Page 102 of Cruel Academy (Princes of Ravenlake Academy 2)

“Fine. If you’re going to be an idiot, at least take me with you,” I say, reaching for the door handle.

Just as I do, Caleb pulls it shut and slides the lock into place. He smiles and shrugs through the window, his eyes bloodshot and puffy

Then, he says something to the driver, and they are gone.

38

Haley

I can’t follow Caleb to the fight by myself.

I also can’t let him go to the fight alone. The Hell Princes don’t have the decency to refuse him a fight if he’s asking for one. They’ll put him in the ring and cheer as he is beaten into the ground.

I repeat these reasons to myself over and over again as I walk up the long driveway towards the two-story white house.

It’s not as grand as Finn’s, but the floodlights lining the driveway illuminate a perfectly manicured lawn and cast the entire structure in a kind of fairy-tale glow. Golden light glows out of the white-curtained windows.

I feel like I’m on a movie set as I ring the doorbell and wait.

Thankfully, J.C. answers the door rather than one of his parents.

His eyes widen at the sight of me, but in an instant, his usual smirk is in place. “To what do I owe the pleasure, Miss Cochran?”

I don’t have time for pleasantries or guilt. Caleb is in trouble, whether he knows it or not, and I can’t help him alone.

“Caleb is drunk and walking into a fight with the Hell Princes. I need you to help me get him out.”

J.C.’s smirk drops away. “What?”

I shake my head. “If you’re going to help me, we need to go now. I can tell you in the car.”

There is a second of hesitation, a moment where I’m not sure J.C. is going to believe me or care or come with me. Then, he ducks inside to shout into the house that he’ll be back later, and he follows me out to my car.

“Okay, now what stupid shit is Caleb doing?”

“He’s drunk and going to a fight with the Hell Princes.” I’m going to have to spill all the beans before we get there, but I’m still hesitant.

It feels like a betrayal of Caleb to tell his friend the secret he has tried so hard to keep, but I’m not sure what other options I have right now.

“What fight? We haven’t hung out since the camping trip. Did something else happen?”

I turn onto Main Street and head north out of Ravenlake proper. The fights tonight are at the old schoolhouse again. Thankfully, I’m still on the text chain to receive the fight location.

Otherwise, we’d all be screwed.

“I was attacked at the park yesterday. A few of the Hell Princes did it, and Caleb thinks he needs to go fight John, uh, Bumper, for my honor.”

J.C. curses under his breath. “The Hell Princes hate Caleb. If he walks into their hangout alone, they’ll kill him.” He frowns and turns to the window, reading a highway sign as we pass. “We’re going the wrong way. The Hell Prince hangout is on the other side of town.

“He’s not going to their hangout. He’s going to an underground fight.”

Quickly and in as few words as possible, I explain the underground fights and tell J.C. that Caleb has been fighting in them most Saturdays for years.

“He’s undefeated, and he has made a shit ton of money off those people. They all hate him and are waiting for the day he loses. And if we don’t get there and stop him, today will be that day.”

“Holy fuck,” J.C. breathes. “That son of a bitch! Why did he lie to us? He always bailed on Saturdays and wouldn’t say why.”

“Money is tight now that his dad left, so he needed the cash and didn’t want you all to know.”

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