Page 58 of Raise Hell

Twelve

“Okay, tell me the plan again,”Nolan insists, a little too gleefully as he leans over the table to stare at me. “I want every gory detail.”

I groan into my Cheerios. “This isn’t that complicated, man.”

“I just want to hear it again. You’ve got me twittering in my undercarriage.”

“Why don’t you just lay off?” Vaughn grumbles as he comes into the kitchen. “There has to be something more interesting to talk about than Olivia fucking Pratt.”

Of all of us, Vaughn definitely seems the least interested in whatever horrible thing I have planned for Olivia.

When I told them that I didn’t feel up to going to the dining hall this morning for breakfast, I didn’t think that would mean they’d all stay behind to bother me. Instead of peacefully eating a bowl of cereal by myself, I’m getting grilled with questions.

“One more time,” Nolan insists with a feral grin. “Just for fun.”

“It’s not that complicated,” I grouse, annoyed. “Treat the garbage girl like a princess, make her fall in love with me, and then humiliate her so completely that she never wants to show her face at St. Bart’s again. She’ll be out of here by midterms.”

“That is diabolical.” Cole walks into the room, munching loudly on a bag of chips.

To him, every time of day is appropriate for junk food.

“It’s necessary,” Nolan snaps back.

Cole heads straight for the fridge and yanks it open. “If you say so, but this girl is sounding like she’ll be more trouble than all this is worth. Just leaving her alone might be the better option, before this blows up in our faces.”

“Until the moment she remembers she got attacked at a Havoc House party and implicates one of us, or all of us,” Nolan scoffs. “Girls make up stories. They can’t even help themselves. You guys remember what happened to the Duke lacrosse team. We don’t have to be guilty for this chick to totally screw us all over.”

“She has to go,” Vaughn insists.

The two of them in agreement about anything means the world really has turned upside down.

“Maybe,” Cole acknowledges. “None of us need to be taken down over some chick crying big bad wolf about nothing.”

I hold my tongue on the rebuttal I want to make.

Disagreeing won’t serve a purpose, but that doesn’t mean I’m entirely on their side.

My mind flashes back to that night in the woods when I found Olivia unconscious and bleeding. Nothing about what happened to her requires exaggeration.

“The police aren’t investigating, at least not in a way we have to worry about,” I point out. “My father made it clear that he would appreciate being informed of any new developments. The alumni have pumped enough money into their department over the years to keep them on our side. If Olivia so much as makes a statement, we’ll be the first to know about it.”

Vaughn’s lip quirks. “Trust Anton Van Koch to know how to deal with hysterical women.”

My father’s exploits have always been fodder for the society pages. He has never met a woman he considered off-limits, whether she happened to be the wife of his business partner or half his age and employed by the local gentleman’s club.

I’ve always wondered how he convinced a woman as amazing as my mother to give him the time of day.

“He does have experience throwing money at problems of the female persuasion until they go away.” I don’t let myself get angry at the things my father does, not anymore. It’s too much wasted energy.

“You’re on your fourth stepmother at this point, right?” Nolan comments. “And they keep getting younger and younger. A few more years, and you’ll be dating the same women that your father is. Might want to keep your future wife on a short leash during holiday visits at home. Unless you’re into sharing, of course.”

I flick a wet piece of cereal at him. “Don’t put your weird fetishes on me, man.”

“Speaking of fetishes, back to the subject at hand.” Nolan moves his hand like he’s forcing a girl’s head down between his legs. “You fuck her yet?”

Vaughn groans. “Can we talk about literally anything else?”

“I think Olivia Pratt has taken up enough of our time for one day,” I answer, taking a huge bite of cereal so my mouth is full.

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