Caught in the Trap: A Reverse Harem Academy Bully Romance (Mafia Lords of Knightswood Academy Book 1)

by Ivy Clyde

  My anger cooled a degree. He’d taken my jibe quite seriously.

  “Go,” he urged, his expression still grim.

  I gave a nod, walking forward and crossing the ground to reach the dorm building. Even though it was late and the place was deserted, I didn’t feel any hesitation. With Christian watching, I could relax completely.

  Can you really trust him? My mind questioned as I entered the elevator. At the end of the day, he was still my employer and using me for a dangerous mission.

  21

  Skye

  It was two days later when a ping appeared on my iPad, telling me the bug was successfully installed in Saxon’s laptop. To be honest, I hoped he’d accessed it from his own computer instead of using someone else’s. The chance of that was very low but still, I kept my fingers crossed, feeling a surge of excitement swell inside me.

  “Care to share why you look so elated, Miss Wilson?” called out Professor Philips, the statistics teacher. It was a small class with barely thirty students so it was easy for her to pick us out.

  “Nothing,” I muttered, looking down at the book before me and pretending to read from it.

  “Pay attention. All of you!” The teacher banged a book on the table.

  It was the last class of that Friday afternoon. I planned to go back to Ivanov mansion for the weekend and see my mother after my first slow, torturous week at Knightswood Academy.

  “What were you smiling about?” asked Stella from beside me just as the bell rang. Everyone was kind of staring.”

  “Really?”

  She chuckled. “Yeah. You made an excited noise and were staring at your iPad with a big smile on your face.”

  “I got good news,” I said, packing up my stuff. “What are you up to this weekend?”

  “I’m going home for the weekend,” she said, following me out of the classroom. “My sister is visiting us from Canada.”

  “How old is she?”

  “She is close to thirty now. My parents want her to think about getting married,” she added with a giggle.

  “Does she have a boyfriend?”

  “Yeah. She travels the world with her high school boyfriend. I think they’re having too much fun traveling to settle down just yet.”

  It was nice to have such a normal conversation with another girl my age. Even though I hadn’t planned on being close to Stella, having the same classes made us stick together naturally. Miranda and her friends often threw out ‘sluts’ and ‘cocksucker’ insults at us but with the two of us together, it didn’t feel as horrible. Stella didn’t look as depressed as the first time I met her.

  Once I got rid of Saxon, she would grow even more confident.

  “I’m going to the garage,” she said as we came onto a vast ground that stretched between the Science Building and the rest of the campus.

  “Aren’t you packing anything with you?”

  “Nah. Got everything I need.” She patted the laptop bag hanging from her shoulder.

  “Guess I’ll see you on Monday.”

  Stella came forward to give me a quick hug. It was so sudden, I didn’t get to hug her back.

  “Bye,” she said, waving. Turning around, she hurried toward the school’s garage where students could park their cars throughout the week. I watched her figure grow smaller as a cool breeze blew by.

  A hand tapped my left shoulder.

  I whirled around immediately, coming face to chest with Andrei Romanoff. His shirt was untucked once again while his tie hung loosely from his open collar. The unruly curls of his dark blond hair danced in the wind as he looked down at me with warm, brown eyes. “What are you doing by yourself?” he asked with a smile.

  Seeing him instantly put me at ease. Every time he smiled, my heart seemed to expand with some unexplainable emotion. “I was about to go back to my room and pack for the weekend,” I said, looking up at him with a smile of my own. “I am going to see my mom.”

  “Where is she now?”

  “She is at Ivanov Mansion,” I said. There was no point in lying about it. With the way these mafia families operated, they probably already knew about Mom staying there.

  “Are you done for the day?”

  “Yep. I’m a free bird until Monday.”

  He chuckled at that. “I was wondering if you wanted to hang out with me before going back to the Ivanovs. You said the family wasn’t too welcoming and they ignore you over there.”

  “It’s not so bad. I kinda like being ignored.”

  He chuckled again, the soft expression melting my insides. Andrei was extremely handsome when he smiled like that. “So, what do you say? I’ve got a bike and we could go on a ride anywhere you like.”

  “Anywhere?”

  “Anywhere.”

  A grin rose on my lips. His offer was too tempting to reject. Not only would I get to enjoy some free time, but it was also the perfect opportunity to know him better. I might even learn something that could be useful to Nikolai and Christian.

  “When can we go?” I asked.

  “Right now if you want.”

  I gave a nod. “Let’s go. I can’t wait to get out of here.”

  An easy laugh bubbled from his luscious lips. The sound reverberated through me, warming me from inside out. A smile curved my lips as I looked up at him.

  Catching my wrist, he started running, forcing me to run too.

  “What are you doing?” I shouted as laughter choked me. He didn’t run too fast, making it easy for me to keep up as we sprinted across the grounds. The wind whipped my hair backward as my hand clutched onto the strap of my satchel bag.

  We didn’t stop until we reached a vast one-storied building set far away from the main campus area. Panting and gasping, I looked around, noticing the scent of gasoline in the air. A peek through the wide doorway told me it was the academy’s garage and parking lot for the students. Expensive luxury cars gleamed in the dim lighting.

  “Wait here. I’ll be right back,” said Andrei, striding forward and disappearing through the doorway. I hung around, staring at the gleaming cars closest to me, marveling how much they would have cost the owners.

  It was only a few minutes before the sound of a revving motorbike reached me. Next moment, I spotted Andrei on a magnificent bike, weaving through the rows of cars with perfect ease. He wore a black helmet that matched the gleaming shade of his ride.

  He came to a stop beside me.

  “Impressive,” I whispered, letting my gaze take in the gliding curves of the incredible machine.

  “Get on,” he said, handing me a large helmet.

  That’s when my enthusiasm suddenly died away. I’d never been on a bike before. While the idea of going for a ride on one had excited me a while ago, now that I was standing before one, I hesitated.

  “Don’t tell me you’ve never been on one,” said Andrei, guessing the reason for my hesitation.

  “Sorry,” I muttered.

  Pushing at the kickstand to balance the bike, he climbed off it gracefully. Moving before me, he took the helmet from my hands and placed it over my head. His long, slender fingers worked to latch the strap so it fit me snugly. All I could do was stare at him as he did all this with the gentlest expression on his face.

  How can a guy like him run a vicious, terrifying mafia network? I wondered as he gave me a warm smile.

  He took my bag off me next and slung the long strap around his torso.

  “You’re all set to go,” he said. “Come on.”

  He mounted the bike, his long legs easily going over the side of the machine as he seated himself and arranged my satchel at his side. I followed after him, awkwardly trying to climb behind him. After a bit of struggle, I got on.

  “Hold onto me tightly,” said Andrei, catching hold of my wrists and pulling on them so that my arms were wound around his waist. “Don’t let go,” he instructed as I laced my fingers together, tightening my hold over him.

  “Don’t worry,” I said in a low, grim tone. “I�
�m latching on like the clingiest octopus you’ll ever see.”

  “What?” His deep-throated chuckle reverberated through me as I held onto him. “All right, then. Hold on tight.” He stepped on the gas, making the bike vibrate hard. My thighs squeezed around it as I held Andrei with all my might. “Here we go!” With that, the bike shot forward, the revving sound of the powerful engine roaring in my ears. My shriek of half terror and half excitement joined it as we crossed the vast, sprawling grounds of the academy in a matter of a minute.

  Andrei slowed down as we neared the main gates leading out of the academy but once we crossed it, he increased the pace, making us go shooting down the empty highway that led toward the city.

  The strands of my dark hair streamed out behind me as the wind rushed past me. I could feel the power of the engines vibrating under my thighs as we moved at heart-pounding speed. All my inhibitions fell behind as I began enjoying the ride. It was amazingly freeing to have the wind roaring in my ears as we passed through the countryside.

  Andrei was an expert rider. He maneuvered the bike with precise smoothness, weaving through the few cars on the road so we could pass them and head on our way.

  I had no idea where he was taking me. Even though he’d said he would take me anywhere I wanted, I hadn’t gotten a chance to tell him.

  We reached the city limits in what felt like a very short time. Andrei slowed the bike down considerably as we joined the traffic heading downtown.

  The afternoon sun shone down on us, warming my back thoroughly. With the glass visor pulled down over my face, the sharp wind didn’t affect my face or eyes.

  Andrei slowed down further, making me notice the direction he was going in. A large Burger King stood at the side of the street, its bright neon signs calling us like a siren.

  He drove the bike to the parking lot behind the restaurant and brought it to a stop. My arms felt stiff from holding onto him for so long. I climbed off the bike just as awkwardly as I’d gotten on it, feeling the stiffness in my thighs as well.

  Andrei dismounted gracefully and took off his helmet. I struggled with the strap of mine until he came to me and easily unhooked it, taking the helmet away from my head.

  “Are you okay?” he asked, looking at me closely.

  “Yeah,” I said. Taking in a deep breath, I looked toward the restaurant. “Are we going in there?”

  “If you don’t mind,” he replied.

  I shook my head. “Not at all. You have no idea how long it’s been since I’ve had a burger. I’ve been craving it like an addict.”

  He chuckled. “Let’s go, then. I am hungry too.”

  We walked back to the front of the restaurant, entering through the sliding glass doors with our helmets in hand. The few customers seated nearby stared at us as we walked toward the counter. I guess they never imagined seeing two high school kids from Knightswood Academy who were also bikers.

  “What would you like?” asked Andrei, gazing toward the board which had the menu listed on it.

  “I want to two cheeseburgers, a coke and fries, and two Hershey’s sundae pies,” I said without bothering to look at the menu. They were my favorites from Burger King and what I ordered every time I celebrated making a little more money than I expected.

  “Really?” He looked at me with an amused smirk before repeating my order to the guy at the counter.

  “What?”

  “You don’t look like you eat that much.”

  “I didn’t always get to eat like this,” I said. Bitterness laced my voice as I thought of the days before coming in contact with Nikolai Ivanov.

  “I’m sorry,” he said. Looking away, he ordered his meal. Once he was done, he added, “Find us a place? I’ll be back with our food.”

  My gaze moved around the vast seating area until it settled on a corner table by the window. “Over there,” I said, pointing toward it.

  “Looks good. Here, take this stuff too.” He handed me his helmet and my satchel bag.

  Armed with all that, I walked to the table. Dumping everything on one of the chairs, I sat down, looking toward the counter where Andrei waited.

  The moment felt surreal.

  Loner Skye Wilson was out in this well-lit burger joint with an incredibly handsome guy. Not to mention she rode a motorbike here.

  All because I look like the girl they call Maria, I thought, feeling something close to jealousy for the dead young woman. Did Andrei treat her just as well as this? I wondered. “Stop thinking about it,” I muttered to myself as I stared down at some leaflets on the table, advertising the latest combo deals. I studied them closely, hoping to distract myself from my thoughts. The trip with Andrei had been fun so far. I didn’t want to ruin it.

  Andrei came back after a while with a large tray full of food.

  I reached for one of the double cheeseburgers while Andrei got started on his fries. We were quiet for some time, eating and savoring our food.

  Suddenly, I was struck by how comfortable he was with hanging out in a place like this restaurant. Andrei Romanoff was supposed to be the heir to one of the most powerful mafia families on this side of the country. It was easy to imagine him in a great mansion like Nikolai’s, enjoying all the luxurious meals brought in by special chefs.

  “What are you thinking about?” he asked.

  I placed back my half-eaten burger on the tray. “Do you often come here?”

  “Not often,” he said after a sip of his coke. “But every time I come this way for a ride, I come in for a quick meal. The taste of this kind of food is addictive. It’s so, so bad for you but you can’t resist.”

  “Yeah. I can’t live without cheeseburgers.” Picking up my burger, I took a large bite, savoring the taste and juiciness of the meat. In between the mouthfuls, I watched Andrei closely, wondering how he could be so different from the other mafia guys I knew.

  Christian had a dark sense of humor and I’d seen him beat the crap out of half a dozen grown men with just a baseball bat. Dimitri was cold and distant, his every spoken word a command. He could even force someone like Saxon McLaughlin to back off without lifting a finger.

  But Andrei…he just seemed like a regular nice guy. Sometimes, he got mad and grim, but those were mere shadows over his actual warm personality.

  “I almost forgot to ask you,” he said after a while, breaking me out of my thoughts. “Where did you want to go?”

  “Nowhere, really,” I said, swirling the straw in my coke cup. “We can go anywhere you like.”

  Andrei’s face brightened. “Have you ever been to a racecourse before?”

  “No. Are they as gimmicky as the ones they show on Fast and Furious?”

  He chuckled at that. “Race cars, beautiful women, booze and drugs…yep! It’s all about the gimmick. But…” He paused for effect. “They have some amazing tracks to ride on. The one I’m talking about circuits a wide mountain. Even without the thrill of racing, it’s one spectacular ride.”

  “Are you sure you want to take me to a place like that? I’m not exactly dressed for the occasion and even if you put me in leather pants and jacket, I doubt you could hide the dork well enough.”

  Andrei smothered a laugh. “You’re not a dork.” Clearing his throat, he added, “No one cares how you dress over there. It’s your ride that does the talking.”

  “Your bike does look amazing,” I said with a sagely nod even though I knew nothing about them.

  “Finish up your food and order anything else you’d like. It’s a bit of a long ride from here to the racecourse. The location is off the main roads and located between here and the borders of New York.”

  I gave a nod, starting on my second cheeseburger. This meal was going to be enough to last me an entire twenty-four hours or more. I hurried up though, eager to venture into a completely different world with Andrei.

  22

  Andrei

  The waning afternoon sun cast some of its last rays on us as Skye and I walked toward the parking lot to ge
t my bike. A soft smile played on her lips as she stared ahead. I took the opportunity to glance at her, taking in the shape of her nose, the color of her eyes and the flowing length of her jet-black hair. She was the exact copy of Maria, but in the most freakish way, wasn’t related to her.

  The moment she first appeared before me, I’d thought Maria had come back from death as an angel to save my life. However, when I woke up in the hospital, my men informed me of a young woman the Volkovs were searching for. According to them, the girl looked similar to Maria and was living somewhere in the shadiest neighborhood of Philly.

  It didn’t take long for me to connect the dots. Someone had saved my life but it wasn’t an angel. It was Skye who was rumored to have saved Dimitri’s life as well.

  It hadn’t taken long for my men to find out where she lived, which school she attended, who her parents were. I was desperate to know if she was related to Maria in some way but the Volkovs were faster. They’d dug up her grave to make sure Maria was still rotting in her coffin to verify she hadn’t walked away from the scene of her murder.

  I wanted to get to Skye before the Volkovs could their hands on her. It came as a shock to know she’d disappeared completely in a matter of a few days. Even her mother who was staying at a care center was removed quickly. Part of me wondered if it was all a fluke, designed by someone from our circle to tease both me and Dimitri.

  Only when I saw Skye again with my own eyes did I believe in her existence.

  She was escorted by two men in black suits as they left her to walk inside Knightswood Academy’s dorm building on her own. A few queries had been enough to solve the mystery of her disappearance. For some reason, she’d been picked up by Nikolai Ivanov.

  He’d become her guardian and sent her to the academy to finish her senior year of high school.

  Skye still hadn’t mentioned what favor she did for him to grant her such a status. Part of me wondered if Nikolai Ivanov had planted her in the academy to mess with me and Dimitri but the reasoning felt off. Nikolai Ivanov was taking the reins of his empire from his father and from what I knew of the man, he wasn’t one to play underhanded, unnecessary tactics. He was young, barely twenty five yet, but ruled his people with an iron hand.