Page 41 of Cruel Prep (Princes of Ravenlake Academy 1)

“Y’all know anything about Dallas?” pipes up one of the others. He’s a skinny son of a bitch with a hairy Adam’s apple that bobs whenever he talks.

I stiffen up.Fuck.I should’ve known this was going to happen eventually, but Lily’s been such a distraction that I haven’t planned properly for this moment.

Viktor spits from where he’s seated on the bed of the pickup truck. “Who?”

“Dallas Martin. Goes to school with you douche bags. Someone roughed him up good, put him in the hospital. We’d hate to find out y’all were responsible.”

Noah starts to say something, but I hold up a hand and he quiets down.

“He’s not dead, is he?” I ask casually.

The leader scowls, but eventually shakes his head. “Naw.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

“You know,” the third one says, the only one who hasn’t spoken up yet, “I don’t like your tone. Don’t like your face neither.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t like your grammar or your smell. Two for two. Call us even.”

My friends laugh. The Hell Princes glower in anger.

There is a long enough stare-down that I start to think our casual night is going to turn violent. But just as Caleb cracks his knuckles, they all spit one more time in our direction.

Then they turn around and saunter back to their rides. Hopping on, they ride off into the night, flipping us the bird as they go.

I watch until they disappear in the darkness. I also make a mental note to follow up about Dallas. If he’s going to speak up and cause a war between us and the Hell Princes, I need to know about it. I need to be ready.

“Fucking cowards,” Caleb growls.

He’s right about that. The Hell Princes are cowards.

But rats backed into a corner can be very, very dangerous.

19

Finn

School the next day goes by in a blur. I take one of the side doors out of the building. I don’t feel like talking to anyone right now.

Until, surprise surprise, who do I see seated in the shadows at the corner of the main building?

None other than Lily DeVry.

She doesn’t look up as I approach. Her blonde hair is draped over her face like a curtain.

It’s like she thinks she can hide behind it. As if a beautiful girl with long blonde hair is ever able to hide.

I only realize what I’ve just admitted as I park in the shadow of the building.

Lily DeVry is beautiful.

I have a sudden flashback to my father laying out this whole plan. The plan that’s brought her to me.

I’ve pulled the strings I had to pull to get the girl to Ravenlake,he told me icily over dinner one night last week.You’re going to finish what we started.

I was only supposed to seduce her. To ruin her. To break her down until there was nothing left, and then run her out of Ravenlake for good.

So, it shouldn’t matter that I think she is beautiful, but somehow, it does.

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