Page 3 of Cruel Academy (Princes of Ravenlake Academy 2)

Also, absurdly gorgeous.

I shake my head and stick that thought where the sun don’t shine.

Caleb hates my guts. With good reason. After everything that happened between us…

No!I think to myself. Noooope. No way, Jose.Don’t even go there.

The past is the past. Nothing good can come of revisiting the things that John did while I was with him. The things he made me do.

I shudder and turn away as the crowd roars behind me.

I’ve overstayed my welcome. It’s time to get the hell out of here.

This part of my life is over.

2

Haley

I take a deep breath when I push through the rusted side door and emerge into the parking lot.

It’s summer in Ravenlake, Texas, so the air is humid. But it feels good anyways. Calming. Soothing.

Out here, the roar of the crowd is hardly noticeable. It’s just crickets. Distant cars passing on the highway. The drone of the single fluorescent streetlight in the far corner of the parking lot. The sounds of South Texas at night.

Until, when someone reaches out of the darkness and grabs me, I add my scream to the mix.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” someone snarls.

I whirl around, still caught in the man’s grasp.

I’m expecting to see John.

He found me. He came to finish what he started. To shut me up. Silence me for good.

But it’s not him.

Instead, it’s Levi—John’s best friend.

Not quite as bad as I feared. But not much better, either.

“I’m leaving,” I snap. I wrench my arm free of his clutches and take a step away from him.

“Why did you come here tonight?” His breath is thick with the scent of alcohol. So much that I feel a little drunk just smelling it. “Not smart, little Halez. Not smart at all.”

I ball my hands into fists. “Thought I’d put some money on the Wilson kid.”

He growls between clenched teeth. “Don’t be a smartass. No one has heard from you in months. If you knew what was good for you, you’d be hiding.”

I roll my eyes. “You don’t scare me, Levi.”

That’s a lie.

I do a quick survey of my surroundings. I’m alone in a parking lot with a drunken asshole who’s best friend with my abusive ex. Fact is that I’m not just scared—I’m fucking terrified.

Everyone inside is screaming their heads off as Caleb Wilson, the Fighter Prince of Ravenlake Prep, beats another idiot into submission.

Which means none of them will hear me if I start screaming for help.

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