Page 2 of Ruthless King
I turn onto Canal Street and keep my head down as I pass the Red Dragon.Please don’t let him be in there. I send the prayer up to a God I’m not sure exists, but I hope nonetheless.
“Where you going in such a hurry, Stella?” Feng emerges from the entrance of the Chinese restaurant and leans against the crimson dragon statue. The red paper lanterns sway in the warm breeze, reminding me summer is nearly here.
“Class,” I shout without stopping.
“Bo’s been looking for you.”
I quicken my pace, my chest tight from the effort. I reach for my inhaler, but I don’t want to stop and give my ex’s cousin a chance to catch up. I draw in a deep breath instead, willing the tension away. It’s taken me months to shake Bo Zhang, and avoidance is the best option.
Why I ever screwed around with thatstronzois beyond me. It was a new low.
The Canal Street subway sign is like a shining beacon in the darkness. Just a few more steps, and I’m home free. Tightening my hold on my backpack strap because petty theft has been through the roof around here lately, I descend onto the subway platform. Between the Red Dragons, the Kings, and the countless other gangs littering the streets of downtown Manhattan, it’s become a battle zone.
Swiping my pass through the turnstile, I reach the A train platform and release a breath. The overhead blinking display catches my eye, mocking me. Nine minutes. A groan slides through my clenched teeth. With a huff, I plop down on the graffiti-covered bench, pop in my earbuds and rifle through my backpack for my Econ textbook. At least I can get some studying done.
I flip to the last chapter, my nose buried in the massive textbook, and a hand slaps down on the page. My heart stills. I don’t dare look up. Not when I know exactly who that gaudy silver dragon ring blotting out the paragraph on supply and demand belongs to.
“Why have you been avoiding me, Stel?” Bo’s words are muffled by the lyrics of Taylor Swift’s latest and greatest.
I remain perfectly still, pretending I can’t hear a damned thing over my cheap earbud knockoffs. Bo’s hands close around my textbook, and the massive weight disappears from my lap. I stare in shock as my book goes flying onto the subway tracks.
“Hey!” I cry. Tearing the earbuds out, I glare up at my asshole ex. “What the hell, Bo?”
“You can’t just ignore me like that.”
“Yes, I can. We broke up, remember?” I dart to the edge of the platform and cringe at the rat racing over my two-hundred-dollar textbook. I whirl at him, jabbing my finger into his obnoxiously hard chest. “Go get it.”
He lets out a dark laugh, the corners of his eyes crinkling. I used to love the way his eyes thinned when he laughed. It made him look sweet, adorable even. But this laugh wasn’t a genuine one, not like when we first met, and things were full of hope and promise. And I was full of naïve bullshit.
“Bo!” I snarl. “I need that book.”
“You should’ve thought of that before you ignored me.” Venom laces his words, his eyes narrowed to angry gashes.
“I never thought you’d be psychotic enough to toss it onto the tracks.” Okay, so I should have known that. He didn’t rise to his position in the Red Dragons for being a freakin’ saint. I glance up at the display—three more minutes—then back to my book.
“If you want me to get it for you, give me another chance.” He reaches for my hand, but I snatch it away. “Don’t you remember how good it was?”
“Fuck, no.”
Darkness rages across his pitch irises, his thin lips curling into a sneer. His hand shoots out, long fingers closing around my hair. He jerks my head back, and a cry tears from my lips.
An old Chinese man leaning on a cane stands at the end of the subway platform, but he doesn’t make a move to help me. I don’t blame him really. The Red Dragons terrorize everyone down here, and they don’t discriminate based on age or health.
“Let go of me,” I snarl.
“Not until I teach you some respect, you little bitch.” He drags me off the bench and forces me to my knees. The jolt of hitting the cement floor races up my legs, and I bite back another curse. “Begmeto take you back.”
His junk is at my eyelevel, and I can already see the shape of his tiny cock pressing against the zipper.Ugh. He’s actually getting off on this. I steel my nerves, shoving the trickle of fear back, and will myself not to crumble.
“Never,” I grit out.
“I’m going to have you one way or another, Stella. Your choice.”
That looming fear races across my body at the malice in his voice. Bo had always been a possessive and verbally abusive asshole, but he’d never forced himself on me.
The ding of a subway pass barely registers across the roar of my thundering pulse as I struggle against him.
“Let go of her.” A lethal voice cuts through the panic, and the calm, icy tenor sends a chill up my spine.
