Page 29 of Gambit
As they walk into the chaos they’ve created, I take a deep breath, steeling myself for the clean-up and the inevitable need for retaliation by the students. This was just the opening salvo, but I’m ready for war if they’re dumb enough to come back.
Laughter echoes, sharp and cruel, as Cian and Victoria saunter further away, taking their crew with them, I can’t peel my eyes from their retreating forms, the way they move like they’ve got all the power in the world. It irritates me but at the same time, I admire it. They’ve got their own twisted loyalty in droves and are clearly the leaders of Blackbriar.
“Assholes,” I mutter anyway, and then it’s just us, standing there as the dust settles. The campus looks like a scene straight out of some post-apocalyptic movie. A bench is upended, papers fluttering in the breeze like wounded birds.
“Shit,” I exhale, raking a hand through my hair.
We need to come back from this stronger, smarter. Robert’s words echo in my head, about Cian making an entrance.
Well, game on, cousin. You want to play in my world? Let’s see how you like it when I crash yours.
Turning to my guys, I sigh. “Well, this was fun and informative.”
Blood trickles down James’s brow, his lip split, but he’s none the worse for wear as he stands close. Tarq’s knuckles are raw from the fight, a purple hue blooming under his eye. Raph leans against a tree, wincing when he moves his shoulder.
“Where’s Oliver?” I ask, glancing around, panic rearing up.
“Here,” he says, from behind me. “All good.”
“Right,” I start, turning around to see him with my own eyes, my voice cutting through the haze of pain and adrenaline. “We clean up, we fortify, and then we hit back twice as hard, whenthey don’t expect it. It’s the least we can do, after all, a bit of payback.”
James nods, his strategic mind already ticking over. “Sounds like a plan. Fucking dicks.”
“Aww, baby, are you hurt?” I ask, going to him with a smile and dabbing at his lip with my fingers.
He snorts. “Yeah, real sore, right here.” He grabs my hand and presses it to his cock.
“No go, I’m afraid, man,” Raph says, coming up to James and clapping him on the shoulder. “She’s off-limits for a few days.”
James drops my hand and sighs. “Well, it was worth a shot.”
Giggling, I say, “I’ve still got two hands, an ass and a mouth.”
His eyes light up, but I have a feeling none of them will expect anything from me, which is the sweetest thing. Who feels like sex when you’re bloated, hangry and in need of a chocolate fountain which you can stick your head under and drink from?
“Let’s clean house,” I say. “And then I need food and a chocolate fountain.”
15
ELIZA
About an hourinto the clean-up caused by Blackbriar U, I pause and wipe the sweat from my brow. The day is warmer than usual for this time of year, and the sun is bright in the sky as we edge closer to noon.
“Ms Hughes.”
Frowning, I turn to the smarmy voice and scowl at the person it belongs to.
“Vice Chancellor Peters,” I murmur.
“Come with me. We need to talk,” Vice Chancellor Peters says, his voice as slick as oil.
I have no way to refuse this without making him more of an enemy, and to be quite frank, I was expecting it. So, it’s better to face the music and get it over with.
Trailing along behind him into the main Castle building, I shake my head at my guys, who look up and move forward. They fall back, knowing it will only make it worse if we gang up on him.
He leads me to his office and steps inside. I follow, and the door clicks shut behind me. I stand there, facing him across themahogany desk. It’s just a room, but with Peters here, it feels like a cage.
“This is becoming quite the issue since you arrived,” he says.
