Defiant Princess (Boys of Oak Park Prep #2) - Callie Rose Page 0,23

you you really are a sociopath and that I don’t give a shit about whatever fucked up justification you invented for the fact that you hurt me.”

My lips closed around the last words, but not fast enough to stop them from coming out.

Fuck. I shouldn’t have said that.

I didn’t like to admit that what they’d done had hurt me, had destroyed me—far beyond the fact that my only remaining family had kicked me out of their lives. It’d hurt because I had actually believed the Princes cared. Because I had started to care for them too. Because even as I’d watched the video play on the screen in the gymnasium, I hadn’t expected the betrayal to come from these four boys.

Mason’s face twitched, a strange look passing over his features as Cole, Elijah, and Finn stepped forward.

All four of them standing this close to me was too much. I couldn’t take it.

So I backed away, raising my voice to make our confrontation public again.

“Sorry about your car, Mason. I know she was the only girl you’ve ever been able to love.” I flicked my gaze to the crowd gathered around us, scanning for a familiar blonde head before I turned back to Mason. “Hell, maybe it was Adena. Maybe she got jealous and worried you’d fuck the tailpipe.”

Cole took half a step forward, his eyes narrowing. His hair was slowly growing out, but it was still short, the style almost military, which made him look more dangerous than ever.

Mason stopped him with a small gesture, and I clenched my teeth. I knew it. This is all because of him. Cole was pissed at me for embarrassing him—and for God only knew what else. Elijah and Finn had gone along with this whole thing because they were loyal to the other Princes, but if Mason hadn’t decided to wreck my life, I was positive none of this would’ve happened.

So why was he holding Cole back now? Was he worried the broad-shouldered boy would actually go after me with his fists like he did against boys in the ring? Somehow, I didn’t believe that. But I couldn’t figure out any other reason for Mason to stand down, especially after I’d just publicly accused him of wanting to have sex with his car.

I didn’t question it though, and I didn’t give him a chance to change his mind. I stepped neatly around all four of them and headed to my first class, my heart beating out a fast, uneven rhythm in my chest.

As I was leaving Johnson Hall later that day, I saw a tow truck pulling into the student lot, and a proud smile spread across my face. It was shitty to think what it said about his priorities, but I was pretty sure my little stunt had actually gotten to Mason.

Good.

But not good enough.

Never good enough.

He needed to lose something bigger than a car. He needed to lose his family. His place in the world. The privilege that allowed him to get away with being such a smug asshole.

I’d been slowly plugging away at my research of the Princes and their families. I’d found out that Cole’s little sister had Tourettes, but I hadn’t written that down in my notebook. I still refused to use her to get to him, and I actually grudgingly respected the fact that he’d stood up for her last year when Preston had mocked her.

The information available about Element Investments was sparse, but I had found a picture of the founding members, which included one man I couldn’t place. My mom and all the Princes’ parents were accounted for, but there was one guy left over. I wished I could go back to my grandparents’ mansion and look at the picture on the third floor again, to see if he was in that one too.

Between dancing, trying to keep up with the harassment and bullying, and digging through pages of internet search results, my classwork was taking a serious hit. After all this effort, I didn’t want to get kicked out of Oak Park for bad grades.

I almost canceled my date with Oliver on Saturday to study, I’d spent all day cooped up in my dorm room, and I needed to get out. Even if I’d tried to study more, no new information would’ve penetrated my exhausted brain.

He met me outside Prentice Hall, and we walked together toward his car. His gaze slid over to me, running up and down my body before he realized I’d