Page 106 of Cruel Prep (Princes of Ravenlake Academy 1)

If I need to run and throw him the knife, I’ll do that too.

I’ll do whatever I need to do to keep him safe until the police get here.

I poke my head around the corner of the house and wave an arm, trying to catch his attention, but his eyes are glued on the bikers in front of him.

I step out further, hoping to catch something of their conversation, just a few words to give me an idea of what is going on. Of whether I should call the operator back and have the police stand down.

But they are too far away.

I step out from the safety of the house entirely, edging towards the circle of light shining down from above the garage doors.

And finally, Finn turns towards me, eyes wide and horrified.

Then, hands grab me from behind.

I open my mouth to scream, but a hand clamps down over my lips. The palm is salty and hot.

I thrash, throwing elbows and kicking back with my feet to try and get some space between me and the unknown body.

“Calm down,” a rough male voice barks in my ear, angry and loud. “You already ruined my entrance. Don’t ruin my pants, too.”

At the sound of that voice, there is a phantom of recognition in the back of my mind. A tickle of a memory I can’t seem to grab.

But it’s gone as I’m dragged forward towards the bikers and Finn, who has gone deathly still and completely blank.

“I’d hoped we’d have a chance to talk before the girl got involved, but she never did seem to know when to mind her own business, did she?” the man holding me says.

“Let her go,” Finn says, rolling his eyes and looking off down the driveway, bored.

On command, the hands holding me let go and then shove me from behind.

I stumble forward, fall, but catch myself on my hands, skinning my palms slightly. I barely even feel the sting of the broken skin as I make my way to Finn.

I reach for him, on the verge of tears, but he pulls away.

I study his face for a second, trying to understand his motives, but his expression is stoic, unemotional.

Then, I turn towards the bikers facing him, and that is when I see him.

The man I’m looking at is set apart from the group, standing closer to me and Finn than anyone else.

He looks exactly like I remember him. Dark hair, curly on top with the sides buzzed short, and his nose bent just slightly in the middle, favoring the right side of his face.

The man’s smile, however, is the same one I’ve seen in all of my flashbacks.

The same one I’ve had nightmares about, leering over me in the park before everything goes dark.

It’s Nico Barber.

40

Lily

“What are you doing here?” Finn asks. “I thought you were in England somewhere.”

“Denmark, actually,” Nico says. “But you wouldn’t know that, would you? Considering I didn’t hear a word from you after all that shit went down.”

I turn to Finn, waiting for him to explain, but he is refusing to look at me. His eyes are locked on Nico’s.

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