I take another few steps, putting myself well and truly in front of the massive group, though Tully, Rivers, and Noah step forward with me, but also hang back just a little, letting me have complete control of how I take her down. Though don’t get me wrong, I still feel the daggers coming off Noah. He is one, unhappy, tatted up man, but he won’t dare let anyone else in on that secret. That’s mine and mine alone.
I raise my chin, letting Monica know it’s go time and a hush falls over the crowd, bringing along a suspense that has her shaking in her cheap ass boots.
Standing before her, staring her down with the world at my back is already enough to satisfy my needs, but I’m not stopping until I’ve gone for the kill.
People in the crowd lean in, anxiously waiting for the show to get on the road, and who am I to make them wait any longer?
“The day you decided to fuck with me, the day you forced your way into my home and touched me, was the day you sealed your fate. You fucked with the wrong person, Monica. You’re done,” I tell her, waving my hand around at all these people. “Each and every one of these people are here to watch you fall because at some point you’ve hurt them, you’ve made them feel small, or to be honest, they probably just think you’re a bitch and like seeing bitches get their asses handed to them.”
Monica’s eyes flick around the group, taking in the individual faces with a calculated grace as though this isn’t her first showdown, but I can promise that it’s the first one she’ll lose.
“No,” she simply says as her eyes sail over the cheerleaders gathered around Candice. She focuses her eyes back on me with a renewed confidence that I’m excited to knock back down. “I’m good.”
“Oh,” I laugh, reaching into my back pocket and pulling out the pages I’d ripped out of her notebook from the bottom of her closet. “Why do you say that? Is it because of this?” I ask, holding the paper up so she can clearly recognize the silver pen she’d used on the black paper.
Her eyes widen a moment. “How did…” she trails off, realizing she’s showing weakness.
“You see,” I tell her, cutting off whatever she was going to ramble on about. “All this time I couldn’t work out how the hell you had all these people constantly falling at your feet when you’re such a bitch, but they had no fucking choice. You blackmailed them. You dug up any kind of dirt you could and used it against them for a fucking social status.”
Monica crosses her arms over her chest, not in the least ashamed of herself. “So, what? You think because you stole a few pages from my notebook, that it’s all over. That their secrets are yours now and you hold the power. That you win?”
I bark out a sharp laugh. “Not at all,” I tell her. “I know how people like you work. I’ve spent the last few years on the other end of your bullshit. Don’t you think I know how you work?” Monica’s eyes narrow, her cocky confidence starting to slip away. She looks across to the cheerleaders once again before coming back to me. “You know,” I continue. “Your little brother is a dirty, dirty boy. Impressive, but dirty. He owed a friend a favor and let’s say he enjoys coming through, especially if it means his own little secrets get to remain hidden.”
Monica’s chest begins to rise and fall a little quicker, one of the only signs that she’s starting to panic as she finally sees where I’m going with this. I take a step closer, enjoying the way my pack steps with me followed by Nate’s crew and then the rest of the crowd. “The beauty of someone in your position is that everyone knows everything about you. Where you go every day, your locker combination, all your little hiding spots. I wasn’t so stupid as to think you wouldn’t have evidence on every little claim on these papers,” I say, waving around the papers that have every one of the cheerleaders’ dirty little secrets scrawled out in her cursive handwriting.
Monica sucks in a breath and I continue. “The top of your closet. Your locker. That little jewelry box on your dresser. Everywhere we looked, we found the evidence to back up each of these dirty secrets and guess what, they’re all gone. You no longer own any of these girls and believe me, they’re done being a pawn in your fucked up world. It seems you’ve created yourself a little army of enemies. Only, they no longer serve you.”
“Come on,” I hear whispered on my right. I glance across and find Tora desperate for the kill and I see that same fire in her eyes from last week and know she’s ready to cut a bitch. She’s ready to swing some fists and won’t stop until she has.
I grin as I turn back to Monica. She clearly heard Tora and there’s a panic in her eyes.
I step forward and love how everyone steps with me once again in one hell of a show of intimidation which seems to be working like a charm. “You’re done, Monica,” I repeat. “You can’t go anywhere without running into an enemy. Everywhere you go there will be someone else ready to lay your ass down for the shit you held over them. You used these people to do your bidding. They missed opportunities, they missed living in peace, always looking over their shoulder terrified of what you held over them. But not anymore. They’re free and they want blood.”
Jesse speaks up in a whisper. “Done. Done. Done.” He repeats it over and over again. Kaylah joins in and it quickly becomes a chant. The whole Broken Hill side chant with them before the Haven Fall students do too.
I step forward as the chanting gets a little louder, a little faster. Everyone steps with me.
I search out the eyes of that impressive boy from last weekend and nod his way. Rowland cringes before walking forward with a cringe. As he clears through the bodies, I seek out the box that should be in his hands and I’m not disappointed. “Is it all there?” I question as Monica sucks in a betrayed gasp.
Rowland nods before looking to his sister. “Sorry, Mon. Had to make a decision. You know how it is.”
With that, he hands the box over to Rivers and swiftly disappears, not wanting anything more to do with this.
I feel the cheerleaders’ heavy gazes on the box and let out a sigh when Rivers pulls out a lighter. It’s nearly finished.
Monica charges forward, knowing her whole world would be destroyed if that box of evidence goes up in flames. She’ll no longer have anything to hold, she’ll lose her power, her popularity. Her dignity.
I step in front of her, halting her movements before nodding at Rivers.
With a flick of his thumb, a flame stands tall and he lights the box up like a bonfire before placing it on the ground for everyone to watch burn.
“No,” Monica screeches out, diving for the box.
I push her back as the chanting continues. “You’re done,” I tell her for the third time. “Look around you, Monica. You’ve got no one.”
“Let me at her,” Tora says.
I can’t help but laugh.
Monica’s hands turn into fists at her sides and I feel Noah step in closer to my back, ready and prepared to pull me away if this turns into a fight, but I’d hate it if he did. I’d love nothing more than to feel my fist slamming into the side of her face and my shoes digging into her ribs, just as she did to me. But apparently, I have a little more self control than that. She’s going to get her own, one of these people are going to get blood and when that happens, I’ll be happy because Monica would know that it was me who unraveled her little web of disgust.
With the box mostly destroyed, the cheerleaders don’t care about standing around, waiting their turn to get a piece. After all, they don’t exactly like me. I mean, they’ve shown a little respect over the past week as the plan came into place, but now it’s over and to them, everything goes back to normal. Monica was one of theirs and they’ll deal with her how they see fit.
They move forward and Monica takes her chance. She shoots off to the right, rushing past the Broken Hill kids. “Go, little birdy,” Jesse says to Tora. “Go be free.”
Tora takes off after Monica with a wicked grin and the cheerleaders right behind her. She catches up to Monica and the whole crowd booms out with laughter as Tora crash tackles her to the
ground with a handful of platinum blonde hair between her clenched fist.
Nate instantly punches his brother in the arm. “For fuck's sake,” Nate groans. Not a second later, he hurries over to Tora, peeling her off Monica and letting the vultures have her.
The second Nate starts dragging Tora back up to the group, her eyes lock on mine. She winks and holds up her hand, showing off the hair that she ripped from Monica’s head. “You’re welcome,” she tells me.
With that, the music comes blasting through the speaker and Tully lets out a howling laugh. “That was fucking awesome,” she booms, grabbing Rivers shoulders and launching herself up into the air.
It’s finally finished. Monica is finished and I never have to worry about her destroying Noah or touching me ever again.
So, why the hell doesn’t it feel better?
I step away needing a second to myself, but before I can get far, Noah’s warm hand curls around my elbow and he storms off, dragging me along behind him, struggling to keep up with his long strides.
He pushes in through the back door of the Ryder mega mansion and within the blink of an eye, he’s ripping open a hallway closet and throwing me inside before following me in and slamming the door behind him. Now, don’t get me wrong, nothing is better than being locked in a confined space with Noah Cage, but something tells me this isn’t going to go down how I’m hoping.
“What the fuck was that?” he roars, slamming his fist into the closed door, desperately trying to relieve the anger pulsing through his body.
“What the hell are you talking about?” I yell. “I was handling my shit. Just like you handled yours. You knew this was coming. Hell, I’m surprised you aren’t fucking jumping up and down because I didn’t beat the living shit out of her.”
What’s his problem? I just rocked. I kicked ass out there. He should be beaming just as much as Tully, if not more.
“Fuck, Henley,” he spits, getting in my face. “We don’t handle our shit like that. We don’t get two whole fucking schools involved in our business. We handle our shit like a fucking pack. No one in, no one out. We sure as hell don’t block each other out when we go for the fucking kill. How was I supposed to have your back when I don’t know what the hell was going on? How was I supposed to protect you?
I slam my hands into his chest, pushing him back out of my face back. “You’re one to talk, Noah,” I tell him. “You threw her a fake baby shower in the cafeteria. How’s that not getting other people involved?”
“That was us four against her. I put on a fucking show, but not a damn soul apart from ours knew the truth of what was going on. We’re a pack, Henley. When other people start doing favors for you, they start expecting shit in return.”
“That little show you put on in the cafeteria, that was all you and Rivers so don’t come at me with this ‘pack’ bullshit because you don’t truly believe it yourself. We’re the furthest thing from a pack,” I yell at him. “You want to be a pack, then start acting like one, start by being honest. How am I supposed to have your back when you’re not telling me what the hell is going on with you?”
“Is that what this was all about?” he questions in shock. “You didn’t tell me about this because your knickers are in a twist over the Anton bullshit?”
“No, Happy fucking coincidence. I kept it from you because you’re never fucking around,” I yell at him. “All week you’ve been avoiding me because you’re terrified of talking about your shit and hearing how disappointed I am in you instead of being there for me. You could have told me what to do, I needed you this week and you weren’t there. Physically or mentally.”
“That’s bullshit.”
“No. Bullshit is you dragging me in here to yell at me over handling Monica like a fucking boss.”
Noah shakes his head. “We don’t bring others in on our shit,” he says again. “We’re a fucking pack for a reason.”
I step into him, raising my chin so my lips hover just in front of his without actually touching. “It’s not nice being kept in the dark, is it?” I question. “Believe it or not, it wasn’t intentional. I did what I could with what I had because for the first time, I felt like you didn’t have my back. Sure, you would have beat the shit out of anyone who made the wrong move, but you and me, we’re not on the same page right now and I more than hate it,” I tell him, sucking in a break and dropping my forehead to rest against his chest. “Monica broke me when she touched me and I’m not about to apologize for putting her down in front of the world. She deserved nothing less.”
Noah winds his hand up behind my neck and holds me to him, letting out a resigned sigh. “I’m sorry,” he murmurs, holding me a little tighter. “I didn’t like seeing you front and center like that and I sure as hell didn’t like not knowing how it was going to play out. There’s a reason I always take point on shit like this.”
“I had it handled, Noah. I don’t need you to protect me,” I whisper into the dark closet.
“Trust me, I know that. You’re the strongest person I’ve ever met, but this need to protect you is not something I can just turn off. No matter what, I’m always going to try and save you from the ugliness of this world, even if it is from a cat fight.”
“But I like cat fights,” I smile up at him, hating that even with how close we are right now, there’s still a distance that I’m struggling to close.
He shakes his head, clearly not ready to forgive me. “Can I just…take you home?”
I shake my head right back at him. “But I haven’t had a turn on the Slip ‘N Slide yet.”
“This isn’t the fucking county fair, you know?”
“What’s the matter?” I shoot back at him. “You scared of a little water?”
“No,” he scoffs. “I’m scared of you killing yourself for stupid shit like that.”
“Yeah,” I laugh. “You’re chicken.”
I step around him to reach for the door handle when Noah grabs hold of my waist and holds me against the wall. “You know,” he murmurs, pressing his body against mine, trapping me in place. “I don’t know what it is, but when I see you all fired up like that…fuck, Spitfire, it does things to me.”
I raise my chin to look him in the eye. “You’re not about to screw me in a closet.”
His head ducks and a second later, his warm lips are on my neck. “Yeah, I am.”
I tilt my chin, hating my traitorous body as I allow him more access. “No, I’m too angry at you,” I tell him, curling my arms around his body and digging my nails into the strong muscles, hating that his shirt is in the way.
How can he get me so hot so quickly? It’s not fair.
Noah pulls back just a bit and it’s enough to help me regain control of my body, but not once does he let go of me. He cocks an eyebrow. “Angry sex?”
I shake my head, holding back a smile. “Make-up sex?” I suggest.
He shakes his head. “You and I have way too much shit to sort out before we can have make-up sex.”
“Hmmm,” I murmur, sliding my hands up the front of his shirt and feeling the tight ridges of his abs. “What about ‘You can’t possibly get enough of me and need to remind me who’s boss’ sex?”
Noah groans low and I feel it rumble through his chest. “Fuck, that sounds good.”
“Then what the hell are you waiting for, Noah?” I tease, pressing my chest into his. “Come and take what’s yours.”
Chapter 19
My phone blares to life on Noah’s bedside table and I groan into the night. Who the hell would dare wake me from my sex-induced coma at…hell, what time is it? Noah and I only went to bed at one. I reach over and grab my phone off the charger, squinting as the bright light attempts to blind me. Shit. It’s three in the morning.
This better be important.
I bring the phone to my ear as a yawn rips out of me. “Hello,” I grumble, rolling over and stretching my arm out over to Noah, only his side is cold and empty.
Wait. Where the fuck is Noah?
“Noah?” I grunt, flying up out of bed. “Where the hell are you?”
“Shit, babe. Promise you won’t get mad.”
“Mad?” I all but yell before remembering that his parents are asleep down the hall. “I’m already beyond mad. Do you make a habit of sneaking out of bed after I’ve fallen asleep?”
He curses to himself. “Babe, can we just…can you yell at me later?” he sighs as though he really couldn’t give a shit how pissed off I am right now. “I really need your help. We’ve been arrested.”
“Arrested?” I shriek. “What the fuck, Noah? What for?”
“Babe, just…please. I’ll tell you all about it when you get here. I don’t have time to explain it all right now. I need you to come bail us out.”
I shake my head, completely dumbfounded. How is this even happening? One minute, we’re spending an incredibly hungover Saturday together, and now I’m about to sneak out of his house to bail him out of jail. What the fuck is this? And what the hell for? No doubt this has something to do with Anton. I mean, what other reason would he have to sneak out of bed in the dead of night?
“Fuck,” I curse as the anger takes over. “This is not ok, Noah,” I tell him.
“I know, but Spitfire,” he murmurs down the line. “Keep it quiet, ok? The last thing I need is my parents and Tully finding out about this.”
I shake my head before ending the call, not bothering to let him know I’m on my way. He knows me well enough to know I’ll be there and I swear, he better have his tail between his legs when I get there or there will be hell to pay. Who am I kidding? There’s already going to be hell to pay.
I pull myself out of Noah’s bed, throwing the blankets off a little harder than necessary and sending them halfway across the room. Fuck it, Noah can fix it when he gets home. That rat bastard.
I grab one of his hoodies and pull it over my head before finding my sweatpants that got tossed across the room this afternoon before we crashed down into his bed.
Unbelievable: Haven Falls (Book 2) Page 18