Bully King - J.A. Huss Page 0,96

need.”

“Dante isn’t going to be here today.”

“What?”

“Yeah, he came up to me in the kitchen and said he was taking off and I was in charge of Sophie.”

“Where is he going?”

“Didn’t say. But I did catch him talking to Victor and it looked like they were cooking up a conspiracy.”

“Great.” He pauses. “Well, maybe that’s good. If we can keep him away from Sophie, maybe she’ll come to her senses.” He pauses again, distracted. “OK, then. Let’s go.”

We part ways by the pool. Cooper stays outside and I go back in to the Glass House and sit next to Sophie.

Selina and Valentina leave me there with her and that is pretty much my day.

Nothing else of consequence happens. Sophie brightens up a few hours later when she realizes Dante is not around. And then, at four o’clock, her phone buzzes a text from Dante.

He wants her to sleep at home tonight.

She just stares at the phone screen in utter disbelief, unable to believe her good luck. Then she jumps up and goes outside to tell Michael.

I follow her, but I don’t have the same level of enthusiasm.

Dante is up to something.

This same situation plays out the next day. Sophie is sick. Dante tells me to watch her. He disappears, then texts her at the end of the day, and tells her to go home for the night.

Day three, same thing.

Day four, ditto.

And by the morning of day five, Sophie is back to normal. She’s not even pretending to be sick anymore. She sits with Michael out by the pool and even laughs a few times over the course of the day.

I have to admit, it’s been a good week for me too.

For everyone, actually. Dante’s absence didn’t really register that first day. It felt like a plot twist. But by day five, we’re all pretty much thinking Dante is trying to make Cooper kick him out.

And Cooper is too smart to fall for that. He wants to kick him out. The whole group even talked about it, urging him on. But Cooper refused. He wasn’t convinced that Dante gave up.

I go home with Cooper every night. We make dinners together. Ax is usually there. Lars, sometimes. Ax stays in my old room, but Lars goes home at night.

And even though Cooper and I are absolutely sleeping together, he plays it down when Lars is around.

I already know how Ax feels about Cooper and me, because he told me in the kitchen that night. But Lars keeps his opinions to himself. And Cooper goes out of his way not to make our new relationship a point of contention between them.

I get the feeling this underlying tension is about to snap—probably soon, but definitely after this whole summer rush crisis is over—so I’m not holding this against Cooper. He’s stressed. That is very clear. And he never did tell me where he was that night he disappeared.

I decided to drop it for the time being as well. Because I feel like we’re all holding hands. Walking along the same edge. And at any moment, one of us could lose our balance and fall, taking the others with them.

At four o’clock, right on time, Sophie’s phone dings a text. We’re all playing cards under the thatched-roof hut. Even me. The servers in the kitchen are all pissed about this and they don’t hide it. But I went to work in the kitchen this morning and Cooper came in and told me I was spending the day with him. And he made sure the whole staff heard his command.

So they can’t really hold it against me.

I’m following orders.

“No!” Sophie exclaims, looking at her phone.

“What?” Valentina asks.

“No!” Sophie says again. “He can’t do this! He says I have to go to his house tonight!”

“Fuck,” Cooper says. “I fucking knew it.”

“She’s not going,” Michael says. “I won’t allow it. He’s playing a game.”

“Michael,” Ax says.

“No!” Michael says. “I will not—”

“Then you’re out,” Cooper says.

“What?”

“You’re out, Michael. We’re so fucking close. She has one more night. One. Tomorrow is a free day and then the day after we will have the third auction. Everyone here is putting up money to make sure we get her away from Dante. We have all gone out of our way to pull Sophie through this week. You will not fuck it up at the last minute. Do you hear me?” Cooper is growling at him. “Either you help us help you, or you’re out. And that’s my final word. Sophie, get