Page 128 of Cruel Academy (Princes of Ravenlake Academy 2)

Then his face twists into a rage and he launches himself at me.

After the buildup, it feels like our fight should be an epic one. Like a scene from an anime cartoon with lightning bolts and explosions of color happening in the background.

Instead, I throw a single punch that hits Bumper in his left eye. His head snaps to the side from the blow, his face slips to neutral, and he collapses on the floor, knocked out cold.

I stare down at him for a second, waiting to see if he’ll stir.

He doesn’t.

Then, there is clapping behind me.

I look over my shoulder and see that the Hell Princes and my friends aren’t fighting anymore.

Everyone is looking at Bumper and me in the middle of the room, and J.C. is trying to start a slow clap that no one else is joining in on.

“Come on, guys. That was epic,” he says.

Noah shakes his head. “It was pathetic. It almost makes me feel bad for him.”

“For Bumper?” Haley sneers.

“I saidalmost.” Noah looks at Bumper with disgust and sighs. “The guy gives me serious secondhand embarrassment.”

The Hell Princes look nervous, as though they’ve only just realized they were brought here to fight Bumper’s battle and not for any actual Hell Prince business.

“Well, boys,” I say, directing my comment to the bikers. “I’m going to give the police a call and let them know about an underground fighting location used by the Hell Princes, so if you want to save your lackluster leader, I’d suggest you scoop him up and fuck off. Otherwise, the police will be picking him up in about ten minutes.”

J.C. barks out a laugh and tries to start another slow clap, but no one joins.

Levi glares at him and then starts walking towards Bumper before he realizes no one else is following him. He spins around. “We have to get Bumper out of here.”

“Do we?” one of the bikers asks. “Because I don’t think wehaveto do anything.”

The other Hell Princes nod in agreement.

Then, one by one, turn towards the exit and leave.

I pull out my phone and wave it in Levi’s direction. “You’re free to wait with Bumper until the police arrive. I’m sure he’d appreciate that.”

Levi chews on his lip for a nervous second before he huffs out a sigh and jogs after the rest of his friends.

As soon as he is out of sight, I slip my phone back into my pocket.

“I’m not going to call the police but let’s get out—”

A slow clapping begins for a third time. J.C.’s jaw is clenched, his lips pursed tight in a kind of intense admiration.

“Enough,” I groan, making my way to Haley and ignoring him. “Don’t be stupid.”

The clapping grows as Noah joins in and then Haley, all of them fighting back laughter as they cheer for me.

I roll my eyes and wrap an arm around Haley’s shoulders, steering her towards the door. “You all are ridiculous.”

She nuzzles into my side and hugs my midsection. “And you, Caleb Wilson, are a really good guy.”

48

Haley

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