Page 10 of Cruel Academy (Princes of Ravenlake Academy 2)

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.

The guy squints and then turns away, trying to shield his eyes.

The girl takes the opportunity to knee him in the crotch and wiggle out of his grip.

Smart chick.

“Hey, hey,” the guy says, his voice low and slow. He sounds drunk. “We were just talking. Why don’t you mind your—”

He is so out of it he doesn’t even realize I’ve crossed the distance between us until my fist hits his face. My body is still smarting from the fight, but I always have a little juice left in the tank for scumbags like him.

My punch hits squarely. The bastard’s head snaps back and hits the brick wall.

Immediately, he slumps down to the sidewalk. For a second, I think he is going to try to get up and fight. His arms twitch, and he sits up slightly.

But before anything can happen, he falls back down. Out cold.

Night, night, motherfucker.

“Well, that was easy.” I’m almost disappointed.

The girl he was assaulting is standing just behind me. When I turn around, we are less than a foot apart. Close enough that I can smell her perfume.

Her eyes are wide, and even in the darkness, I can see they are a vibrant blue. Her hair is wavy and wild around her head, hiding half her face.

She takes a startled step back and straightens her clothes, pulling down her cropped hoodie. “Thank you,” she murmurs.

I nod, about to tell her it was my pleasure.

But then she steps forward into the ring of light.

All at once, I realize I know exactly who this bitch is.

This isn’t the first time I’ve saved her.

6

Caleb

“Haley Cochran.”

She frowns, a line forming between her eyebrows, and then nods.

“Fuck.” I laugh humorlessly and tug a hand through my hair. “I guess I shouldn’t have interrupted.”

“What? No.” She crosses her arms and looks down at the ground, dark hair tumbling over her forehead. “Thank you.”

“You’re a year late. Next time you get yourself pinned up against a wall, find another fucker to save you, all right?”

“There wasn’t anyone else. One of the Hell Princes saw us before you got here and … he laughed.”

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