I have no more lessons for the rest of the day, so I head to the library to meet with Natalya."Hey, over here?" She whispers.I smile when I see her surrounded by books. "Hey." I take a seat next to her. "What are you studying?" I ask quietly."Interrogation," she replies.I raise a brow at the response.She shrug. "It's a useful skill in the Bratva."I nod in reply, twiddling my fingers anxiously as I need to ask her a question. "Can you keep a secret?"Her eyes shoot up to meet mine, and she smiles wickedly. "What kind of secret?"I shake my head. "A very important one. Can you keep one?"She nods. "Of course. You have my word."I swallow hard. "I don't want to be a part of my parents' business or lives."Her brow furrows. "Really? What do you want to do then?""I want to become a vet, but I'm not naïve enough to believe running from them would be easy."She contemplates. "No, it wouldn't be easy." Natalya puts down her book, looking at me seriously. "Your parents are renowned for
What the hell have I done?Five years of planning could all go to shit. I kissed Eva Carmichael. A terrible act that I can't stop replaying over and over. It has consumed every waking thought for the past three days.Thankfully, it happened on a Friday, so I had the weekend to sulk in my cottage over it, but now it's Monday.Somehow, I've avoided running into her since I don't have classes with her on a Monday, but tomorrow I will have to face her in leadership strategy class and law.The despair was written all over her face when I threw her out of my office and canceled the rest of our one-on-one lessons. Her little speech shocked me to the core and for a horrible reason.It made me realize why I'm so drawn to her. She reminds me of myself at her age, desperate to escape by any means necessary—desperate to be better than the people who raised her. The innocent daughter of my enemies reminds me of myself.How can I destroy someone so innocent, so utterly against all that her parents
The bar Archer picked is heaving with kids, as it's popular with the local college. Typical Archer always makes sure there are a lot of hot young college girls around for him to pick from.Bly looks as uncomfortable as I feel as we step inside. "Is this the best place for us to grab a drink?"I nod in agreement, glancing around. "It's a little loud."Archer shakes his head. "Sorry, grandpa, but this is the hottest place in town."I glare at him. "In case you forgot, we're teachers at a nearby school, not frat boys."He laughs. "Both of you need to lighten up." He shakes his head and leads the way toward the bar. "It's not like we'll run into any of our students."Hopefully, he's right. None of us are stupid enough to believe that students don't sneak off campus. The students aren't permitted to leave the grounds unless they have permission, but that wouldn't stop them.We've caught kids doing exactly that, but it doesn't mean we'll run into any here. There are another ten clubs in the
"Get dressed. We're going out," Natalya announces, waltzing into my room with Azira and Adrianna following close behind, all of them in dresses.My brow furrows. "Going out where?" The idea of going out right now makes my stomach churn.All I want to do is curl up into a ball and sleep. It's what I did all weekend since the kiss with Oak, and I can't face the idea of going anywhere. I saw him in the corridor today, but he didn't see me. My heart ached at the sight of him, and tomorrow I have to sit in his class, twice."Alexander has hired a minibus, and he's invited us to join him in town," Natalya says, shrugging. "As well as ten other people."I glance at Azira, wondering what's going on. "And you think it's wise to accept an invitation from that nutcase?" I never told Natalya about what happened in the corridor when he accosted me and only let me go because Oak interrupted us.There's a flash of something in Natalya's eyes as she shrugs. "We're eighteen years old and stuck in this
The door at the back of the laundry room leads to an enclosed courtyard where the minibus is parked. Alexander is leaning against it with his arms crossed over his chest. His nostrils flare the moment he sees Natalya. "Kept me waiting, Gurin," he says, pushing off the bus and walking toward her. He wraps an arm around her and claws her against his side. "Never do it again," he says, his tone menacing.My brow furrows, and I'm about to say something when Azira yanks me onto the bus. "What's going on with those two?"Azira shakes her head. "I don't know, but when I questioned her, she got all defensive."Adrianna leans forward. "If I've learned anything about Natalya, let her reveal things in her own time. If you push her, she'll snap."I sit down next to Azira and ask, "You once asked Natalya if she'd told me about what Alexander did to her. What did he do?"Azira meets my gaze and then glances at Adrianna.Adrianna shrugs. "It's not exactly a secret."Azira sighs. "Alexander tormented
A beautiful laugh catches my attention.Eva.I search the bar for her, desperately trying to find the source of that laughter. Perhaps it's someone who sounds eerily like her, but deep down, I know that's not true. No one sounds like her. My eyes land on a large table near the back, where quite a few of SA's students are gathered, but I don't see her.I nudge Bly. "Looks like we have some rule breakers."The smirk that twists his lips is devilish. "Oh, I do love punishing rule breakers." He rubs his hands together, making me shake my head."Perhaps we can have some fun with them?" I suggest.Bly's brow furrows. "What do you have in mind?""Sit with them a while and make them sweat." I shrug. I know my suggestion is motivated by spending time with Eva. Since entering my classroom, she's been stuck to Natalya Gurin's side, and I can see Natalya from where I'm sitting.Bly runs his hand through his hair before smiling. "I like your thinking. The moment I sit down with them, they'll shit
It's an irresponsible move. As their school principal, I shouldn't be buying these underage students drinks. However, Eva's presence here only hazes my judgment and makes it hard to think of anything else."So, how the fuck did you lot sneak off campus?" I ask, glancing between every pupil at the table.A few of them pale, most grin in drunken pride."I'm afraid if we told you that, professor, we'd have to kill you," Alexander says, grinning at me with that cocky smirk I'd love to punch off his face.To my surprise, he has his arm lazily draped over Natalya Gurin's shoulder. The same girl he has spent years tormenting. Natalya looks a little uncomfortable, suggesting that perhaps she's not here by choice, or at least not in Alexander' arms by choice.Alexander has a lot to prove. He may be part of the Estrada Cartel family, but he's only a cousin and doesn't share the Estrada name. It means that while he's a big fish at this school, out there in the real world, he's not such a big dea
I made a big mistake coming out here alone.Oak followed me. And now, he's staring at me like an angry, hungry predator ready to tear me to shreds. His beautiful blue eyes look almost silver in the dim streetlight and pale moonlight creeping through the clouds.As he approaches, I take a few back steps, only to find myself caged in against the club's wall."Are you okay, principal Byrne?" I ask, not wanting to use his first name. It's too intimate for this setting, being that we're outside of school, and the way he's looking at me scares.He stops when he's merely a foot from me, tilting his head. "Am I okay?" His voice shakes with anger. "What the fuck are you doing here?"The tone makes me wish I could disappear into the bricks behind me. "Natalya invited me," I murmur, wishing my voice didn't sound so insignificant compared to his. "I'm sorry for breaking the rules."His eyes flash with something I can't quite discern at my apology as his gaze moves to my lips, then lower to my dre