This Fearless Girl (St. Clary's University #2) - E. M. Moore Page 0,93
since dried up, and she keeps looking at everyone with coy smiles then immediately frowning again. “It’s so fucked up,” she sniffles. “Someone broke into their trailer last night. They beat her up. Her dad called me this morning on the way to Phoenix where she’s in the hospital. He said they wore fucking black masks and kept calling her a petty bitch. They tortured her. She’s lucky to be alive.”
My back straightens, and a flood of denial rushes through me. My phone pings with a text message, and I bring it out. Waiting for me is a text from Cole.
Don’t be surprised if Meghan doesn’t bother you for a while.
I blink down at the screen, my grip tightening until my knuckles turn white. Wyatt sees it first. “Fuck,” he curses, then puts his arm around me and steers me away from the school. I stumble down the stone steps, but Wyatt holds me tighter.
“What’s up?” Lucas asks as we move away.
By the time we get to the cars, I’ve digested everything, my stomach still knotting with the news. Wyatt picks me up and places me on the back of the Audi anyway. “It’s not your fault.”
“I know.” My jaw clenches as I’m struggling with what to feel. My phone pings again. Don’t go soft on me, Dakota. You know you wanted to kick her ass. I simply saved you the trouble.
Stone’s reached his patience limit, so he grabs my phone from my hand and he and Lucas stare down at the screen, reading my last texts. “Holy fuck,” Lucas curses.
Stone shakes his head and hands me back the phone. “I can’t figure this fucker out,” he says, more to himself than any of us.
He can add me to that train of thought, too. I turn my phone around and send Cole a response. What did you do to her?
I took care of a problem. Mostly just scared the shit out of her.
I bite the inside of my cheek. Her friend says whoever came into her house tortured her.
Fifteen seconds after I hit send, my phone rings. It’s Cole, his laugh reaching me before I even get the phone to my ear. “That’s what they’re saying? Jesus, this is high school all over again. Dakota, you’ve got to get as far away from these people as you can. There’s a whole big world out there.”
“So, you didn’t torture her?” I ask, gazing around at the empty parking lot to make sure no one else is privy to what I’m saying. I’d be even more of a social pariah if people knew I had something to do with this.
“I had someone teach her a lesson. The less you know, the better. There was no real danger to her life, but she’ll be damn clear on the fact that she can’t mess with others anymore. Let’s just say that.”
Lucas takes my phone out of my hands and presses a button on my screen. There’s a period of pause before Cole asks, “Are you still there?”
“Yeah,” I answer.
“Oh, speaker phone,” Cole says. “Is your harem there?”
“We’re here,” Stone speaks up without blinking an eye.
“Excellent. Let this be a lesson for how you treat a lady. And no, Stone Jacobs, getting into Meghan’s file to make it look as if she’s failing every single class doesn’t count as revenge. That’s some white-collar shit. Meghan needed a real reminder, not something that could be easily rectified. Even your dad has come to know this.”
I turn my head toward Stone. Holy shit. He got into Meghan’s file for me?
“Maybe we don’t fight the same way,” Stone sneers.
“Which is a problem because you know what she’s up against. Attacking someone digitally isn’t going to cut it. If you guys aren’t going to keep Dakota safe, I will.”
“We’re keeping her safe,” Wyatt growls.
“If you were, then Meghan should’ve been dealt with already.” His strong words hang in the air. “Dakota, I’ve got to take care of something else. Don’t worry, it’s not related to you. Stay safe and keep in contact.” The line cuts off before I have a chance to respond.
“Maybe you’re right,” Lucas offers as he glances at me.
“Right about what?” Wyatt asks.
“Last night, Dakota told me she wondered if Cole wasn’t that much of a bad guy after all.”
“He had someone terrorize Meghan,” Stone seethes.
“And which one of us didn’t want to do that?” Wyatt spits. “Fuck her.”
I blink at him, and he pulls his chin into the air like he doesn’t feel bad about