Page 139 of Cruel Prep (Princes of Ravenlake Academy 1)

The sound is faint, probably coming from behind the building.

I turn to the sound, and immediately, it cuts off. “What was that?”

The blonde snorts, obviously annoyed. “Are you shitting me?Thatwas probably your chances of getting withthisflying away. You’re a pig.”

She storms off, her high heels unsteady on the gravel parking lot.

I expect the redhead to respond in kind, but she takes a step closer. “Maybe I’d be offended if you forgot me, but—”

There is another muffled scream. It’s quieter this time, but it still distracts me enough that I miss the second half of the redhead’s sentence.

The front lot is mostly empty, and there shouldn’t be anyone around the back. As soon as the fights end, the bouncers herd everyone out the front doors and away from the building.

Usually, I’m not even still here by this point. Already off somewhere getting my dick sucked.

The girl lays a hand on my chest and rubs her chest against my arm. “Do you want to get out of here?”

I consider it. It’s not my job to play caped crusader and go rescue whoever’s screaming.

I got myself into a mess like that once before. It didn’t end well. I’ve got the scars to prove it.

“Yeah, but give me a minute. I want to check something out.”

The girl frowns, but she follows me as I turn and head back towards the school building. I angle across the lot and round the crumbling brick façade to the side of the building.

The cars that were parked in the old staff parking spaces when I first arrived are gone now, and the sidewalk running straight down the side of the building to the back is plunged into shadow.

No one should be over here.

“What are we doing?” the girl asks. “I’m not into doing it against the bricks. It hurts my back.”

“I heard something.” I’m not whispering, but my voice is low.

“So?” she crosses her arms and taps a foot on the cement. “I’m not going back here with you. It’s dark and creepy as hell.”

“Would you shut up?” I hiss over my shoulder.

She lets out a frustrated huff of air. She is about to continue annoying the shit out of me…

But before she can, there is a third short, stifled scream for help. I know the girl hears it this time because she yelps in surprise.

I take off down the side of the building at a loose jog, leaving the redhead behind me.

I’m halfway down the side of the building when I see dark shapes ahead of me separate from the darkness.

A lump of shadows pressed against the wall, squirming.

It takes a second for my eyes to adjust. But when I get closer, I’m able to see a larger shape pressing someone against a wall. Based on the screams, I assume it is a girl.

And whatever the guy is doing to her is very far from consensual.

Her arms are pinned above her head, and he is fumbling with something between them. She lets out another scream, and he immediately stops what he’s doing and clamps a hand over her mouth.

In a matter of minutes, her screams wouldn’t have mattered.

I would have left with the card girl, and this girl would have been here alone. She could have screamed as loudly as she wanted and it wouldn’t have made a difference.

“Hey, asshole,” I bark, flipping my phone’s flashlight on and shining it into the darkness.

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