Fuck, I’ll need to rinse these clothes before laundry goes in.
People try to get my attention, but I squeeze from the circle and move over to the crates.
Bass slips from the crowd with a grin as I’m jumping up. He flicks his lip ring with his tongue, shaking his head.
“Dayum, Rae. You only get better out here. You’re a fucking beast.”
I shrug, grinning to myself, sticking both hands out. He slaps money into one, then helps cut the tape off the other.
“Where the fuck you learn to box like that?”
“Mom’s not much of a mom. Brought trouble.”
“Ah.” He nods. “You taught yourself, then?”
I inspect my knuckles on my left hand, squeezing my fists shut then opening them again. “When there’s nobody else to keep hands off you, you learn to fight ‘em off yourself.”
He pauses, his eyes shifting between mine. “That bad where you came from?”
“I know others who had it worse.”
He grabs my elbows and helps me down. “You always downplay your problems?”
I chuckle, shaking my head. “What do you know about my problems, Bass?”
“Not enough.” He smirks and steps forward. “Change that, Rae.”
I drop my grin to my feet, before looking back up ... and then I’m pulled back.
“What the fu—”
I glance over my shoulder, and my blood boils as not one, but all three of my latest pain in the asses stand behind me. I try to jerk free of Maddoc’s hold, but I’m only shoved down the line until Royce is gripping my forearms.
“That was some badass shit there, RaeRae,” he whispers, laughing when I try and elbow him.
Bass shifts so he can meet my eyes through the three and Maddoc moves to block him.
“Rae—”
“You can go now, Bishop,” Maddoc cuts him off. “And stay away from Raven.”
He scoffs. “It’s my job to bring in the—”
“I didn’t ask you any questions,” Maddoc cuts him off.
“Go, Bass, it’s fine.” I give him his out, no need for trouble to fall at his feet because of me. His eyes find mine again and he nods, glares at all three boys, then makes the smart choice by backing away. The last thing I want is for his side hustle to be blown up at the hands of these assholes.
They cage me in, all wearing familiar glares that have zero effect on me. I yank from Royce’s hold, grab my sweater off the box and pull it over my head, snatch my backpack and place it over my shoulder and weave my way through the crates. And, of fucking course, they follow.
“This where you been sneaking off to late at night, to beat bitches’ faces in?” Royce jokes. “And here I thought someone was keeping that pussy wet for—”
Royce grunts and I glance back, finding his glare on Maddoc.
“Why you fighting?” This comes from Maddoc.
“Because it’s just so much fun.” I roll my eyes, glancing from left to right to make sure there’s no one watching, then slip through the broken fence and start through the parking lot.
“Money,” Cap guesses as if there would be any other reason.
I cut my eyes toward him and he nods like he understands.
He doesn’t understand shit.
I thought these boys were like me, but they’re not. I don’t know for sure what conditions they were raised in, how hard or easy they had it when push came to shove, but one thing’s for sure, they were never poor boys from my kind of ghetto where you had to beg or steal to eat. I’m no thief and I refused to beg. It didn’t take me long to find another way.
“Stop fucking walking,” Maddoc complains and I stop all right, spinning to face him with a glare.
“Back the fuck off. Why are you guys even here? Shouldn’t you be at your little party making sure no peasants make it through the door in the kings’ absence?”
Royce grins at that and I roll my eyes. Idiot.
“Thanks to your bullshit, the school thinks you’re one of ours. You—”
“No, big man,” I cut him off with a mocking laugh and his jaw ticks. “They think I’m ‘one of yours,’ because you let them. Not my problem.”
He gets in my face and I hold my breath. “Our boys are questioning us. You show up to school with random cuts and bruises and it’s making people talk. We may be a lot of things, bastards in every way, but putting our hands on a woman when it’s not part of fucking her, isn’t our forte.”