Page 148 of Brutal Prince

“Makes Jennika here look like a ten-dollar whore,” Marcus says.

Jennika squeaks out a protest, scowls at Marcus, and storms away down the hall.

“Dude, that’s not—” I start, but I cut off when Marcus steps right up to Indi.

I stick out my arm, blocking him, and he does come up short, but without acknowledging me or the arm in his way.

“Don’t you clean up nice?” Marcus says.

From the corner of my eye, I spot Indi grab her necklace in a fist. It makes the bracelet I borrowed for her gleam in the hall’s subtle downlights, but Marcus seems less interested in that trinket than the stone around her neck.

I’m not surprised. That sapphire must have set her back half a bar. Or her parents, at least — there’s no way she bought something like for herself. A family heirloom, then? Something that wasn’t lost in the fire?

Or was that all a fucking lie?

I take a step back, raking my gaze over Indi.

She’s dressed to the fucking nines, when just today she told me she didn’t even have a dress. It can’t be Addy’s — Indi would be swimming in even the shortest, tightest thing Addy owns.

Suddenly, I’d rather stick my cock in a fucking vacuum cleaner than put it anywhere near Indigo Virgo.

I push past Marcus, dimly aware that Indi’s trying to talk to me, but the super-heated blood rushing through my ears drowns it out.

Fuck her.

Fuck this.

Fuck everything.