Kings of Quarantine (Brutal Boys of Everlake Prep #1) - Caroline Peckham ,Susanne Valenti Page 0,94

a laugh got caught in the back of my throat. It managed to escape and Saint shot me daggers, seeming unsure of who to aim his rage at.

My gaze skipped to Kyan and for a moment I remembered straddling him in the hot tub, the way he’d groaned as I washed his body. He shot me a wink while the others weren’t looking and my lips parted. Did he purposefully save my ass from the six am bullshit?

“Fucking idiot,” Blake muttered and I noticed he was stabbing at his food as he narrowed his eyes at me. I tried not to be rattled by that, but for a second he looked scarier than Saint. Like he wanted to be driving that blade into me.

“Get on your knees,” Saint suddenly demanded of me, loud enough for the entire room to here.

Girlish giggles reached me from the table just behind me and my cheeks flushed hot as I stared at Saint. I couldn’t do it. My knees physically would not fucking bend for this asshole.

“Get. On. Your. Knees,” Saint growled dangerously.

I gritted my teeth, knowing I had no choice as I forced myself down before them, my calves pressing against the hard floor. My neck flared with heat and I half expected food to be thrown on me again, but as I stared defiantly up at Saint, he just smirked.

“This is how I want you every morning, outside The Temple at six am,” he demanded and excited chattering filled the air.

I had to bite my tongue on the insults that were dancing through my mind as I nodded my agreement.

Saint grinned as he beckoned me back to my feet and I was more than happy to comply.

“Now, go sit down,” he directed, pointing over at the Unspeakables.

“My pleasure.” I gave him a mock curtesy, lifting my skirt almost high enough to flash my panties before hurrying away to the table, somehow getting away with that.

I dropped down in the same spot I’d filled all week and the Unspeakables stared at me with wide eyes.

Freeloader patted my arm and Bait gave me a sad sort of smile. They didn’t need to mention the fact that the Night Keepers owned me now. Even more so than they were owned. But I was never, in all my fucking life, gonna end up looking like these beat down Barrys.

I ordered my breakfast – my choices consisting of plain porridge or a fruit bowl. So I opted for the fruit and just thanked my lucky stars that grapes and bananas hadn’t been stolen from me along with pizza. Oh hell no, did I just express gratitude for what the royal fuckwits deigned to offer me?

Anger rolled through my chest and I slammed my phone down more firmly than was necessary, making every one of the Unspeakables jump. And that made me even madder, because they must have been like me once. I mean sure, maybe not all of them. Some looked like they’d been hiding from their own shadows for most of their lives, but Punch didn’t. Punch looked like he’d once been a machine of a guy who didn’t need to take shit from anybody. But there he was down the table, throwing cursory glances over at the Night Keepers while he spooned porridge into his mouth with a look like he was chewing cardboard.

And Deepthroat had the look of a prom queen who’d had her crown broken into pieces and stabbed into her gut. She must have been one of the popular girls once, breezing through life without a care. Now, her mascara was slightly smeared and her eyes reddened like she’d been dabbing tears from them not long ago. It made me angry for her, for all of them.

“You’re so lucky, Sneak,” Freeloader said to the redheaded girl beside her with a look of longing.

“Yeah, I wish my parents could come for me,” Bait said with a heavy sigh.

My ears pricked up as I looked to Sneak, my heart slowing for several beats. “You’re leaving?” I asked and she looked to me with a shy nod, tucking a lock of crimson hair behind her ear.

“My mom’s taking a few days off work to drive all the way from San Francisco,” she said, her eyes shining with tears of joy. “She won’t be coming ‘til next week, but when she arrives, I’m gonna be free.”

The Unspeakables gazed at her in desperation and my breathing hitched as a plan clicked together in my mind.

“Would she give