Page 25 of Cruel Prep (Princes of Ravenlake Academy 1)

He reaches out and drags a single finger from my bare shoulder down to my elbow. Goose bumps rise in the wake of his touch.

He smiles when he notices my body reacting to him. “Just remember what we talked about.”

“What did we talk about?” I ask.

He raises a dark brow. “I want to make sure we understand one another.”

I frown. “It’s hard to understand you when everything you say is a riddle.”

Suddenly, Finn grips my elbow and pulls me against him until my body is flush with his. His other arm circles around my waist, crushing me to him, forcing the air out of my lungs.

“Then let me make myself clear,” he said. He bends low, his dark hair falling over his forehead. “You, Lily DeVry, belong to me now. Speak a word of what you saw last night, and I’ll strip you of more than your innocence. Do you understand?”

I don’t know how I’ve found myself here. How or why Finn has chosen me. Was this something he did with all the girls?

“Do you understand?” Finn repeats.

“Please let go of me,” I whisper.

His jaw clenches, and his cheeks flush with angry color. Maybe he’s about to do something worse.

Then, all at once, the emotion is gone.

Once again, he is a neutral slate, and his eyes are a cold, flat blue.

“I hope, for your sake, that you do understand. Or else I’ll be forced to do things to you no one else is willing to say out loud.”

“Like kill me?” The question bursts out of me before I can think better of it.

But I want to know. I have to know.

If Finn really did kill Dallas, then I need to know so I can figure out what the fuck I’m going to do next. I need to know the cards in my hand before I decide how to play.

“Is that what you mean? Will you kill me like you killed Dallas?”

Finn’s gaze darts away for just a second—a hesitation of some kind—before he shakes his head. “Dallas isn’t dead. He just got hurt. Hurt himself, actually. We took him to the hospital this morning.”

I stay silent. I don’t know if I believe him or not. But what choice do I have?

“I’m not a killer. I’m not nearly that merciful. I’ll do horrible things to you, Lily. But you’ll like it. You’ll like all of it. You’ll beg for more.”

A shiver runs down my back, and I know Finn can feel me tremble. He lets go of my arm and rolls back.

“By the time all is said and done, you’ll beg for it.”

He doesn’t stop me when I swing my legs out of bed and leave in a hurry. I’m tempted to check and see if Dallas is still where I left him last night, but I can’t.

Whether he is or isn’t, I don’t know what I’d do.

13

Lily

I spend the weekend in bed, eating when my mom brings me food and watching whatever she puts on the motel’s crappy television.

“What do you want to do?”

My head snaps up, and my mom is standing in the doorway, light from outside shining around her and illuminating the dark motel room.

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