RIOT HOUSE (Crooked Sinners #1) - Callie Hart Page 0,32

a connection here. A bizarre, uncomfortable link that makes me sweat every time I think about severing it. I wonder if she feels panicked, and distressed, and turned on whenever she hears my voice.

She’s the first out of the door when the bell goes. She ducks her head, throws her bag over her shoulder, clutching a turquoise file to her chest, and she whirls out of the room before Carina’s even on her feet.

I haven’t been paying attention to Carina. I haven’t even spared her a sidelong glance. She is Dashiell’s self-imposed punishment, not mine. It looks like her skin is crawling and she’s about to throw up as she navigates a pathway through Fitz’s worn, haphazard furniture, slowly crossing the room toward me.

Fucking wonderful.

I know what’s coming next.

Carina, Carina. Sweet little Carrie. The mother hen of the fourth floor. Fuck knows when Harcourt designated her protector over all new female students, but she must take her role very seriously if she’s willing to come here and face me down.

She clears her throat, announcing her presence. I’m looking down at my cell, feigning ignorance, but of course I know perfectly well that she’s there. “Carina.”

“You could have the decency to put the phone down for a second.” Her voice is colder than the glacial tone my ex-stepmother used to affect whenever she addressed my father. Smiling wickedly, I give her what she wants: I raise my head, looking her right in the eye. It’s been my experience that plenty of people want to get my attention. When they have it, they very quickly want to give it back. Carina’s no exception. She flinches under the weight of my gaze. She’s stronger than most, though. She doesn’t look away.

“I’ve got one word for you, Jacobi. Don’t.”

Oh, ho, ho. This is gonna be entertaining. “Don’t be so devastatingly handsome? Don’t be smarter than every single man in this place? Don’t make my heart flutter in my chest every time you look at me?”

Carina clenches her jaw, nostrils flaring. “You’re many things, Wren, but slick isn’t one of them. You know exactly what I’m talking about. I’ve seen you looking at her. Just don’t.” She spins on the balls of her feet and hurries toward the exit, making her escape before I can toy with her some more. Carrie never was any fun. I have no idea what Dashiell sees in her.

“That looked like a cutting exchange.”

The classroom’s empty now, bar myself and Fitz. Dashiell and Pax might be my boys, but neither one of them can stand Fitz. They have their reasons; they won’t linger in his classroom a second longer than is required to maintain their grades.

Casting a menacing scowl in the teacher’s direction, I get to my feet. “I’m pretty pissed at you, old man.”

Fitz leans against the writing desk next to him, resting his hip against the wood. With his arms folded across his chest and a wry smirk on his face, he looks like he’s the one who’s pissed at me. “We’ve been through this,” he says, letting out a weighty sigh. “You’ve made your intentions perfectly clear. I’ve told you I think it’s a bad idea. After what happened with Mara, you’ve—”

I grab his face with one hand, digging my fingers into his cheeks. The stubble on his chin bites into my hand, bringing back memories I’d rather forget. “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t bring her up again, y’know. This situation’s nothing like what happened with Mara. You, more than anyone, should know that. Right?”

My blood turns to ice as Fitz’s eyes roll back into his skull; he looks like he’s caught in that confounding middle ground between fury and ecstasy. “Right. Yeah. I—you’re right.”

“Elodie’s mine. I’ve already cleared it with the boys. And I don’t need to clear shit with you. You won’t go near her.”

Nodding, Fitz reaches up and takes hold of me by the wrist, slowly pulling my hand away from his face. “I won’t go near her.” He swallows hard.

I leave his room just as the first bout of rain begins to lash at the windows.

9

ELODIE

+972 3 556 3409: I can’t believe you’re gone. Everyone at Mary’s is devastated. We’re all in shock. We’ll never forget you, Elle. You’ll always be missed. I love you – Levi x

I smile down at the WhatsApp message from my friend, relieved that he’s finally reached out. Dad replaced my phone with a device from a US cell provider when he packed me off to the