Page 117 of Cruel Academy (Princes of Ravenlake Academy 2)

Drills and defensive choreography flash in my mind like a flip-book, but one piece of advice sticks out more clearly than the rest. It was a flippant remark Caleb made one day, but it stuck.

If all else fails, scream.

So I do.

I throw my head back, managing to hit my attacker in the nose, and scream like my life depends on it—since it very well might.

I get out one loud yell before the man holding me puts me on the ground and slaps a hand over my mouth. The doors of the idling car in front of us burst open and more men are moving towards me.

This time, I recognize them.

Levi and the man he brought with him the last time he tried to attack me.

And John.

“Good work, Estefania,” John says, winking at her over my head.

Then he turns to me. His golden hair is glowing in the sunset, but even the sun’s rays can’t penetrate his dark black eyes.

They look even emptier than usual.

“What do you want?” I mumble against the hand over my mouth. I’m not sure if John can understand me, but it probably doesn’t take much deduction to figure it out.

“Consider this my callout.” He smiles. “If your boyfriend wants to fight, then we’ll fight. On my terms.”

44

Caleb

When I pull into the driveway and see my dad’s car, I want to turn around and leave.

J.C. and Noah don’t hate me and, in fact, have been cracking jokes all week about the underground fights and my money issues, so that is one bullet dodged. I’m not sure I’m lucky enough to dodge more than one.

I certainly didn’t dodge Haley’s bullet. That one hit me straight in the chest and has been lodged there all week. I don’t want to worsen it.

But I can’t go to Finn’s because I don’t want another run-in with Haley, and I don’t have the money to rumble aimlessly around town in my gas-guzzling truck. So, I park my truck and walk slowly inside.

Mom is waiting for me in the entryway.

“I’m not thrilled about the ambush.”

“It’s not an ambush,” she says. “Just go in and listen to him. Please.”

Usually after Dad and I have a falling out, he has the good sense to stay away for a month—several if I’m lucky. But it has barely been a week, and he has called me every single day.

“Why should I?”

Mom lays a hand on my cheek and gives me a sad smile. “Because he’s your dad, Caleb. The only one you’ve got.”

Dad is sitting in the same spot at the kitchen table as he was when I last left, but he is in a pair of loose track pants and a plain T-shirt rather than a suit. He looks casual and rumpled, almost.

The circles under his eyes lead me to believe he has been sleeping about as much as I have.

I open my mouth to say something, but he holds up his hand. “I just want you to listen first if that’s okay? Before either of us can lose our tempers, I just want to get this out. Can you let me do that?”

Said in a different tone, this request might have been enough to send me stomping towards the front door and back to my truck. But I can sense the sincerity in his voice. It is a genuine, humble request, and I nod silently.

“I shouldn’t have threatened to take money from you. I’m the adult—your dad—and I should behave better than that. I don’t threaten my kid, okay? I’m sorry, and you don’t ever have to worry about me cutting you off.”

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