Page 121 of Cruel Kings

Those idiotic jocks from the hockey team nearly tore her apart. The image of her being forced down on her knees rose in my mind. At first, Corey and I weren’t even aware it was Milla.

We simply heard the cries of a girl and decided to check it out.Thank fuck, I thought silently. If we didn’t interrupt at that exact point, they’d have taken full advantage of having her all to themselves.

My heart pounded from fear. No one knew how easy it was to force Milla into submission other than me. For the first time, I realized how much she needed us to protect her.

“Do you want some coffee?” Corey’s voice broke me out of my thoughts.

“No,” said Milla, looking strangely distracted. “I need a shower.”

“Why don’t you sit first?” Corey suggested.

She shook her head, staring at the wall behind Corey. Without another word, she took off his jacket and let it drop to the floor. Turning away, she headed toward the bathroom in the far corner of the room.

Corey glanced at me. “She’s not okay.”

“I know.”

He sank into a chair and closed his eyes. “It was a close call,” he said in a low voice. “Can you imagine what would have happened if we just ignored them?”

“It was fucking luck,” I said. “We rarely hang out with the frats from Kappa D. If we didn’t step out to get more beer, we’d never have come across Milla and those fucktards.”

Corey opened his eyes and stared up at the ceiling. “I don’t like what’s happening,” he said slowly. “Noah’s turned Milla into a piece of meat for all the shitheads on campus. They all think they’ve got a right to her now.”

“We’ve got to protect her.”

Corey sat straighter and fixed me with a strange look.

“What?” I mouthed.

“Noah. How do you think he’ll react? He’s always been touchy about us brothers sticking together.”

“He believed hurting Milla would get Eva out of our lives,” I said. “That hasn’t happened and I doubt it will. You’ve seen the way Dad is with her. He loves her.”

Corey made a disgusted face. “Eva’s not too bad, really. Wish she could’ve found a better man than our dad to marry. Then, Milla wouldn’t be our stepsister and our lives wouldn’t be so fucked up.”

“Maybe that’s the reason Milla’s stayed quiet all this time,” I said, finally understanding why Milla put up with everything we put her through without saying a word. “She doesn’t want to ruin her mom’s happiness.”

“Noah doesn’t understand any of this,” said Corey. “He’s intent on destroying her. Our brother thinks he’s so smart, that he’s figured everything out. He’s a fucking moron.”

“We need to find a way to get her away from here,” I said in a grim tone. “Once she’s gone, we can do some damage control around campus.”

“Noah’s got exams in the coming weeks,” Corey said thoughtfully. “He’s going to be busy.”

I gave a nod. “Milla’s the same. She wouldn’t have classes to run to.”

“How about we kidnap her and take her to the cabin by the lake?” His green eyes shone. “It’s quiet out there. She can do her revisions and one of us will always be around to keep an eye on her.”

“Let’s not tell Noah,” I said, grinning.

Corey’s lips stretched into an identical evil grin. “He’ll go crazy without knowing where she’s gone. Out of all of us, he’s the one who’s obsessed with Milla the most.”

“He deserves it,” I said.

Corey made a humming sound and leaned back against his chair. After a while, he checked his watch and glanced toward the bathroom door.

“What’s taking her so long?” Corey asked. “It’s been over twenty minutes.”

“Maybe she’s soaking in the bath,” I said.

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