Page 68 of Cruel Academy (Princes of Ravenlake Academy 2)

I step forward to join J.C. and Noah. Our trio feels thin without Finn and Viktor rounding out the group, but we have to work with what we’ve got.

I puff out my chest, cross my arms, and decide to be the first to break the silence.

“What the fuck are you all doing here?” I call out.

“Chill,” Noah hisses under his breath. “Keep it chill.”

The five Hell Princes step forward until they are just barely inside the circle of light emanating from the firepit.

Bumper is in the lead with two brawny enforcers on either side.

Felix is standing in the back, and he lifts one shoulder in a lazy “what can you do?” kind of shrug when our eyes meet.

They are all wearing leather vests, and even from this distance, I can see the sweat beading on their foreheads. Linen really would be a better idea.

“Unfortunately, this is a BYOB party, and you all seem to be lacking,” I say. When none of them respond, I clarify. “Bring Your Own Balls.”

“You should learn to keep your mouth shut.” Bumper’s narrow face is twisted into a scowl. He looks pale in the firelight. Like an emaciated ghost.

He is not intimidating in the least. It’s why he always has muscle with him. He can’t fight to save his life.

Unless he’s fighting Haley, of course.

Guys like him are trash. The lowest of the low. He hates that he is cowardly and feeble, so he makes himself feel better by hitting a woman. It is utterly pathetic.

“And you should learn some manners,” I snap back. “Rolling up to a party you weren’t invited to is bad form.”

“I’m not here for your party,” Bumper says, glancing around the campsite with his nose wrinkled like he doesn’t live in a roach-infested apartment across town.

He leans sideways, trying to glance around me, and I hear the leaves behind me rustle.

He knows Haley is here.

“I came to reclaim what is mine.”

Jealousy grips my insides like a vise. My voice is a menacing growl. “You don’t own her.”

I feel J.C. and Noah both look at me, probably surprised by my passionate reaction.

I can’t really blame them.

I’m surprised, too.

I knew I hated Bumper, but in this moment, I don’t care about anything he has ever done to me. Instead, I keep imagining his stubby fingers around Haley’s throat.

If he isn’t careful, I’ll kill him.

“You think this is abouther?” Bumper raises a brow and then throws back his head in fake laughter. “I wouldn’t cross town for that pussy, let alone drive all the way out to the middle of nowhere. No, I’m not here for the bitch. I’m here for what she owes me.”

“Watch your tone, shithead.” J.C. steps forward and slightly in front of me. “You shouldn’t talk about the lady that way.”

I’ve heard J.C. say much worse about the girls he has slept with, but I’m not going to argue with his chivalrous act now. Especially since it is distracting enough to keep me from running forward and grabbing Bumper by the throat just to teach him what it feels like.

I don’t think that would be an effective way to deescalate the situation.

“’Lady’?” Bumper snorts, and the guys around him join in. “I’ve bent that girl over every surface of my apartment and a few public benches. You call that a ‘lady’?”

I lunge forward without thinking.

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