Page 23 of Ruthless Angel

“My offer still stands,” Raina said, exchanging a scowl with Jet. “Say the word and he’ll go missing. You’ll never see him again.”

Lyra rolled her eyes, laughing off Raina’s remark. “Yeah, yeah, I know. Settle down mob queen. Let’s have a good time.”

Nervous about missing anything, I pulled my phone from my fuzzy purse, checking for any updates. Nothing.

The girls made small talk while I tried to smile and nod along. I couldn’t help that my mind was elsewhere. It bugged me that Raina wasn’t more concerned. Her guys had put themselves in a potentially dangerous position too. Although that wasn’t new for them.

“Oh my, who is that?” Briar subtly pointed to the guy who’d just stepped out of the house.

Dark hair, a scar through one eyebrow, and loads of tattoos. Trick was one of the Saints.

“He’s a Saint,” I explained. “Everyone calls him Trick. This is his house. You don’t know him?”

Briar was relatively new to Ravencrest. Considering the huge student body, it made sense that she hadn’t come across him yet.

“Can’t say I do. He’s kind of cute.” Briar’s gaze followed Trick as he mingled with Jet’s group.

“He’s kind of an asshole,” Raina said, low so nobody but us heard. “The Saints consider themselves some kind of secret society. They get dirt on people and use it against them. Trust me. He’s not a good guy.”

Briar sighed, her shoulders deflating. “Of course not. Are any of them though?”

“There’s got to be. I can’t accept that this is the best we have to choose from.” Crinkling her nose, Lyra made a face of disgust.

Right on cue, Jet turned around and slid her a devious smile. She huffed and turned her back to him. That didn’t stop him from ambling over and shoving in between us, sliding an arm around her shoulders.

“Hello, ladies,” he greeted us with a head nod. To Lyra he said, “Hey there, Corn Flake. Careful with those drinks. Wouldn’t want me to have to put your drunk ass to bed again, would you?”

Lyra’s cheeks reddened. “Definitely won’t be a problem. I’m crashing at Briar’s tonight.”

“I see.” Jet looked Briar up and down, his brow furrowing. “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow then. You can’t escape me for long. I’ll always find you.”

Poor Lyra stiffened, standing there awkwardly as Jet put her on the spot. Raina wasn’t having it.

“Yeah, we get it. You’re a creep. Now why don’t you fuck off and leave us alone, kay?” Raina went so far as to step forward and give Jet a shove.

He mockingly raised both hands, feigning a look of terror. “I wouldn’t want the local mob brat to have me wacked. I guess I better go.” Before he turned away he flipped Raina the middle finger.

Because she was a chaotic maniac sometimes, she whipped her drink at his retreating form. “Dammit. Now I need to get another drink. I’ll be back.”

“That girl is crazy.” Lyra watched over her shoulder in case Jet came back.

Briar stared after Raina in wonder. “I want to be her when I grow up. She’s a badass. I love it.”

She sure was. I often envied Raina’s ability to say and do whatever she wanted. She was fearless.

When it became clear that Jet wasn’t coming back any time soon, Lyra relaxed and the chatter among us resumed. We talked about an upcoming concert, a huge artist that would wrap up the summer before we all went back to class.

As much as I wanted to excitedly plan for it with my friends, I kept checking my phone. My scattered thoughts wouldn’t allow me to forget about what Daire and Cash were doing.

“Daire Keller? Hell no, I would never touch that guy again. He’s a total freak.” A female voice from behind me drew my attention at the sound of Daire’s name.

Tuning out Briar and Lyra, I focused on the conversation going on in the next group. A second girl spoke, saying, “You hooked up with him? When was that?”

“At a party last year,” the first girl replied. “He pulled my hair really hard and tried to choke me. He got off on it. He’s seriously messed up in the head. That guy should be locked up.”

It shouldn’t have bothered me. I didn’t want to care. Listening to this chick talk shit about Daire made my face flush with anger. Okay, so she wasn’t entirely wrong about Daire. He wasn’t the sanest guy I knew. However, he wasn’t a freak that should be locked up either. Right now he was out there risking his own ass to save a friend.

“He tried to choke you?” The second girl sounded aghast. “That’s assault. Did you report him? I can’t believe anyone would enjoy that. You’d have to be sick in the head to let a man do that to you.”

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