Page 24 of Cruel Academy (Princes of Ravenlake Academy 2)

J.C. waves it off. “It’s fine. Though, I might have made things worse for you. Penny hates everyone, but she might hate the Golden Boys most of all. Hanging out with us will not help you.”

“I thought everyone, like … loved you guys.”

“Not the girls whose hearts we break,” he says, reaching out to playfully slap a third guy I haven’t even looked at yet. “Right, Noah?”

Noah is tall and thin with swarthy features, as though shadows are clinging to him. He rolls his eyes at J.C. and pulls out his phone instead.

J.C. seems used to the dismissal. He turns to Caleb. “But Haley says you two already know each other?”

“Not exactly,” Caleb bites out. “She is Finn’s new neighbor. The neighborhood really is going to shit.”

J.C. jostles my shoulders, oblivious to the darts Caleb is flinging at me with his eyes. “I know. I invited her to come over and hang. Maybe tonight we can—”

“No.”

His arm stills around me as he absorbs Caleb’s tone and general “fuck off” body language. “Whoa. Who pissed on your pancakes?”

“I’m busy tonight,” Caleb says through gritted teeth.

“Another night, then?” J.C. asks with a smile, eyebrows wagging. “Finn has an absurdly huge liquor cabinet—his dad was a realglug-glugkind of guy—so we could party there every night for a year and still have alcohol left to share.”

I nod and try to smile back at J.C.

The death of Finn’s dad and a few others at the house was front-page news for weeks. Not to mention, it was also the main reason my dad received a promotion at Barber Engineering.

The company had to do a major shake-up to avoid any whispers of corruption, which meant a few average joes like my dad became suit-and-tie guys.

Really, Finn’s family is the only reason I’m at Ravenlake Prep now.

I’m not sure whether to send him a death threat or a thank-you card.

“I’m not watching the house for Finn so we can party,” Caleb hisses. “Besides, truce or not, I’m not looking to hang out with a Hell Prince’s fuck toy.”

“Hey, hey.” J.C. steps between Caleb and me with his hands out like he is ready to break up a fight, though neither of us have made a move towards one another. “Let’s have peace in the parking lot, yeah? Everybody on their best behavior. It’s still the first day of school.”

I look down at my shoes for a long, tense silence.

But when I look up again, Caleb’s eyes are still burning into me.

Without breaking eye contact, he says, “Boys, why don’t you take off? I’ll meet up with you at Finn’s before practice.”

J.C. shrugs, looking back and forth between us.

Noah apparently doesn’t give a shit about the weirdness of the dynamic. He just walks off without a word.

“Alrighty,” J.C. offers finally with another shrug. “Catch you later, chief.” Then he saunters off.

I start to do the same, but before my first step even lands, Caleb hisses, “No.”

I freeze.

“What?” I whisper.

“Come here.”

Without waiting for me to obey, he grabs my upper arm in a tight grip and steers me over to the passenger side of his truck. He flings open the door, shoves me inside, and slams it behind me.

I sit in the silence of the cab as he marches around and gets into the driver’s seat. He climbs in and shuts his own door.

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