Queen of Quarantine (Brutal Boys of Everlake Prep #4) - Caroline Peckham Page 0,214

caught my eye, shaking his head an infinitesimal amount. We couldn't fight our way out of this. But I swore on all I was, the motherfucker who had dared to threaten our girl would die at my hands today.

T he group of guards dragged us upstairs after they locked up Blake’s dad again and panic rushed through me. We were taken to a long stone hall with flagstones and a huge arching window at the far end which snow was falling against.

My heart pounded unevenly as I tried to think up a way out of this, but the assholes had disarmed us, stolen any chance we had of fighting back. Now we were being thrown to Troy Memphis like were a meal for a rabid dog. And I didn’t know what to do.

There was a large, circular table set up at the heart of the hall between two huge fires on either side of it. It was like something out of Game of Thrones but instead of the Lannisters sitting there, it was ten douchebags in robes, at the heart of which was Troy. He rose from his seat beside a woman with a bob of blonde hair and bright blue eyes which were wide and pinned on me. The rest of them were older men with sneering faces and grey or greying hair.

The guards released us, forming a line behind us as they held their guns ready to fire if we tried to run and my heart beat to a frantic tune. There was no way out. We were fucked.

“You took your time,” Troy mused, a smug as shit look on his face as he clasped his hands behind his back and strode around the table to stand in front of us. His eyes moved over our clothes and his brow arched as he looked to Saint. “You came over the mountain? How positively uncivilised of you.”

“You knew,” Saint said in an empty tone as he kept himself entirely composed in the face of danger.

“Of course I knew you’d come. Do you seriously think I didn’t stand near the old grandfather clock on purpose when I called you?” Troy asked coldly as he strode forward, his imposing height seeming to amplify the power radiating from him.

Saint ground his jaw and I could tell how much he was beating himself up over his father tricking him even if his eyes didn’t show it. But he was going up against a man as smart as himself. He wasn’t to blame for this. It was this evil prick standing before us.

“Well, you’re finally here anyway,” Troy went on when Saint said nothing in response. “You must be tired after such an arduous and pointless journey, it really would have been easier to walk through the front door and gives yourselves up.”

His robed friends tittered, and my upper lip peeled back. “What do you want?” I snarled, though I feared I already knew. Troy had taken my blood once before and after the way he’d hunted for us, it was clear what he was looking for.

“You know what I want,” Troy said simply, and my boys shifted protectively around me.

“Whoops, didn’t you take one of those vaccines we stole from your company?” I mocked, wanting to poke at this asshole who dared to try and cage us.

“Unfortunately for you, no, I did not,” Troy said and the air went out of me as he sized me up like an animal for slaughter.

“If you think we’re going to let you take her anywhere-” Nash started, but Troy cut over him.

“Karen, come over here,” Troy called, ignoring Nash entirely, making my blood burn.

The blonde woman floated up behind Troy and my eyes cut to her as she moved to stand before me, her head cocking to one side as she examined me. My throat thickened as a very real and disturbing feeling of recognition filled me. But I didn’t know her. I was sure I hadn’t met her before.

“Tatum Rivers,” she breathed, shaking her head. “What a vile name.”

“Excuse you?” I hissed and Troy watched me with amusement in his gaze, folding his arms as he looked from me to the blonde stranger, apparently enjoying something.

“It has nothing on your real name,” Karen said, taking a step closer to me and my skin prickled all over. I suddenly felt the need to back up, to get as far away from this woman as possible, but I wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction of seeing