Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 94692 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 379(@250wpm)___ 316(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94692 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 379(@250wpm)___ 316(@300wpm)
“You should fucking ban him,” he growled. “You better believe I’m pressing charges.”
Oh no, you won’t.
I pulled out my phone hurriedly and took a few photos of him. The last one—he glared murderously in the picture.
“Or you start acting nicer,” I said. Copperhead was busy trying to calm Noa, so I bent down and spoke for only Axel to hear. “Plenty of people know about your bullying, and you started this fight.” As I talked, I quickly sent the photos to my email before I deleted them from my phone. “If you keep this up, maybe everyone will find out how someone small and defenseless beat you to a bloody pulp.”
By then, it was a party. Mister Colt arrived on the scene when Mister Ash and James did, and James hauled me into his arms. A man with a limp hurried from his car to get to Noa. Mister KC, I presumed.
“What the hell happened?” James demanded.
I swallowed dryly, watching Colt help Axel to his feet.
“I reckon we have some talkin’ to do in the office,” he told Axel.
“It better involve calling the police,” Axel rasped, touching his face gingerly. He had a cut in his eyebrow, his lip was busted, and his cheeks and jaw were red.
“We’ll talk first,” Colt replied firmly. “Let’s go.”
Copperhead and KC ushered a rabid Noa inside, followed by Colt and Axel.
Wait, wait, wait!
“Mister Colt!” I called.
He looked over his shoulder.
“Noa didn’t start this,” I said. “Axel has been bullying people—and he shoved Noa twice before he defended himself.”
“That’s bullshit,” Axel growled.
“We have proof, asshole,” I snapped.
“That’s enough, baby,” James cautioned me quietly.
Colt glanced between Ash, James, and me. “Maybe y’all stick around for a minute. We might wanna hear from you too.”
“Yes, Sir,” I replied.
James gripped my chin and made me face him. “Spill.”
So. Damn. Bossy.
I narrowed my eyes. “Can I breathe first? Practice some patience—like I did when you didn’t answer your phone.”
He cocked a brow. “I was workin’, Jordan.”
Ash cleared his throat and lifted both brows at me. “Watch the attitude, boy. Let’s go inside. I wanna know everything.”
Fine. “Yes, Sir.”
Now that the danger was over and I was wedged between James and Mister Ash on the patio, I was so curious to get a tour of the place. Kit wasn’t here anymore, so I would say hello to him next time. Maybe he was in their Founders’ cabin? I knew he had one with Mister Colt and Mister Lucas, who were founding members.
“Can you focus, Jordan?” James requested.
“What?” I asked. “That’s the whole story. You showed up like a minute after Sir Copperhead used himself as a straitjacket for Noa.”
Ash’s mouth twitched, and I kind of wanted to kiss him. “Reese.”
Right. Copperhead’s name was Reese. Another Founder. He had an antisocial twin brother I’d seen online—River. It was as if he was being charged by the word. Nine times out of ten, his sparse responses were one or two words. He didn’t hang out in the brat groups or anything like that, though. He stuck to his partners’ posts, some journal entries, and the history group.
I glanced over at the pool area and wished I had swimwear with me. I could so go for a soak.
“How long do you think the others will be?” I wondered. “I wanna make sure Noa doesn’t get punished. Like, I mean, I know violence is wrong and all that crap—but he was really hurt by the bullying.”
Noa might not admit it, but come on. Why else would he have gone berserk on Axel?
“I’m sure they’ll be out soon,” Ash said. “But whether Noa gets punished isn’t up to you, sweetheart. I trust Reese, Colt, and KC, though.”
I chewed on the inside of my cheek. “I hope Axel gets banned.”
Ash hummed. “Terms of use apply to everyone. We’re not biased with bans out here. Unless he’s broken the rules, he’s welcome.”
“He’s an asshole,” I argued.
He chuckled. “No rule against that, I’m afraid. My guess? His online account will be restricted for a while, and he and Noa will be told to steer clear of each other.”
I huffed.
“How would it look if we banned everyone we didn’t like?” he countered patiently. “Penelope, one of my closest friends out here—she broke up with her girlfriend a few months ago. The ex cheated. I’d say that’s more than asshole behavior. But it was a private matter and no ground for a community ban.” He paused. “I’m not saying this Axel kid is someone I’d like to be around—and I fucking adore Noa—but the community management needs to mind its distance in some matters.”
Well, crap. I guessed that made sense.
“Besides, these things tend to work themselves out over time,” he went on. “Pen’s ex left Mclean of her own volition, and you mentioned Axel’s not very popular online. Sooner or later, he’ll discover that his behavior is alienating him.”