Page 107 of Cruel Prep (Princes of Ravenlake Academy 1)

The dream I’d been having just before waking up comes back to me—the image of Finn standing alongside Nico in the park the night of The Incident—but I push it away.

It’s not true.

It can’t be.

“I’m sure you know what I’m talking about, Lily DeVry,” Nico says, turning his attention to me. “You were there, after all.”

I lift my chin and force my chin to quit wobbling. “You attacked me.”

Nico nods. “That does seem to be how you remember it. Mine was the only name you gave to police. Why was that? Was it because I was the only one there? That’s not quite right, is it?”

I blink at him, wishing I could be anywhere else.

Doing anything else.

Deep in my gut, I know what he is going to say next. But I’m not ready for it.

“You aren’t here because of her,” Finn says. “You’re all here to talk to me. So talk.”

Nico ignores Finn. “Answer me, sweetheart. Was I the only one you saw? Was I the only one you could identify from pictures?”

My silence is an answer in itself.

Nico chuckles. Finally, he turns to Finn. “You never told her about your participation in that night’s festivities?”

“Fuck you!” he spits.

Finn’s shout surprises me.

I flinch.

Nico just laughs.

“You know,” Nico continues, “when I heard from some of the people in this town who were still talking to me that you were shacking up with the girl who ratted me out, I hoped maybe you were doing it in revenge. I thought maybe we were still friends even though you and all the other Golden Assholes hung me out to dry after I took the fall for you all. But now that I see you together, it’s obvious this situation has nothing to do with me.”

“So, you’re friends with the Hell Princesses now?” Finn sneers. When Nico narrows his eyes, Finn holds up his hands in innocence. “Hey, you’re the one who came up with that nickname. It isn’t exactly clever, but it certainly gets a rise out of the leather-clad crowd.”

The bikers all bristle at the insult. Violence is radiating off of them.

I want to tell Finn to shut up and stop antagonizing them, but I’m not really sure whose side he is on.

Because if what Nico is saying is true, then he certainly isn’t on mine.

“I ran into Rick and Casey the night I spent in jail,” he says, hitching a thumb over his shoulder at two bikers standing behind him. “They got into a bit of trouble that night, too, but unlike me, their friends came to bail them out.”

Finn lowered his head. “We were lying low.”

“So was I. In Demark. For six months,” Nico barks, his top lip pulled back in disgust. “I’m supposed to be there now, actually, but when I heard you were responsible for almost killing one of my new brothers, I hopped on a plane and came home for the weekend. I didn’t want to miss you getting what you deserve.”

Nico turns to me, eyes sparkling with mischievous amusement. “I wouldn’t have dared to hope I’d get to run into the girl who started it all, too. What a treat.”

Suddenly, Finn shifts in front of me, his shoulder blocking my view. “Leave her alone.”

“’Leave her alone,’” Nico says, voice high-pitched and mocking. “That isn’t what you said that night in the park. As I recall, your words were, ‘Take care of her.’”

I gasp. Finn looks back over his shoulder at me.

There is pain on his face as he whispers, “I can explain.”

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