Page 122 of Raise Hell

Twenty-Four

“I had a fucking plan!”

Nolan doesn’t bother to look repentant as he shrugs. “A public breakup wasn’t going to be enough, and you know it. You might be mean, but nothing you could say would have broken her spirit. We had to do something that would grind her down into the dirt.”

He might be right, but that doesn’t mean I’m okay with what he did.

I glare at him. “You went too far.”

“Doesn’t matter. It worked.”

Olivia Pratt is a liar and a threat, but it’s hard to think of any sin worthy of this. “That video was supposed to be a secret. We’re going to catch hell when the alumni find out that you shared it.”

“Not as much as if Olivia Pratt was still on campus when they showed up. You know that.”

Vaughn wouldn’t have shown the video to him. “How did you even find out about it?”

Nolan shrugs. “The walls around here aren’t as thick as you think. And we all forget to lock our doors occasionally.”

He must have stolen the phone from Vaughn’s room and sent himself the video.

It takes a real piece of shit to watch something like that and then decide to show it in public.

Olivia had to go, but this wasn’t the way to do it.

My hands stay clenched at my sides as I resist the urge to punch him. “I had it handled.”

“Then you should be happy it’s over and done with. Olivia won’t show her face here again. No girl with half a brain would.” Nolan picks up a nearly full beer and sniffs the rim before bringing the bottle to his lips and chugging what’s left of it. “Maybe that’s your problem. You just don’t like that I managed to do what you couldn’t, Mr. President.”

“Fuck you, Nolan.”

“Only if you wrap it up first. I know where you’ve been.”

I shove him back, furious for reasons I can’t put into words.

Cole rushes across the room. He jumps in between us just as Nolan lunges for me.

“What the hell, guys? I thought we were both on the same side.”

Nolan backs off with a glare. “Tell that to lover boy over here. He’s the one who got his panties all in a fucking twist.”

“Showing that video crossed a line.”

“You’re both right.” Cole looks from one of us to the other. “But it doesn’t matter, now. It’s over, and we got what we wanted. Olivia won’t show her face at St. Bart’s again.”

“Unless this is what makes her go to the police,” I argue.

“And we’ll have the video as proof that any contact she had with Havoc House was entirely voluntary.” Nolan sounds so smug that I want to break all his teeth. “Either way, we win.”

Except, I don’t feel like a winner.

Cole opens his mouth, then closes it without saying anything. His gaze fixes on something over my shoulder. I turn to see what has caught his attention.

Felicia steps into the living room, her expression more bullish than I’ve ever seen.

The party ended quickly after Olivia ran out. Showing that video definitely killed the mood. Everyone filtered out within the next half-hour, leaving the place empty of anyone who isn’t a part of Havoc House.

So what the hell is my sister doing here?

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