Page 82 of Hidden Empire

“Actually, why tell her dad when she’s got four brothers right here,” Ivan suggests, staring down at the man at his feet like he’s nothing.

“What a good idea,” Armani calls out, stepping through the crowd.

A hush to the whispering and discussion around us transcends. People watch Armani with eager, bloodthirsty eyes. They want him to destroy this guy further, but I really hope that he doesn’t. We have to tone this down before it gets even more out of control. I can’t deal with Ivan or my brother getting themselves into trouble that they can’t come back from. It would be too much.

More than that, I wish I could go up there and give my best friend a hug. He just absolutely demolished someone in a fight because of a slimy comment. He could have let that go, but he didn’t. He defended me without a second thought.

“Stay down,” Armani warns as the guy tries to get to his feet. My brother doesn’t have to lay hands on him, the demand works well enough.

“I hear you like vulnerable girls,” he sneers, making his disdain evident. “How does it feel to be the most vulnerable person in the room now?”

“I didn’t say shit—” the guy tries to argue.

“A weak motherfucker and a liar at that,” Armani tsks, shaking his head while he circles the man like a wolf with its prey. “How sad for you.”

From the corner of my eye, I watch as Ivan ducks out of the cafeteria, not looking back. I desperately want to chase after him to make sure he’s okay, but I can’t. Dmitri will take care of him, surely. Besides, there’s hardly a scratch on him.

“Just hit me and get it over with,” he snaps, gritting his teeth.

Armani laughs. “Oh, I’m not going to hit you. Running your mouth about my little sister earns you way more than a quick beating. No, I’m going to give you a choice.”

The guy groans, clutching his side in pain. “I don’t give a fuck about your sister or your stupid fucking games. Piss off.”

“Option one,” Armani continues, ignoring the man’s request. “You take the emergency boat home tonight, and I’ll give you a head start until the semester ends, but after that, I’m coming for you.”

Oh god, this is a horrible time to be high.

“Fuck you,” he spits.

“I wasn’t fucking done,” Armani grits out. I know he wants to hit him, but he can’t be seen beating up a student. Let alone one who’s already on the ground, even if he’s a dirtbag who deserves it.

“You can go home tonight with your head start, or I can slit your throat from ear to ear as soon as we leave the dock at the end of the semester. Your choice.”

There’s a long pause before the bleeding guy relents.

“Fine.”

“Good choice,” Armani comments. “We’ll be watching you.”

Everything rushes by quickly after that. Matteo uses our hands being locked together to get me out. We leave the building like it’s on fire while the rest of our siblings and Colton follow more slowly behind.

“What about my cake?” I protest, sad to have left it behind.

“I’ll get you more later,” Matteo assures me.

“Can we slow down?” I whine.

“No,” he answers, and before I can complain about falling over my feet, he scoops me up and puts me over his shoulder.

I yelp, immediately feeling dizzy from the motion.

“Cover her skirt,” Armani shouts from behind us.

“Already doing it,” Matteo drawls.

He’s keeping my skirt down with his forearm, using his elbow to lock me in place safely.

“I feel like being carried is unnecessary,” I report, using my newfound position to my advantage by pinching his hips.

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