PAWN: A Dark High School Bully Romance (Elite Royal Academy Book 3)

by L. J. Woods

  There it is. Clear as day. I always thought movies were full of shit. Find a couple of emails that lead you to exactly what you need to know. But people are that stupid. Now I only have to confirm it.

  “When are you gonna quit this shit, King?” Christian’s question finally hits me. “You’re playing games with the wrong girl.”

  Rising from my seat, I log out of Beckett’s laptop, putting everything back where it belongs. “The minute I get her back.”

  The boys help me fix the office back in shape and I even fix the traces of Jo she left behind. A couple of strands of curly hair left on manila envelopes. An oily finger stain on a document doesn’t look too important but I remove it in case.

  Isaac bailed her out but I’m still the one who covers her ass. Since King Financial owns this place I was able to step in as the overseer, getting Jo off without a scratch. Paid a hefty bribe to make sure of it. Another hefty bribe went to the computer nerds in Robotics to wipe the cameras before Monday.

  “H’oh shit,” Isaac looks at his phone, one eye open. “Vicky wants to hit it at Allie’s party tomorrow.” It makes me cringe when he grabs his cock. “She’s not my type but who am I to say no?”

  “Allie’s having a party?” Christian asks, locking the door behind us. “My Allie?”

  Isaac lets out a stoned laugh. “Guess you’ll be there.”

  Perfect. If Allie’s throwing her first party, she won’t do it without Jo.

  Walking down the hall, the wheels in my head turn, already headed to my car through the way we came in, the locker room door. “See you idiots at the party.”

  * * *

  Allie Perez having a party is like finding the Pope at a strip club.

  Shit doesn’t happen.

  “Damn,” Isaac looks around the room as we stand in the Perez foyer. Music booms through the home, flashing coloured lights in place of the dim lighting the Perezes usually have. “Twin sis knows how to throw a party.”

  Christian laughs but it sounds more nervous than happy. Dude’s never had a party at his house and he’s likely already thinking about what the old man will say if he finds out. Faces from our senior class fill the foyer and the path to the kitchen. A group of girls walk by in short dresses, giggling and waving our way.

  “Allie’s dead if our parents find out,” Christian shakes his head as we move further, people making way for us. I don’t give a shit about all this. I’m only here for one reason. Well, two. “I’m going to find her.”

  “And I better go find Vicky,” Isaac says, pumping the air with his fist like he’s giving a ghost a handjob. Walking back towards the living area, he waggles his eyebrows, brushing off his yellow blazer. “Catch you losers later.”

  A bass-heavy song blares from the kitchen, slow and hypnotic and when I get closer to the room, it’s not the only thing that’s hypnotizing. A group of guys from the hockey team stand around the kitchen island, hooting and hollering at whatever drunk girl is in front of them. I can’t make out who it is but they’re as mesmerized as dogs in a mirror.

  “King!” Tommy from the team spots me at the entrance, staggering over with a green beer bottle in his hand. “Man you’re missing out.”

  That’s when my eyes land on those boots before I follow it right up to those swaying hips. That slender waist. Those round tits tucked inside a band tee tied above her navel.

  Slender arms move with the swing of her body, ringed fingers going through a thick head of curls. She seems completely lost in the music, her hair moving around her with the turns of her head.

  “She’s hotter than I thought,” Tommy says.

  He’s lucky I’m already walking towards her too quickly to put my fist through his face. These guys are all looking at her like she’s a piece of meat, a piece of “ass”. Like anyone of these assholes could actually have her. Like they forgot who she belongs to.

  “Get down, Rowland!” I reach for her hand but she pulls away, finally opening her eyes. She looks surprised at the attention around her but when she sees me her red lips curl up in a smirk. It’s a lazy smirk. One that tells me she’s way too drunk to be here. Especially without me.

  “What?” she asks, turning her ass to me and looking over her shoulder. Her hazel gaze has sparkles around it like she dolled up for this event, ass looking like a shiny black fruit in that leather skirt. “Not enjoying the show?”

  “Jo,” I growl. “Get down. Now.”

  “I don’t think Babygirl wants you here,” Tommy’s behind me and he’s being a cock. But I’m too focused on getting Jo down before she, or someone else gets hurt.

  “Tommy,” I warn. “You say another word and my fist is flying through your teeth.”

  “Try it.” He’s had way too much to drink with the way he’s approaching me with his fists slamming on his puffed-out chest. But from the corner of my eye, I see another guy reaching for the hem of her skirt. So I ignore Tommy and go right for him.

  CRACK!

  My fist lands in his face and before he can register what happened, I’m wrapping my arms around Jo’s legs. Her chest hits my shoulder when I pull her away from the crowd, getting a round of boos. When we’re out of sight of those idiots I finally put her down, getting a better look at her, and fuck, she looks perfect. Too perfect for these assholes. The Hendrix tank she’s wearing is loose enough to show off a glimpse of her tits.

  “The fuck do you have on?” I ask. “And what the fuck are you doing up there? You that desperate for attention without me?” She smirks like she knows she’s getting under my skin. “I thought you liked it when I show off my legs.” She lifts the hem of her skirt, giving me a clear view of those buttery thighs.

  Trying not to make the situation any worse, I take her by the hand and it’s hard to ignore that shock I still get when we touch. The desire that comes over me to throw her down like a fucking caveman and make her mine is unbearable. But it’s time for the second reason I’m here and trust me, they go hand-in-hand as much as we do.

  “Where are we going?” she asks as I pull her behind me, heading through the foyer and up the stairs. Pushing open the door in every room I come across, I’m not making any quick progress.

  “Where’s Lea?” I ask, a couple scrambling under the sheets when I open another room, a pair of balls in my face.

  Jo hasn’t pulled away but she still protests, her words a slur, “What? Why? Are you gonna make her handle me for you?” She gives me a drunk snort before my body pins her against the hallway wall.

  “Only I can handle you, Medusa.”

  “You gonna do that now?” Her head hits the wall, glossy eyes flicking towards my lips. “You gonna handle me, King?”

  Her words and those eyes make my abs clench, my cock throb but she can hardly stand. “How much have you had to drink, Rowland?”

  “Why are you always riding my ass about drinking?” She gives me a giant eye roll. “You do the same thing when you’re hurting.”

  “You’re hurting?” It’s hard for my finger not to come under her chin, lifting that gaze back to me.

  Her eyes narrow and I catch her swallowing hard before she says, “Yes, it’s all you do. Hurt me.” She chews on her cheek before she asks, “Don’t you remember? Or should I call Craig?”

  That reminds me of what I’m here to prove. Resisting the urge to press my lips against hers, I pull her along, heading to Allie’s room. “C’mon, Rowland.”

  “Tell me where we’re going,” she demands before I barge into Allie’s room.

  “Geez! What the fuck?” Allie yells, Lea on top of her with a brush in her hand, clothes still on. Thankfully.

  “You’re here?” Lea asks in a beige knit sweater, her eyes on us in a matching plaid headband. “So much for a classy party.”

  “Rowland dancing on top of the island isn’t classy,” I mumble, closing the door behind me.

  Jo stumbles before she levels out, taking a seat on the floor. I can’t tell how drunk she is but that slight smile on her face
tells me she’s high as fuck.

  “Ew, what?” Lea asks, turning to Jo who smiles towards her.

  “Really?” Allie sits up on her elbows in a frilly tank Lea likely made her wear. She smiles towards Jo. “Well alright, Jo.”

  “How fucked up is she?” I ask.

  “I dunno.” Allie shrugs, laying back on the mattress and I’m starting to feel like I’ve found the Cheech to Jo’s Chong. “We got pretty fucking baked because she’s not over you.”

  Jo throws some kind of hair clip at Allie, missing Lea. “I am very over him,” she says before she burps. Her eyes land on me before they drop to my crotch. “Why are we even here? I was having fun.”

  “Yes, why are you two here?” Lea echoes. “Don’t you have some whiskey-infused sex fighting to attend to?”

  Alright, enough of this chit-chat. “Tell her what you know.”

  Lea gets off Allie with a thin arched brow before she walks to the mirror, fixing her hair. “Wanna be more specific there, King?”

  “About Evergreen.” I’m giving her a chance to redeem herself. To give a good explanation before I drop the bomb.

  “E-Evergreen?” Jo asks, glancing between us, her jaw tenses before she tries to get up. “I thought you said you didn’t know anything.”

  “She lied.” I’m trying to rush this along. “Now tell her or I will.”

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Lea scoffs, her straight hair going behind her shoulder.

  “So you didn’t set the Rowland house on fire?”

  The song blaring through the house ends in time for me to say it. And Jo hears it crystal clear. Her brows furrow, her mouth moving like it wants to say something but she can’t.

  “What the fuck is your problem?” Lea spits. “I know you’re psychotic but that’s the most outlandish thing I’ve ever heard. Even for you, Damien.” The way she drops my name makes me think she’s as shocked to hear that as Jo is.

  “I saw the emails.” Leaning against the door, I’m not giving her a way out. “They were in Beckett’s account so lying isn’t gonna help. Isn’t that how you knew what happened to Jo’s parents?”

  “What? No!” she yells, her face red. “I told you why!”

  “Uh.” Allie sits up further her brows knitting. “That’s pretty fucked up.”

  “You went into Beckett’s office?” Jo asks, her eyes on me. “After I did?”

  “The least I could do was help you find out about your parents, I promised you that but I didn’t think it would be this.”

  “Was that before or after you called the cops on Jo?” Allie asks, defending her friend and right now I wish they were still fighting. There’s only one person who would’ve let the cat out of the bag to her and that’s her twin brother. A twin brother that has a pounding with his name on it.

  “W-what?” Jo looks like she doesn’t know what to do, her nails scratching against the wall behind her. “You did what?”

  “Jo, focus,” I say, trying to level with her. “Lea burnt your fucking house down.”

  Allie’s finally off the bed, hopping across the room so she can comfort her friend. “Chill, King.”

  “I didn’t do that!” Lea yells.

  Pulling out my phone I tap through to the photo of the email. “Then who the fuck could your mom have been talking about? Protecting her kid?” Walking over to Lea, I slam the phone on the dresser like a lawyer with the final piece of evidence.

  Lea has a harrowing look on her face, her cheeks turning pale as she reads it over. “What the fuck is this?” she asks, like I’ve given her proof aliens exist.

  “You tell me!”

  “Okay fine!” Lea takes a deep breath and leans her ass against the dresser. “All I know is that sometimes my parents funnel money into a company for people to keep hush. And in this case, it looks like it was Evergreen but I had nothing to do with it. I’d never go to The Grove. Ew.”

  “If not you then who, Lea?”

  Knock! Knock! Knock!

  “Lea?” Jordan’s voice comes through the door before it creaks open, his head poking through. “Hey, I’m looking for Willow and Bella. Are they around?”

  Lea glances at her brother, standing at the door in a denim jacket and cargos. Lea’s eyes move to mine and I catch Jo’s eyes drop to him.

  “Everything okay?” Jordan asks. When I look back, his eyebrows raise, finger pushing up the glasses on his nose.

  The phone slips from Lea’s hand, clattering onto the dresser as it all clicks, the word falling out of her mouth, “Shit.”

  Twenty-One

  Jo

  The room spins.

  It’s been spinning for the last fifteen minutes.

  With one hand on Allie, the other on the wall, my throat closes in. Pushing off the wall and pushing Allie away, I make my way towards Jordan. “You?” I ask, alcohol fuming out of my breath as it all comes together. “It was you?!”

  His eyes grow wide and he jets from the door as if he already knows what I’m talking about and that settles it. My hands are in fists and I don’t know what I’m gonna do when I get him but he has all the answers I’ve been looking for.

  I’m stopped by a blur of beige and black, red-painted lips. “Wait!” Lea’s fuzzy in front of me, her arms out. “What’re you gonna do? Let’s talk about this, Jo.”

  “Lea’s right,” Damien says, his thumb and index finger on his chin like he’s recalculating his plan. “We should talk about this.”

  “Let me go, Lea.” I’m ignoring them both. I’ve been at the hands of Eden’s bullshit for much too long.

  “My brother can’t go to jail! He’s not you!” Lea’s eyes grow wide, fake eyelashes making them appear larger. She stands firm but my body is shaking as much as I’m swaying.

  My hand flies for her face but there’s a cold grip on my wrist before it makes contact. Damien’s. “Chill out, Rowland.”

  Why is everyone acting like I’m the villain? “He killed my fucking parents!”

  “There has to be a reason!” Lea looks as nervous as I do when Willow looks like she’s in trouble. She might not have had a foster home, but her parents are emotionally non-existent. “Please, Jo get a grip! We’ll figure this out.”

  “Guys?” Willow’s in the doorway and I’m happy she’s here and not with Jordan.

  “You need to stay as far away from Jordan as you can, Low,” I say over Lea’s shoulder.

  “What? Why?” She looks confused. Beautiful, standing there in a white dress and a letterman jacket, but confused. “Is this why he left?”

  “He …” I’m trying to say the words but I can’t get them out. How am I supposed to tell my sister that her best friend killed our parents when I haven’t even begun digesting it? “He ki—” I take another deep breath, but there’s a sting in my throat, my eyes getting blurrier.

  “Oh, shit.” Willow’s shoulders fall, walking into the room like she’s walking into a tiger’s cage. Cautious. Slow. Her eyes stay on mine and my head tilts, eyes narrow. “It’s not what you think, Jo.”

  Glancing at Damien, he looks as confused as I am, the contents in my stomach threatening to spew out on Allie’s floor.

  “Wait,” I say, trying to make sense of her demeanour. Her words. “Y-you knew?”

  Willow nods. “But he’s not a murderer! He just wanted to protect his dad.”

  “Low, you better start talking faster because this doesn’t make any fucking sense!” I yell, my fingers coming to my forehead, eyes closed. “You knew?! How could you not have told me? He fucking killed our parents! He almost killed me! How could—”

  “Because he saved you!” Lea moves so Willow can face me but I feel like I could fall over at any minute. “He saved you and I didn’t want you to know because I was afraid you’d take him away.”

  He saved me?

  Was that who got me out of that house? The night’s all a blur.

  My knees fall to the floor, hitting the wood but the pain on my skin is nowhere cl
ose to the pain in my chest. “But he killed our parents.”

  Willow kneels in front of me, a hand on my shoulder, her forehead to mine. “He was trying to protect his parents. The minute he realized people were inside he did his best and got to you.”

  “Willow, you’re going to have to give us more than that,” Damien says.

  She takes a breath, my eyes on the ground. I can’t even look at her.

  “A scandal got out and our dad was gonna report on it,” she says. “Jordan overheard everything and wanted to do something, he just … didn’t think they’d die.”

  “Well, they did.” Tears stream down my face and while I want nothing more than to hug my sister, I can’t. Not now.

  CRASH!

  A loud smash comes from downstairs, hoots and hollers following. Allie’s eyes widen as she heads for the door, pushing by Willow. “Fuck!” she yells on her way out.

  Lea follows her before she stops, turning around. “We’ll figure this out. I promise. Please don’t do anything rash.” With a tight smile, she leaves me on the floor in front of my sister.

  Damien passes me a lit joint and while I shouldn’t take anything else, he knows I need it. Willow places her hands on my shoulders and all I can ask is, “Why didn’t you tell me? Why didn’t you say anything?” She wasn’t there to see the flames, the smoke, the chaos. Tears stream onto my knees and she wipes them.

  Willow shakes her head against mine. “I—I don’t know …”

  “The same reason you didn’t tell Willow you were looking into it,” Damien speaks up. “Seems like she wanted to protect you.”

  “You were looking into it?” Willow asks.

  “I didn’t want to scare you,” I say, sniffling back more tears as Willow’s phone chimes from her pocket. “How can you be okay with this?”

  “I wasn’t at first and we’re still working on things but,” she pauses, hesitating and when I finally meet her eyes she looks lost in thought. Like that dazed look Damien gets when he’s sitting across from me. Or on top of me.

  “Low?” I ask.