Page 7 of Cruel Academy (Princes of Ravenlake Academy 2)

Best to stay on guard.

There’s another reason I need to remind myself of that fact: no one at Ravenlake Academy knows I fight here.

To a select group of Public kids and Hell Princes, I’m a fighting god.

But to the kids at the richest private school in the state, that part of my life is a complete and total mystery.

I intend to keep it that way.

I push open the swinging kitchen door and step into the stainless-steel shell of what was once an operating kitchen.

Felix, the fight promoter who arranges these underground events, is standing in front of the sink with two brawny guys on either side. The basin of the sink is full of cash.

He looks over his shoulder at the sound of my footsteps.

“I should start paying you in advance,” he remarks.

“I wouldn’t mind.” I cross my arms and lean my hip against the counter. “It would save us both some time.”

All three men turn, standing shoulder to shoulder to block the sink from my view.

“I bet against you tonight,” he adds with a wild grin.

“Why would you do something stupid like that?”

He frowns. “Because you can’t win them all.”

“History would disagree,” I laugh.

Felix reaches into the inside pocket of his jacket and pulls out a bundle of cash bound with a rubber band.

I take the time to eye the guys on either side of him. They’re Hell Princes, which means they’re wearing their leather jackets.

“You know,” I drawl, “for an outlaw motorcycle club, you guys seem to have a very strict uniform policy.”

“The fuck did you say?” the one with the shaved head growls. His buddy, a goon with eyebrows thicker than caterpillars, tightens his fists and takes a half-step towards me.

I chuckle. “I’m just saying, it’s Texas. Hot as hell down here, in case you haven’t noticed. Have you considered switching to something else? Linen, maybe, or seersucker? Maybe then you morons wouldn’t stink like sweaty shit all the time.”

I’m still laughing as the pair of Hell Princes flanking Felix look like they’re ready to throw down here and now.

Felix rolls his eyes. “Easy, idiots,” he snaps at the two bodyguards.

They growl, but relent. Even dumbass Hell Princes know the pecking order around here.

He tosses the money across the counter to me. “Count it if you want. It’s all there.” He says that every time.

And every time, I unbind the cash and count it anyway.

He sighs. I ignore him.

When I first came to the fights, Felix almost tossed me out on my ass. There are high school kids in the Hell Princes, but Felix is in his mid-twenties, and he was worried the fights were turning into an after-school program.

He especially wanted me gone when he heard I came from Ravenlake Prep.

“Get your pansy, prep school ass out of my face”were his exact words, if I remember correctly.

Before he could even finish the sentence, I’d twisted his arm behind his back and had my fist poised a centimeter from his eye.

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