long, which means we only have four classes a day.
We’re currently halfway through third period when students are released for lunch, and the whispers and stares haven’t stopped once since we walked through the doors this morning. Scarlett has barely spoken all day.
“I’m gonna run to the restroom before lunch,” she says quietly as we walk down the hallway. “Harper has this lunch period too. Will you keep an eye out for her?”
“Yeah, Red. I’ll be right here.” She gives me a small nod before disappearing into the girls’ restroom.
I lean against the wall outside while texting Roman and Declan to see where they are and whether they’ll make it to the house later before the rest of the furniture arrives.
Then I hear it. A loud thud. Followed by a scream.
Every instinct inside me instantly snaps to attention.
I shove my phone into my pocket and sprint into the bathroom without thinking twice.
And what I walk into nearly sends me into a blackout rage.
Scarlett is on the floor being held down by three girls.
One has each of her arms pinned while another grips her hair, forcing her head upward.
And Celeste…
That psychotic bitch is repeatedly kicking Scarlett while laughing.
Blood streaks down the side of Scarlett’s face where the stitches in her scalp have been ripped back open.
Her hair is soaked, mascara smeared beneath terrified blue eyes as she struggles weakly against them.
Something inside me fucking snaps. I cross the room in seconds and shove Celeste so hard she crashes into the sinks with a scream.
I don’t give a single fuck that she’s a woman.
My mother taught us never to put our hands on women.
But this?
This thing in front of me isn’t a woman, she’s a fucking monster. The other girls immediately release Scarlett, who collapses hard against the tile floor. I step directly in front of her.
“Tocca di nuovo e farò sembrare l’inferno un paradiso, mi hai capito cazzo?”
I growl darkly. Even if they don’t understand, my tone says enough because for the first time since I got here, the entire room goes silent.
Because for the first time since I arrived at Raven Hills Academy, the entire room falls completely silent.
I crouch down beside Scarlett and carefully slide one arm beneath her knees and the other around her back before lifting her into my arms.
The second I do; she buries her face against my chest like she’s trying to disappear from the world.
That alone nearly sends me into another fucking rage.
I carry her out of the bathroom, and the second we step into the hallway, Harper is already there waiting.
Her eyes widen in horror when she sees the blood.
“What the hell happened?” she demands. “Move. Let me in there. I swear to God, whoever did this is going to fucking regret it.”
She tries shoving past me toward the bathroom, but I catch her arm before she can move.
“Already handled it, Spitfire,” I say tightly. “Give me your car keys. I’m not getting Scarlett home on the bike like this, and I’m damn sure not leaving her in this school another second for people to stare at her.” I say through a clenched jaw.
“Is this the kind of shit she’s been dealing with here?”
Harper’s expression darkens instantly.
“More or less,” she mutters bitterly. “But never this bad. They usually made sure not to leave marks where people could see them. They’d shove her into lockers, ruin her stuff, lock her in closets, dump food on her… psychological shit mostly.” Her eyes flash with anger.
“But Celeste is getting out of control. She’s got everyone in this school wrapped around her damn finger.”
“The school just lets this happen?” I ask incredulously.
Harper laughs humorlessly.
“They pretend it doesn’t exist. If they don’t personally witness it, they claim there’s nothing they can do.” She rolls her eyes. “And Celeste is very, very good at hiding the abuse.”
I swear under my breath. Harper reaches into her bag and tosses me her car keys.
“I’ll send someone to pick you up,” I tell her.
“No need.” A grin suddenly spreads across her face despite everything. “Just give me the keys to your bike.”
I stare at her.
“Absolutely the fuck not.”
“Oh, come on,” she says dramatically. “I’ve been riding motorcycles since I got my license. My older brother had one, and I practically grew up on the back of it. I know what I’m doing.”
She crosses her arms.
“I promise I won’t scratch your precious bike. I’ll drop it off later and check on Scar after school. No need to make your brothers come all the way out here…” She pauses, eyes narrowing mischievously. “Unless your brothers are as hot as you.”
Despite myself, I almost laugh. Almost. Instead, I toss her the keys while pointing a warning finger at her.
“If you wreck my bike, Harper, just know I’ll make you regret it.”
She flashes me a victorious grin. I carefully place Scarlett into the passenger seat of Harper’s car and buckle her in before jogging around to the driver’s side.
The second I get behind the wheel, I pull out my phone and start a conference call with Roman, Declan and Grant, because we definitely need to rethink the plan.
Celeste Vale is smarter and more calculated than any of us expected.
I’ve dealt with arms dealers, traffickers, cartel leaders, and terrorists.
But somehow an eighteen-year-old spoiled rich girl is making me question every security instinct I’ve ever had, and that tells me one thing.
This situation is a hell of a lot harder than we realized.
“Ehi, abbiamo un piccolo intoppo qui. Questa sorellastra è molto più calcolatrice di quanto ci aspettassimo. Oggi c’è stato un incidente a scuola, e prima che tu dica qualcosa o inizi a urlare, ero proprio fuori dalla porta del bagno. Sono entrato non appena ho capito cosa stava succedendo.
Questo però è il problema… non posso essere ovunque. Non posso entrare nei bagni delle ragazze o negli spogliatoi e, da quello che mi ha detto la sua migliore amica, sua sorella è diventata davvero brava a nascondersi o a trovare gli angoli ciechi della scuola.