Page 30 of Family (Academy of Misfits 3)

“Asia, stop!” he shouts out.

“No!”

“Fuck sake,” Sonny snaps, grabbing me from behind. He wraps his good arm around my waist and pulls me against his chest, holding me against him. “Bram is just another pawn in the King’s game, you know that, right? He’s pushing you, goading you through that little prick. You’re playing right into his hands, Asia.”

“Don’t you think I know that?!” I shout back, turning to face him. “Don’t you think I know that I’m being used in some grand fucking plan? I hate not knowing. I hate not feeling in control. I want to fucking kill someone and if it ends up being Bram then so fucking be it!”

Sonny grips my jaw in his hand, forcing me to face him. “Look at me, Asia. We’ll get through this. We’ll find a way.”

“How? How will we? I feel so fucking useless.”

Sonny’s gaze softens along with his grip. He doesn’t respond with words, instead he leans forward and presses his mouth against mine and kisses me, obliterating any thoughts of murder with a sure stroke of his tongue. In the moment, it’s exactly what I need. It’s enough to stay my hand, to replace the rage with something else.

“I’ve got your back, Asia. I’ll be there to save you from yourself until the time comes when you can do it on your own,” he says against my lips. I can feel him trembling, or perhaps that’s me?

I nod my head, forcing myself to breathe, to be calm. “I know you do,” I sigh.

“Good, because I’m not going to let you do anything stupid. Think of me as the angel on your shoulder.” He grins, showing me those dimples I’ve become accustomed to.

“More like the devil with kisses like that,” I mutter when he follows up his grin with a naughty wink.

“Maybe I’m a bit of both,” he shrugs, dropping his hands from my face and wrapping an arm around my waist. “Either way, I got you.”

And I know that he truly does.

* * *

When it hitsthe end of the school day, I take off to the gym wanting to avoid the dining hall and needing to release some pent-up energy.

When I arrive, I’m surprised to find Ford there already with Kate and Cal. They turn to look at me when I enter the room.

“Looks like you could do with a session in the ring,” Cal remarks knowingly, holding out a pair of boxing gloves.

“Yeah, looks like I could,” I snip back, snatching them from his hands and pulling them on aggressively.

“Mr Carmichael has informed the other students about Pink’s and Monk’s move to another unit,” Cal says, watching me carefully.

“And how did that go down? Pretty sure they all know it’s bullshit.”

“Perhaps, but that’s not important. What’s important is that we carry on as usual. The last thing we need is the authorities sniffing around this place because if that happens, Oceanside will be shut down quicker than Ford can throat grab Bram. Nice move by the way,” he says, winking at Ford.

“You approve?” Ford asks, giving Cal a confused look.

“Off the record, that little shit deserved a beating, but as a member of staff here I have to maintain the appearance that I’m neutral and keep the peace.”

“He knows about Pink,” I state.

“Yes, so I’ve been told. Looks like Bram will need to spend some quality time with Mr Burnside. Let’s see if he can draw some information out of him.”

I scoff. “Unlikely. The only way he’s gonna spill is if one of us makes him. But given violence is off the table right now, I think a session in the ring with those arseholes is warranted at the very least, don’t you?” I ask, pinning my gaze on Cal and daring him to deny me.

“I do, actually. Kate explained what you have planned. I think a controlled fight in the ring is exactly what we need right now. This is why I’m here, after all,” he shrugs.

“When?” I ask, wanting to know how soon I can kick Bram’s arse, albeit in acontrolledmanner. Yeah, like that’s going to happen.

“In a few weeks? Kate needs to train, and we need to distract everyone enough so that the Freed brothers and Grim can keep digging without worrying about what’s happening here. I’m off campus the second week of March with one of the other groups for their scheduled weekend away so fitting it in before then would be good. Reckon we can get you fighting fit by then, Kate?”

She brushes his question aside. “You’re going off campus?” Kate questions, before I can. “Is that wise with everything that’s going on?”

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