Saint

“It’d be better for you to stay away from Liam,” he snarls. “I don’t share well, and until I’m done with you, no one else is allowed to touch you, and you’re not allowed to put your trailer trash mouth on anyone else.”

“You can’t tell me what to do,” I insist, but a voice whispers in the back of my mind that he can.

He tilts my chin up, and for one terrible but thrilling moment, I think he might actually do it. He might actually kiss me.

“You need to learn your place.” Instead of lowering his lips to mine, he dips his mouth to my ear once more, his voice a low hum as he whispers, “If you don’t like it, you know what you have to do.”

“You already know my answer to that.” He’s not scaring me away. Not now. Not ever. I won’t let him, Liam, my mom, or anyone take Angelview and the future it will provide me away.

To my surprise, he pulls away gri

As I stare at him, stu

The moment he walks out the door and is out of sight, my knees give out and I sink to the floor. I can’t believe I said those things to him. I can’t believe I stood up to him like that.

The laughter that escapes me is crazed and uncontrollable, and I know that, at last, I’ve lost my mind.

I’m over my hysterics by class the next day, and when I get to gym, I’m not dreading it. I feel almost invincible after my face-off with Saint, and I march into class with my head held high.

Laurel is the first to notice my boost in confidence, and it calls to her like blood to a hungry shark. “You’re looking rather pleased with yourself, welfare baby,” she sneers, sauntering up behind me as I stretch out in the corner. “I can’t possibly see why, though. If I were you, I don’t think I’d be able to get out of bed in the morning.”

I turn to her with a smirk. Her words don’t sting quite so bad today because I know she’s just jealous and lashing out.

“Laurel, I’ve been meaning to ask, are you always such a bitter cunt or is it just because Angelle won’t let you suck his dick anymore?”

Her eyes go wide and her friends around her all gasp and appear horrified. A couple guys nearby who overheard my comments burst out into laughter.

“Shut your mouth, you nasty slut,” Laurel hisses through her teeth. Her face is bright red and I can read the helpless rage in her eyes. “You don’t know anything—”

“Oh, I know plenty, L.” I cross my arms and lift one eyebrow as I stare her down. “I see the way you hang all over him, no matter how much he ignores you. Sure, you may be good for a quick BJ when he’s bored or can’t find anyone else, but you’ve fallen pretty far from girlfriend status, haven’t you? You’re just a side-piece he calls when his dick hurts and he’s desperate.”

“I’ll ruin you, bitch!” Laurel lunges toward me.

“What’s going on here, ladies?”

She freezes just before she sinks her talons into my upper arms, and we both turn to find Saint and Gabe strolling toward us. Gabe appears to be barely containing his laughter, his green eyes shimmering with amusement, and Saint looks as arrogant as ever, his shrewd gaze quickly taking in me and his ex.

“Saint,” she breathes, turning to fully face him. “Babe, you need to do something about this bitch. Do you know what she just said to me?”

“Pretty sure the whole gym just heard her,” he drawls in a dry voice. Gabe chuckles and shakes his head. “Fuck off, L.”

Her smug grin dies on her lips and her blond bob swishes around her face when her head snaps back. “Wait, are you talking to me?” He bobs his head slowly, and Laurel’s face drains of color. She stares at him, dumbstruck. “Wh-what? Why should I—”

He levels her with a glare that makes me shiver. “I said. Fuck. Off.”

Stiffening her spine, Laurel churns her teeth. “Fine. I was done with this cunt anyway.”

Shooting me a death stare, she turns and storms away, her posse of Trust Fund Barbie’s in tow. I’m left alone with Saint and Gabe, and I’m feeling slightly less confident than before.

“Can I help you?” I snap, my eyes bouncing between the two.

Saint’s lips curl at the corners. God, why does this evil bastard have to look so good when he does that? “Getting a little cocky, are we, Ellis?”

Playing with the hem of my t-shirt, I shrug. “Just putting your girl in her place.”

“You better be careful,” Gabe says, stepping forward and leaning his elbow on Saint’s shoulder. “Laurel may be a bitch, but she’s a vindictive one. She’ll make you pay for humiliating her.”

I blink, my head spi

“Whatever, she doesn’t scare me,” I murmur. “Hell, she should be scared of me. Maybe you all should.”

“I don’t think that’ll ever happen, sweetheart,” Gabe laughs as Saint steps closer and pinches my chin between his fingers, tilting my face up so I’m forced to meet his gaze.

“Watch your ass, Ellis. If Laurel kills you, I’ll lose my favorite toy. That’ll really piss me off.”

It’s hard to breathe or think clearly when he’s so close to me. I rip my chin from his grasp and take a step back. His grin is wicked, as if he knows what’s going through my head, but he keeps the distance I’ve put between us.

“Like I said, I’m not scared of her.”

Mr. Norris blows his whistle at that moment, and I send up a silent prayer of thanks. I shove past Saint and Gabe and hurry to line up for the day’s instruction, putting as much space between us as I can manage.

I’ve almost forgotten about Laurel’s threat when I step out of the shower in the girl’s locker room after gym. Just about everyone is already gone, which is just how I like it. I pad my way to my locker and open it to grab my clothes. I tense when I don’t find them on top of my bag inside. My heart begins to race with panic as I frantically search for them, even upending my backpack onto the floor in case I stuffed them inside and forgot.

They’re nowhere to be found.

My clothes are gone.

And I know exactly who took them.

“Looking for these?”

My shoulders tense and I slowly turn to face Laurel. She’s standing by the locker room door, my uniform clutched in her hands, an evil grin plastered on her face.

“Give those back,” I snarl.

She laughs. “Like hell. You want them? Come and get them, whore.”

Rage blurs my vision, and I charge forward. I think I take her momentarily by surprise, because her mouth drops into a shock “O” shape. She gathers her wits enough to turn and run out the door, but I chase her without thought all the way back up to the gym. Her friends are waiting, howling like monkeys as I rush after her in nothing but a towel. She comes to a halt in the safe circle of her minions and waves my uniform over her head, taunting me.

“What’s the matter, Mallory? Don’t sluts prefer being naked?”

“Drop them, Laurel.” The urge to hurt her is overwhelming, and I want to make her feel as humiliated as she’s making me in this moment.

She throws my black knee socks at me, then tosses the rest of my clothes in the air, piece by piece, like fucking confetti. When there’s nothing left put my panties, she swings them over her head before launching them at me. Her friends act like this is the most hilarious thing they’ve ever seen in their damn lives.