Page 23 of Iced Out
“Mila.” Elise’s voice was sugar-drenched steel. “Got a second?”
She didn’t announce herself. She never needed to. She appeared, Nina and Tori trailing a step behind, their eyes darting as if uncertain whether they were backup or witnesses.
I didn’t answer. Just pivoted, keeping my face blank.
“You’ve been busy.” She smiled, as if I’d already lost. “Attempting to reclaim old territory. Flirting with someone who isn’t yours.”
She stepped closer, eyes wide that went flat with steel. “Let’s skip the fake smiles and get to the part where you leave. Again.”
My hand curled into a fist.
Elise checked her manicure. “Because if you don’t disappear soon, someone’s going to make sure you do. And next time, it won’t be gentle, or by your choice.”
The hallway thinned as the bell rang. Seconds—maybe less—before the crowd vanished completely. As students ducked into classrooms, my sightline to Theo and Jax cleared. Both watching. Hawk-eyed and silent.
Tori, Elise’s ever-loyal shadow, looked like she wanted to melt into the floor.
Behind her, Theo leaned against the wall, thumbs tapping at his phone. Disinterested—or pretending to be. But I knew better. He was watching. They both were.
I couldn’t tell if they’d heard what Elise said or if they already knew. Either way, slow, simmering heat sparked low in my gut. If they were in on this, if they were helping her twist the knife, we’d have words. Real ones.
But neither of them moved. And I bet they wouldn’t, not until someone else made the first play. I wouldn’t give them the satisfaction.
Elise leaned in, her cloying perfume choking me with its proximity. “Luke’s already mine. So is this school. You? You don’t even register.”
I met her gaze, steady. “You sure sound threatened for someone who claims to rule everything.”
Her smile twitched. “I’m not threatened. I’m just done playing nice.”
Then she turned, hair flipping over her shoulder, heels striking the floor like punctuation marks as she walked away.
Tori—Theo’s not-quite girlfriend—bit her lip, avoiding my eyes. Nina, Elise’s other loyal minion and social ladder-climber, seemed to be loving every second of the scene. She followed, but Tori hesitated. Just for a second. And then she was gone too.
Seconds after, the guys left too, heading to the cafeteria, Leaving me in the hallway, back pressed to the locker, already planning the next move. This wasn’t just about jealousy. Thiswas about erasure. A declaration of war with a body count. Because that threat? It carried bodily harm.
I rolled my shoulders back, pivoted, and stalked toward the cafeteria. My fight wasn’t really with Elise; it was with Luke—always with him. The second I smacked my palms on the hockey team’s lunch table, the room went still. Conversations cut off mid-word. Luke sat dead center, elbows braced on the table, fingers drumming out a slow, controlled rhythm. His kingdom. His court. His silence.
He looked up—calm, indifferent. Cold.
“What kind of king lets his lackeys deliver his messages?” I said loud enough for the whole room to hear.
Chase snorted into his soda. Theo’s mouth twitched. Jax raised a brow like I’d just offered to arm wrestle death. Luke didn’t blink.
“You let your little followers issue threats?” I snapped. “You think that makes you powerful?”
His eyes narrowed. Tap-tap-tap—his fingers stopped.
And then he stood. I expected words. Retaliation. Something sharp and strategic. What I got was his hand—warm and hard—closing around my wrist. Heat shot up my arm. Not painful. Not forceful. Just… undeniable.
He dragged me out of the cafeteria. Every eye followed. Elise’s smirk faltered when she saw his hand on me. Her world didn’t account for deviations in the script.
The hallway was silent. Lockers stretched out on either side like lined-up soldiers in a standoff. Luke pushed me gently against the wall, his hand slamming beside my head, body caging mine without touching. He wasn’t angry. He was seething.
“You don’t know what you’ve started.” His voice crawled over my skin, making it hum.
“Then enlighten me.”
“You keep poking shit you don’t understand—my family, Elise, the people who don’t care how many bodies they bury to stay clean.”
