by Dean, Ali
When I felt a hand on my arm I started to pull away, but then realized I recognized the guy. I couldn’t remember his name, but he was on the men’s soccer team. He lived in the same dorm as Jada. Relaxing, I had to yell to be heard over the noise. “I need to find Jada.”
He nodded. “This was a terrible idea. I can’t believe they brought the recruits to this mosh pit.”
I agreed wholeheartedly. But I knew why’d they’d done it. Neil Malone had invited them. I hadn’t been surprised the Malone name was alluring to people. Even the recruits who weren’t from the Boston area had heard of the Malones. Most people who had their eyes set on the Ivy Leagues would have heard of the family.
We got through the hallway and passed a kitchen. I didn’t see the women’s team anywhere. “Where is everyone?” I shouted to the guy.
He was clearing the way for me and seemed to have a destination in mind. “I don’t know. I’m looking,” he shouted back. Great. Now I was in the middle of Malone territory with a guy I’d just met who was as lost as I was.
“Hazel Ross?” A different male voice said my name and I whipped my head around.
I didn’t recognize this one. He was super tall and I had to crane my neck back to look at him. He also looked older, not by a lot, but probably not someone I’d overlapped with in high school.
“Did you lose your host?” He bent down so I could hear him. “I’m the student rep for athlete recruitment. That’s how I know who you are. You’re our top recruit this weekend. They really shouldn’t have brought you here.”
My heart was still racing. This guy sounded like he was here to rescue me, but I didn’t trust anyone in my current predicament. I looked back and found the guy from the soccer team had been sucked into the crowd. I was on my own.
“Come on, I’ll help you out of here.” He put a hand between my shoulder blades and gently pushed me forward. It was the same direction I’d been going before so I went with it. What else was I going to do?
We got through the hallway and it opened up to a large room devoid of furniture. There was more breathing room here, and my eyes darted around for a familiar face.
The only person I recognized was my ex-boyfriend, Blake Carmen. He was coming at us fast and I tried to take a step back. Instead, I stepped right into the student rep’s chest.
Blake was glaring at the guy behind me. “Really, Easton? I knew you were dumb but come on, this could kill your shot at the NHL.”
I was sandwiched between these two guys, both well over six feet. The sense that I’d been walking into a trap solidified with my inability to move.
“Oh relax, Blake. You’re new. You don’t know how this works. The Malones pull this shit all the time and it’s all under wraps. It’s just fun.”
My panic mounted as it dawned on me what was going on here.
“I know the Malones well enough, Easton. You forget I grew up in Defiance Falls with them. Played club with Branden and Sean.”
At the sound of those names, my blood ran cold. I wiggled to try to get through but Blake pulled me to him and held on tight.
“She’s even hotter than they said. Shit man, why’d you let this one go?”
At that question, and Blake’s low growl, I knew that Easton was most definitely not my rescuer, and Blake might be my best bet to get the hell out of here.
I caught site of another familiar face only a few feet away. Ruby Firestone was staring at us, looking slightly horrified. I wanted to call out to her but as soon as she caught my eye she shook her head in warning. Right, we weren’t supposed to know each other.
She turned away and was gone.
Blake started moving with me tucked into him and I heard Easton protest. “Man, don’t do that. She dumped you, remember? Let it go.”
I realized now his voice was slurred.
“Ignore him,” Blake muttered. “Let’s get you out of here.”
Blake’s grip was tight around my waist and I felt the tension radiating from him.
Easton wasn’t letting it go though. He grabbed my arm. “You want to get on Neil’s bad side right off the bat? I’ll keep this little tantrum from him if you get going, Carmen.”
I spun then, sick of this guy assuming I had no say in the matter. “Oh, really? You think I want to go with you now?”
We’d gone unnoticed but with my little outburst, a few people turned our way. Awesome. Okay, I guess I didn’t need to defend myself if it meant making a scene. I was supposed to be making a good impression, not providing entertainment for a frat party. I started to turn back around and let Blake guide me out of there, but Easton was apparently just drunk enough to take my question as flirting.
“I like a little challenge. For a minute there I thought you were going to make it easy for me.”
I tried to ignore him, I really did. But Blake was blocked and not moving, and Easton wouldn’t take his hand off my arm.
I glared at the drunk asshole. “And I thought you were trying to help me, not trap me.”
“I’m not trapping you. I’m the top scorer on the hockey team, baby. Usually I don’t touch recruits or even freshman chicks. Too clingy. I’m willing to make an exception for you.”
Was this guy for real? He was giving me a lopsided grin filled with confidence. I shot him a disgusted look and pushed at Blake’s back, only to realize we were caged in. Three guys were blocking his exit, and a group of onlookers were standing behind Easton to the other side.
“I never gave you permission to touch me,” I gritted out while shaking his hand off my arm.
Blake was now trying to push us past the wall of muscle in the other direction. I shoved Easton and attempted to slide by but he stepped forward, pushing Blake aside. He had me against the wall. I was outright scared now. All these people were watching. Surely he wouldn’t try anything.
His breath reeked of alcohol and when he licked his lips my stomach roiled. “Just one kiss, one little taste.” He started to lean forward and black spots appeared, from shock, I guess, at his boldness. No way. I noticed from the edge of my vision that Blake was being held back by the guys who’d blocked our path. One was Keegan Malone.
No one was saving me now. I clenched my jaw and instinct took over. My knee went up and slammed into Easton’s crotch. When he doubled over I shoved the idiots standing by out of my way. I was making progress, and even spotted a door, when I felt someone at my back. I didn’t look behind me as I continued pushing to get out of there. When I got through the door, I tripped on a stairway and fell forward. Arms reached to lift me up and I started to pull away.
“It’s me. It’s Blake. Come on, we gotta get out of here.”
“What the hell was that?” I asked as I let him get me to my feet.
He grabbed my hand and pulled me, not letting me stop. “There’s a bet going on the hockey team for who can kiss you first tonight.”
Was it messed up that I felt mild relief it was only a kiss that was on the line? Yeah, it really was. That said a lot right there about the direction my life was going. Besides, he was probably lying. I bet they had bonus points for doing more. My stomach roiled again, even as Blake was getting us farther from the party and the crowd.
“I told the team you had a boyfriend and you wouldn’t willingly kiss anyone. Some assholes saw that as an extra challenge. I think they do this a lot with recruits. Pick a hot one and make bets. It’s disgusting.”
Blake sounded as sick as I felt.
“These are your teammates for the next four years, Blake.”
We were away from the party now, and I saw no one was following. Blake stopped and turned to me. “I know. Not all of them are like Easton. Neil and Keegan are on a power trip. I don’t know what’s going on with them and Donovan but they decided to mess with you to get to Donovan and your cousins or something.”
I wasn’t sure how to answer that, and I didn’t have to. A fist came out of nowhere and slammed right into Blake’s jaw.
Chapter Twenty-One
> Cruz
Ruby never texted or called us from her own phone. So when I got a message from her, I knew it was bad.
Ruby: Two hockey guys with Hazel in great room. She looks trapped.
We’d been hanging on the outside of the main party. By the time we got to the great room, Hazel was gone and everyone was talking about a bet. I heard someone say, “Looks like that freshman is playing the good-cop card. I heard they went to the same high school.”
“Who? Blake Carmen?” another guy asked.
“That’s the one.”
I refrained from punching the idiots for talking about my girlfriend with another guy. I needed them to tell me where they’d gone.
They pointed to the back door. By the time I saw Blake and Hazel walking hand in hand away from the party, I was already seeing red.
I started to charge forward, but Spike grabbed me around the waist. “Dude, this is what the Malones want. They’re trying to get you to start a fight. You know that’s Neil’s favorite game to play. And now we’re on his turf.”
It said a lot that it was Spike, the one most likely of the five of us to throw the first punch, who was trying to talk reason.
He got me to slow it down but it was too late for Bodhi. Blake was stumbling back and Bodhi was in his face. Hazel reached for Bodhi and yelled at him to stop.
Blake looked like he was about to punch Bodhi right back before he noticed me and Spike behind him.
He threw his hands up. “Guys, I was getting Hazel out of there. I was helping.”
“He was,” Hazel said, and when she took a step closer to him, I saw red again. Spike slammed a hand on my shoulder in warning.
“You sure you weren’t trying to win a bet?” Bodhi bit out.
Blake’s eyes widened. “No way, man. You’re kidding, right? Hazel was my girlfriend for five months. Why would I –”
He shut up when I stepped forward. It was more like four months. He was rounding up.
Hazel didn’t let me correct him. She moved between us and put her hands on my chest. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”
I stared at Blake over her head. I saw a glimmer of fear there, and it surprised me.
He took a step back. “I don’t need to end up like Kai Tillson, all right? He pushed his luck. I’m just looking out for Hazel.”
I was caught off guard by that.
“How’d you hear about Kai?” Spike asked.
Blake shook his head. “Shit.”
Hazel’s hands on my chest dropped and she turned around. “Did Kai tell you?” she asked him.
I started to slide my hand around Hazel and draw her to me but she stiffened.
Blake rubbed a hand over his face. “Look, you guys need to get out of here.”
“First you need to tell us how you know about Kai,” I told him. He was right though. If we wanted to avoid fighting the entire Harvard men’s hockey team, we had to get moving. That was a big if though. I was itching for a fight. The only thing stopping me was that was exactly what Neil had intended. We’d be playing into his hand.
“Fine. Kai called me, all right? Said he was worried about Hazel, thought you might have been hitting her.”
I narrowed my eyes. “When was that?”
“A few days ago. Said Hazel had a bruise the other night, then she wouldn’t answer his texts and when he went to check up on her you beat the shit out of him. He wanted to know about our break-up, if you had anything to do with it. If I’d seen Hazel recently. He wasn’t sure if he should report his concerns.”
“What’d you tell him?”
“To shut up and let it go,” Blake said, looking right at me. “I knew the bruise he saw was from the fight at Patriot Taphouse. And I knew he was still hung up on Hazel and probably deserved some of what you gave him. He was looking for a reason to get back in Hazel’s life.”
I nodded. “Good. You’re smarter than he is.”
Hazel stepped forward and my hand slid from her waist. She put a hand on Blake’s arm and my chest squeezed. “Thanks, Blake. For everything.”
His eyes flicked from me to her and when they softened I clenched my fists. “Anytime, Hazel.”
Hazel glanced behind us. “Come on. We’re leaving.”
My girl was pissed, and I got the sense it was partly directed at me. I was pissed too, and some of it might have been at her, I didn’t know. Why the hell had she been holding Blake’s hand? And it looked like she’d been ready to defend him from us. What was that all about?
Hazel led the way and the three of us trailed behind her. No one said a word.
We walked all the way through campus, and my head barely processed where we were going until we were in the admissions office parking lot.
Hazel stood by the Hummer. “Spike, can you drive me home? I don’t want to be on this campus a second longer.”
The red from earlier flickered in my vision. She was asking Spike for a ride? I didn’t think so.
“I have my bike, come on, I’ll take you.” I reached out my hand but she shook her head. She bit her bottom lip and underneath the attitude she was throwing at us, I saw she was hurting. Hazel looked like she was on the verge of crying. My girl always masked her pain with anger when she could.
“What happened in there?” I’d been so focused on Blake I hadn’t thought about where she’d been minutes earlier when Ruby texted me.
She didn’t answer right away and I was torn between holding her and charging back to that party. We’d been right there. How had we missed her going in?
“Hazel, talk to me,” I begged before stepping closer, into her space.
She didn’t want it though. She turned around and pulled on the passenger door handle. It was locked. She hit the window with her hand before resting her forehead on it. Spike beeped the door open but she didn’t move. Her chest was rising and falling. Anger wasn’t holding her together anymore.
I forgot about the guys nearby and hugged her from behind.
“Tell me what happened,” I coaxed.
“Take me home,” she said again. She spun around then, and her eyes were burning with unshed tears. “The Malones don’t deserve a truce. They think they can toy with women as a power play? I don’t care what it costs us. This ends now. I will not endure another one of their little games.”
Bodhi and Spike were on either side of me, and I felt their anger radiating. “What the hell happened in there, Hazel?” Bodhi growled.
Her eyes shot to him. “Nothing. I kneed the idiot in the balls when he tried to kiss me.”
“That’s my girl,” I muttered, even though I knew he’d still hurt her.
She was right. It was time to end this. It took everything in me not to turn around right then and there. We were armed. We could handle them. But drawing weapons in that mosh pit was a recipe for disaster. For everyone.
“They’ve done this before,” Spike said. “Bets on the recruits or hot freshmen. Neil and Keegan will say it wasn’t personal, that it was only a kiss.”
Hazel shook her head. “We know it was personal. We know why they did it. They thought it might be their last chance to go after us before the truce.”
That didn’t sit right though. “It’s reckless. It’s as if they wanted us to do something. React. They were toying with emotions. Especially right after what Branden and Sean did. I don’t get it.”
“Neil knew you guys were there, right?” Hazel asked.
“Yeah, Ruby told us he got a call that Bodhi and Spike were on campus. She didn’t know about the bet then, so he must have decided to put that into action to start a fight.”
“You didn’t get that out of your systems at Patriot Taphouse?” Hazel asked. She looked at all three of us and then sighed. “Never mind. I would knee that asshole in his junk a dozen more times and still want to do it again.”
“Who was it?”
Hazel crossed her arms. “Some guy named Easton. I don’t know if that was his first or last name. Blake really was trying to get me
out of there, by the way. He’d heard about the bet, saw me with Easton and told the guy to back off. We started to leave and we were blocked by more guys. I think one was Keegan Malone. Then all these people stood there watching as Easton tried to kiss me. What kind of people stand there watching while a guy forces himself on someone?”
I’d never heard of Easton but I was grateful to have someone to let out some of this rage on.
“Crowds are scary. They don’t even realize what’s happening until it’s too late,” Spike said.
“Are you defending them?” Hazel asked.
“Hell no. I’m just saying you can never count on strangers to help you out.”
Bodhi leaned against the passenger side door beside his cousin and looked at me. “There’s no way we can all come to Harvard with the Malones here. Any truce is bullshit. They’re born and bred to be the way they are, and they’re not going to back down. I’m not going to let them use Hazel again to get to us. Uncle Jeremy will change his mind when he hears about this.”
“I don’t even want to wait for that meeting to happen. The decision deadline is Sunday. Less than two days away. I say we make a move now.” I couldn’t let the Malones get away with hurting Hazel not once, but twice. I wouldn’t walk into whatever trap they had set up for tonight, but there was no way we would let this slide, whether they agreed to the truce or not.
“Let’s just get off this campus. Get to the Spot.” Hazel suddenly looked exhausted. Not drained like she did after a hard workout, but emotionally beat. My body and mind warred between scooping her up and comforting her or blowing up a Malone Lincoln Navigator. Last time she was attacked, we’d taken the conservative approach, and I’d gone to her. I still didn’t know if that had been the right move.