Page 46 of Hate Game

Is Rue telling me she’s not worth fighting for? I straighten and ignore the ruckus outside the classroom door. The adults are trying to get in, but someone jammed the back of a chair against the doorknob. I tip my head for one of the kids to let them in. The fight is gone out of me, and I am ready to face the consequences. What happens next has me questioning my stupid idea.

In the corner of my eye, Trace and Rue are standing together. His fingers are entangled in her thick hair. He dips his head and says something to her. A hint of red colors her cheeks. I glare, and she glances away, confirming my suspicion.

She has history with Trace. First my cousin, and now one of my best friends? Are the rumors true? Does Rue get around as much as her mother did?

It doesn’t matter. I’ll clean up my act and meet the conditions in my parents’ contract. Then Rue can return to her uncle’s place.

Except, wait a fucking minute. What about her prior living arrangement was unsafe? I blow out a breath. It’s best I find out. She is not my girl, but I’ll be damned if anyone dares lay a finger on her.

19

RUE

“Don’t do that again.” I look up from my hands on my lap and stare into the school’s parking lot. We’re sitting inside his sports car. The sleek black GT-R is a symbol of his family’s wealth and Malice’s mindset of whatever-I-want-I-get.

“Do what?” He drums his fingers on the steering wheel and glares at anyone who dares look in our direction.

“Dig yourself into a bigger hole for me,” I answer.

“Who gives a care?”

“Your parents. Your cousins. Your friends,” I point out.

“Then why aren’t they here?” He starts the engine.

“They don’t have to be sitting here to care.”

“Is that why you’re here? Because you care?”

I do. I hated hearing his dad yell at him through the principal’s office phone speaker while sitting on the other side of the door. “You’re giving me a ride to Leigh’s, remember?”

“I’m not going where you go, Rue. Baking is not my thing. But make sure you bring sweet treats back when she drops you off, yeah?”

Leigh and I aren’t planning on our usual baking session at her place. I asked her for a favor, a dangerous one. Riley always reminds me there’s safety in numbers. Having one of Leigh at my side is like having a girl gang. She is fierce and strong, having lived in Oakland before moving to Washington State.

Plus, she’s good friends with “Mad” Maddox Stassi, a billionaire playboy rumored to have mutilated the men who raped his little sister.

“Please don’t stand up for me again. Please don’t get yourself into trouble for me. And most importantly, never pass an idea around without my say. How dare you pair me with Trace?”

“Better to be with Trace than eye-fucked by that mother-effer.”

The mouth on the boy. He shifts into first gear and peels out of the parking lot. Kids scramble out of the way, and the scent of burning rubber permeates the inside of the car. I roll down the window. “Did you do the same with Olivia Stanton? Did you pair her with Seven to stop other guys from picking on her?”

“What are you talking about?”

“The lady who works at the office told me about your parents hiring first Riley and then Olivia to keep you out of trouble.”

“You believe her?”

“Why wouldn’t I? History is repeating itself.”

“What else did Courtney say?”

“Olivia was let go for something you did to a girl.”

“Courtney is throwing you off course. Olivia stayed with us for a few weeks while her parents worked on their divorce. Ugly as hell what she went through. My mom went through the same thing when her parents divorced and saw Olivia not handling it well.”

“Your mom has a big heart.”

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