The Raven Four Books 1-3 - Jessica Sorensen Page 0,17
slides his arms up, trapping my arm against my side, while Zay still holds my other arm.
“Let me go,” I growl out.
Zay holds up three fingers. “One, two, three,” he counts off, folding his fingers into a fist. Then he cranes back his arm, as if he’s going to punch.
I squeeze my eyes shut and brace myself for the impact. But it never comes.
After a few beats of silence skip by, I crack open my eyes, half-expecting him to be gone. But nope. He’s still right in front of me, his arms crossed, a pleased smile possessing his face.
“Take her to the car,” he tells the guy who has his arms wrapped around me.
The guy’s chest crashes against my back as he lets out an exhale. “You sure you want to do this, Zay? This might be enough. I mean, she’s shaking pretty badly.”
That voice… I’ve heard it before. Hunter, the guy who I thought was charming. Now, he just seems like a whipped pussy. Zay being the one who’s whipped him into submission.
“I’m not shaking.” I hold my chin high. “I’m not even scared.”
Zay leans in, his breath hot on my face. “Liar.”
“Psychopath.”
That eerie smile returns as he slants back. “Yeah, you definitely have a death wish.”
“And I have a feeling you have a fetish for handing those out,” I quip. “But if you so much as try to take me out of this school, I’ll scream.”
He laughs darkly, causing a chill to slither up my spine. “Go ahead. Scream. No one here’s gonna do a damn thing about it. And soon, you’ll learn why.”
“I already know why,” I inform him. “I don’t need a recap about who you are. The Raven Three.”
He measures me up. “Who told you?”
I lift a shoulder. “A little raven.”
“I want a name so I know who’s been running their mouth about shit they shouldn’t.” He digs a pack of cigarettes out of the pocket of his jacket. “And I’ll know if you’re lying.” Then he lights up right there in the hallway.
What the actual shit?
He takes a drag off the cigarette. “Clock’s ticking. And if you don’t give me a name soon, I’ll punish you for their mistake.”
“Why’s it a mistake?” I ask as he blows smoke into my face. “They just told me about you. And, if I’m remembering correctly, you wanted me to know about you when I sat in your seat.”
He sucks in another inhale from the cigarette. “People aren’t allowed to gossip about me. Everyone knows this. And if they break the rules, they need to pay.”
I hold my breath as he exhales a cloud of smoke into my face again. “Yeah, well, I’m not gonna out them.”
He drags his finger along the end of the cigarette, scattering ashes all over the floor. “Then I guess you’re going to pay for their mistake and for yours.”
My lips twitch in annoyance. “I didn’t do anything to you, other than sit in your damn seat.”
He gets in my face “You smarted off, which is about the worst thing you can do to me.”
I roll my tongue in my mouth, my blood boiling. “Other than kick you in the balls.”
He’s so surprised that it takes him a second to speak. “Nah, I can handle that just fine.” He flashes me an emotionless grin then backs down the hallway. “Let’s take her to the spot.”
Hunter keeps his arms around me as he pushes me forward, forcing me to follow Zay. Jax moves up beside us with his hands stuffed into his pockets, his gaze fixed on Zay.
I attempt to dig my heels into the floor, but it doesn’t do any good.
“I can’t just leave school,” I gripe. “It’s my first day.”
Zay glances over his shoulder at me and rolls his eyes. “That’s the last thing you should be worried about.”
“Why? What’re you going to do to me?” As I ask the question—and calmly, I might add—a revelation dawns on me.
I’ve become fairly numb to fear, either because I’m used to it or I really do have a death wish. I’m not even certain I fear death anymore. I did once, back before and during my parents’ deaths. I feared it then. But over the years, that will to survive, to live, has slowly withered like a wilting raven feather.
He lifts the end of his cigarette toward his lips again. “Now, what’d be the fun in telling you?”
“To scare me?” I suggest.
He shakes his head and looks forward again, muttering, “Damn stupid girl does