Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 87152 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87152 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Which is why I stand without giving it any more thought. Carter makes a choking sound and moves like he’s going to get up, too, but Easton shakes his head firmly before following me away from the table to where the blonde sits with her pearl necklace and her book. How fucking pretentious can a person be? Wearing pearls on a random Wednesday, like she’s special or something. Probably sitting alone because she thinks she’s too good to sit with anybody else. Feeling superior over the good she believes she did last night. If she only fucking knew.
She’s about to find out.
The cafeteria noise fades until it’s nothing but a faint buzzing in my head. She’s completely oblivious, not even looking up from her book until we’re standing directly in front of her.
It takes a second for recognition to click and her gold-flecked hazel eyes to go wide. “Wait a second,” she whispers before sitting up straighter while her gaze darts between us.
“For what?” I drop into an empty chair, and Easton does the same next to me. “You got us in a lot of trouble last night,” I tell her, remembering the way she tried to stare us down while Brody gasped for air and whimpered like the little bitch he is.
“I hate to disagree, but you’re the ones who got yourselves into trouble last night, not me.”
This smart-mouthed little bitch. She still doesn’t get it. “Did you ever stop to think there might’ve been a reason for it?” Easton asks while I seethe.
“Did you ever stop to think I don’t care? I’m sure you had your reasons,” she adds while my mouth falls open, “but it wasn’t fair, and I wasn’t going to stand back and let it happen.”
She folds her thin arms the way she did last night, then arches an eyebrow. “I’d say I was sorry your little intimidation tactic isn’t working, but I’m not sorry.”
This fucking bitch. My blood is on the verge of turning into lava by the time I blurt out, “So you really don’t give a shit why the asshole was getting his ass kicked? What if he just killed somebody?”
“But he didn’t, did he? Or maybe you would’ve said that when I found you instead of threatening me. But no.” She snickers. “You were the big, scary guys who had to put me in my place. Well, joke’s on you, isn’t it? I’m surprised you’re not in jail right now after what you did. They actually let people walk around free after beating somebody half to death?”
“Oh, be a little more dramatic about it,” Easton mutters, which was exactly the wrong thing to say. It’s amazing we both don’t freeze solid when she hits us with an icy glare.
“I would say this has been fun, but it hasn’t.” All at once she gets up—she barely touched her food, I notice as she picks up her tray. “I’m not interested in why you did what you did, and if you think you’re going to intimidate me, you’re wasting your time.”
This is all wrong. It doesn’t have to be this way. “Would you just wait a minute?” I’m already halfway around the table by the time she pushes her chair back. “Would you just listen to us?”
Color floods her pale cheeks before she grits out, “I told you I’m not interested. Now get out of my way.”
“Let her go,” Easton mutters in a dark, flat voice. I should, too, I know it. There’s a voice in my head telling me to back off. It’s a voice I don’t pay attention to very much and usually end up wishing I had after I get my ass in trouble.
Why start now?
“Not until she listens,” I grunt at him, staring down at her. She just needs to listen. Why is that so fucking hard? “We deserve that.”
“Deserve?” Rolling her eyes, she tries to shove her way past me—then figures out she might as well try to shove her way through a brick wall. It doesn’t seem to phase her, though. If anything, it pisses her off. Her eyes go narrow and the redness in her cheeks gets darker.
Before something cold splashes across the front of my T-shirt and the open button down on top of it.
“Fuck!” I bark, jumping back a step and staring down at what smells like sweet tea now dripping off my clothes onto the tile floor.
Thanks to the now empty cup the blonde is holding. “Whoops,” she whispers without bothering to hide her smirk. “Guess you should’ve stepped out of the way when I asked politely.”
Until now, I couldn’t understand how any man could hurt a woman. I’m starting to see it now, though, since I want nothing more than to break her for this. To wipe that smug little smirk off her face for good. She has no idea who she’s fucking with—but she’s going to find out.