Page 30 of Crew Princess
“You reading me right?” I asked, my voice low.
Because while I was letting him read me, I got a look inside him too. And he was nasty. There was a good chunk of sliminess and mean in him, but over it was shock and fear. He was mostly scared right now, and his Adam’s apple bobbed up, pressing against my knife, nicking himself. A droplet of blood oozed out, sliding over the top of my knife.
I could get arrested for this. Right here. It was considered assault, and staring into this guy’s eyes, I tried to gauge if he was the kind to run to the police or not.
“You gonna tell on me?” I asked. “You gonna narc?” And since he’d brought up Alex, I added, “You know what we did to the last narc in our midst, right?”
Jordan spoke up, shoving a big meathead. “He spent weeks in the hospital. That’s what we did.”
Zeke never looked away from me. His fear had faded, but he was absolutely still. “That was you guys too?”
I didn’t answer him, just tipped my head back. “What are you going to do today, Zeke? Are you going to tell your boys to turn and walk out? Are you going to run to your rich parents? Tell on us? Tell them a little girl half your size got a knife to your throat? Or are you going to turn around, leave, and party somewhere else today?” I pressed in, just an inch, before releasing him and stepping back.
As I did, so did Cross and Jordan on either side of me.
I couldn’t see Zellman, but I heard him behind me somewhere. “Walk. Don’t come to another Roussou party.”
Zeke swallowed, his eyes still on me. “We thought this was a District Weekend party.”
“District Weekend is a street dance for Roussou. Always has been; never been a private party before,” Jordan said.
“Then we’ll see you there.” Zeke’s eyes closed a second. He visibly shuddered, but when he opened them again, he found me right away.
“Zeke,” one of his buddies called. “Come on.”
They were leaving, going back through the gate.
Zeke tore his gaze from mine, scanning the crowd behind us. He paused, seeing someone he knew, and his mouth flattened. “This chick speak for you too, Gramblin?”
One of the Normals broke from the crowd, coming to the other side of Cross, a beer in front of him. “You guys tried to burn our school down. That changes things.”
“Thought you were better than your fucking stupid crew system.” Zeke’s tone was taunting.
Most of his friends had gone. Three remained, tense and eyeing the rest of us warily.
“That’s what you say anytime we meet you on the field,” Zeke added.
Gramblin rolled his shoulders back, one of his legs starting to tap. “Yeah. Well. I don’t remember a time we got to really chat on the field. We’re usually beating the shit out of you.”
Zeke’s lips thinned. “That right?”
That mean glint I knew was in there came to the forefront, rising, pushing aside the fear.
I knew what he was doing, but nope. Not going to happen.
I stepped between them, saying coolly, “You’re not going to replace one opponent with another target. Your problem’s with us, not with a Normal who, no offense, doesn’t have a lot of say in this matter.”
Zeke looked back to me. “That right?”
The adrenaline had bolstered his confidence. His head raised, and his chest puffed out. He was forgetting whose knife had caught his throat. I was about to remind him when Cross broke forward, his entire body tense and ready to fight.
“Your name is Zeke Allen,” Cross said, almost sounding bored. “Your father is on the board of Kade Enterprises. He owns a small share, not enough to get a say-so, but enough that he can show up for board meetings for the free coffee and food. Your mom thinks she’s a Fallen Crest socialite—wine for brunch, charity events, that sort of thing. You’re the oldest in your family. You’re hoping to go to Cain University, and you think you can be like Mason Kade. That’s your goal. You’ve got his picture in your locker, and how do I know all of this?”
Now his voice was chilling. He looked at Zeke like a predator sizing up its prey. “Because we don’t just fight. We do our homework. When I get told a bunch of Fallen Crest Academy kids are looking to burn one of our buildings down, you better be sure I find out who I’m going to be fighting in the long run.”
Zeke’s look was different now. A trickle of awareness came over him, his whole body stiffening. “I’m taking it you’re the real leader here?”
There was more movement in the background, and then Race pushed to my side.
