Bully King - J.A. Huss Page 0,49

extra clothes. I was ready for them.

Regardless, the tears don’t stop streaming down my face even though I’m not actually crying anymore.

The door slams and the room goes quiet.

“Cadee?” Victor appears. “Are you OK?”

I take a deep breath, let it out slowly, and nod. “I will be. It was tickling. That’s all.”

“That’s not all it was and you know it. They were touching you. Dante—” He grits his teeth and stares out the window.

“Well, I gave them permission. Several times. And Ax made Dante pay for breaking the rules.”

“So?” Victor is pissed. I just look away and stare out at the forest beyond the glass walls, embarrassed. “That doesn’t mean anything. He wasn’t mad because Dante was violating you, Cadee. He was angry because—” But he stops. I look back at Victor and find him staring at the door.

My head turns to see what he’s looking at.

Or not what. Who.

“Because why, Victor?” Ax sneers Victor’s name like he just bit into a rotten piece of fruit.

Then he crosses the room and stands just inches from my head. “Tell me why, Victor.” And now he’s snarling.

“Because you’re jealous,” I say.

Ax’s guffaw bounces off the ceiling, that’s how loud it is. “Jealous? Go back to work, Victor. Or you’re gonna find yourself owing a whole lot of back tuition money when you lose your scholarship.”

Victor takes a deep breath. But he doesn’t look at me. And he doesn’t talk back. He just turns on his heel and walks back to the kitchen.

It makes me sick the way these Kings think they own the world.

But Victor makes me sick too. Because he’s too weak to fight back and he’s a six-foot-tall man, for fuck’s sake. He has shoulders just as wide as Ax’s. He could at least… try.

Ax bends down, rolls me onto my side, cuts the rope tying my hands together, and then steps back. “Get up, Cadee. Cooper wants you outside.”

“Why?”

Ax steps around to where Victor was standing and offers me his hand. I stare at it for a moment, then look up and meet his eyes.

He’s breathing heavy. And I’m not sure if that’s because he’s still riled up over the fight with Dante or because I’m the focus of his anger now. “Take my fucking hand, Cadee.”

I take it. And he pulls me to my feet in one swift motion.

Then he looks outside real quick as he absently straightens my shirt. “Don’t worry about Dante. I’m going to take care of it.”

“Don’t do me any favors, Ax. I’m a big girl. I know what I’m doing.”

His eyes track down my body and then rest on the dark wet spot between my legs. “Yeah.” He laughs. “I can tell.” He looks back up and I meet his gaze. “Just… leave, Cadee.” He says it softly, almost pleading with me. “You don’t belong here.”

“Why don’t I belong here, Ax? Because you say I don’t? Because you, and Cooper, and Lars are the Kings? You’re not kings, Ax. You’re just a bunch of bullies. And I am not a victim, OK? I’m not. A victim.”

He grabs my shoulders and shakes me. “Listen to me. You don’t want to belong here. There is nothing at High Court for you.”

“Says you.”

He closes his eyes and grinds his teeth, making the muscles in his jaw tighten and relax. “You’re not listening to me.”

“I don’t need your advice, OK? Just fuck off.” I bring my hands up between his arms and crash my wrists against his, breaking his hold on me.

Then I walk away and go outside to see what fresh hell is waiting for me out at the pool.

I step into the hot sunshine and shield my eyes, looking for Cooper or Lars. I find Cooper first, and he points to the outdoor kitchen under a thatched-roof hut. I walk that way and for a minute I figure they’re going to have me cook them something. Which sounds tolerable. I can handle myself in a kitchen. It’ll keep me busy and—

“Cadee,” Cooper says, grabbing my arms as he enters the kitchen space. He drags me over to the sink and points to a pile of plastic bags filled with balloons. “Fill these up.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Shut the fuck up.”

“What?” I look at him and see the rage on his face.

“It’s only gonna get worse.”

“Yep. Pretty much everyone has made that very clear.”

“I won’t be able to protect you every time.”

“Protect me?” Now I guffaw. Just like Ax did inside. “Is that what you think you’re doing?”

He