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Chapter Two

Jolie

While I promised Kai I would help take down Mr Z, it’s a promise I shouldn’t have made. After the funeral, they were gone, and it’s been nothing but radio silence.

The last few days, I’ve spent pulling myself together, making sure my head is right before school starts back. Honestly, I wasn’t going to bother until I realised I need to get into Olympia if I want to get to know my enemy. I need access to everything—his office, his labs, his training facilities, and I need his resources.

Looking in the mirror of my bathroom as I swipe on my lip gloss, I make sure my armour is up. I can’t slip. I need to keep everything on the inside. Until their deaths, I was quite good at it, but seeing them on the ground lifeless broke a part of me I don’t think can ever be repaired.

Heading downstairs to the kitchen, I’m met with an empty house completely void of life. No Brennan making my morning coffee, no Petra cooking breakfast, no Laughn looking at me like I’m his next meal.

Snatching an apple from the fruit bowl and making my way to the garage, I flick on the light as I walk through the door. Boston’s blue Viper is parked in its designated spot, and by this time of morning it would normally be outside in the driveway. I swipe the key fob from the hook on the wall, pressing the unlock button. The car beeps and lights up.

A surge of adrenaline pools in my stomach and I smirk at the thought of him watching me drive his car from above or below—let’s face it, Boston was no saint while he was alive. Picturing the vein protruding in his neck as his face goes slightly red, I wait for the explosion, but it doesn’t come. Taking a deep breath in and slowly releasing it, I can’t let this get to me. I just have to make it through the day.

The garage door automatically opens as a car reverses, so as soon as I release my foot from the brake, the door starts to slide up.

Backing out slowly until I’m facing the gate, I then hit the gas and peel out of the driveway onto the street. I drive his car like I stole it, speeding and weaving in and out of lanes, all the way to Northwood Pines.

Rage simmers in my belly as I pull into the parking lot. They haven’t even been dead a month and people have already parked in their spots. I don’t know why this bothers me so much, but I fly up, parking Boston’s car directly in front of them, the tires screeching as I come to a stop. Everyone standing around their cars freezes, and kids gather above the massive shrubs where Laughn would sit and smoke every morning as he watched me walk into the school.

“Who the fuck parked their cars there?” I yell at the top of my lungs.

There is no sound but the wind rustling through the trees at the top of the carpark.

“No one? Their bodies are barely cold, and you think you can forget who ran this school? Move them now before I find a hockey stick and do some damage.” My threat rings out through the silence but still goes unanswered.

The stares continue even after I park the car and make my way up the stairs. I spot Jimmie, Sinclair, and Kai sitting around our usual table.

I storm over to them and look Kai dead in the eyes. “You need to leave,” I snap.

“Jolie,” Sinclair chastises. “His brother just died. You could be a little nicer.”

I open my mouth, then clamp it shut tightly. They don’t know the part Kai played in his brother’s death, but I won’t apologise for what I said.

“Hey, Cupcake.” My eyes widen as I turn and see Colt dressed in our school uniform. His once shaggy blonde hair is cut shorter, and the scruffy beard he used to sport is trimmed down. I raise a brow, but he just smiles with a shark-like grin. “Fancy seeing you here. Oh look, it’s the dick girl. Have you considered my offer yet?”

Sinclair goes beet red and hides her face behind her hands. I don’t bother sitting down, instead grabbing Colt by the arm and dragging him away from the table.

“Why are you here?” I whisper, not wanting anyone to overhear.

“Don’t know,” he says with a shrug. “Orders from the big man. My team is here and so is Team Rampage.”

“Summer’s team is here?”

He just nods, and I covertly scan the courtyard, but there’s no sign of them yet.

“My guess is because you’ve had yourself locked up like a hermit for the last month. Then you had a mental breakdown at the funeral. Your ass is on watch. We all know Mr Z is your father, so maybe he actually loves someone besides himself.”

“Yeah, maybe... ” I trail off as Chelsea and her minions walk past, whispering to each other.

“Did you see the new teachers?”

“I don’t know if I should be turned on or scared.”

“What are you looking at?” Chelsea snaps at me.

“I don’t know, shit doesn’t come with name tags.” Colt snorts and I roll my eyes at myself. How old am I? Ten?

“Your friends are no longer here to protect you,” she taunts, causing her posse to snicker.

“See, that’s where you’re wrong. They’re no longer here to protect you, bitch.”

I lunge for her, grabbing a handful of her red hair and pulling her down into a headlock as she squeals for me to let her go. “Mention them again and you’ll need a new nose job.”

“Jolie.”

I shudder at the tone in his voice and look up, locking eyes with Brennan as he comes to stand in front of me.

“Not a good time, Brennan. As you can see, I’m kinda busy,” I say, tightening my hold on Chelsea as a whimper leaves her lips.

“It’s Mr Myers, and you need to come with me.”

I freeze and my eyes widen as my brows hit my hairline. Mr Myers... seriously?

“Okay, Killer, let the girl go,” Colt adds with a smirk.

I release Chelsea, who straightens up and fixes her uniform, looking between Brennan and me.

“Jolie, let’s go.”

I flip Chelsea off and turn to follow Brennan. We walk in silence all the way to the administration building. He unlocks a door and walks through it, expecting me to follow. I read the sign on the door as I walk into the room.

Brennan Myers

Guidance Officer

“It’s a shame that you’re wasting your intelligence on listening to spoiled children and their problems all day. I don’t have any problems, so I guess I can go.”

I turn to exit the room, but he stops me with a single command. “Sit.” His domineering tone just pisses me off more.

“Do I at least get a treat if you’re going to talk to me like I’m a dog?”

“Stop acting like a child,” he accuses as he walks behind me and shuts the door.

“Acting like a child? How am I supposed to act towards a murderer?” I watch for his reaction as he returns to the seat behind his new desk.

“It wasn’t that simple and you know it!” He takes his seat, holding out his hand to the one opposite the desk.

I shake my head vehemently, wanting out of here as quickly as possible.

“Do I? Because no matter what Mr Z had wanted from me, I never would have killed any of you.”

“Are you sure about that? What you don’t know is that we were given an ultimatum: fight to the death or he would hurt you. You walked straight into his trap.”

Throwing my hands in the air, I scream, “You should have picked them!” Pent up rage overflows as my chest heaves. “I’m just a girl, but they were your brothers .”

“That’s where you’re wrong!” he yells back as he stands and places his hands on the desk. “You were never just some girl. We were designed to protect you, to love you. All of us were. There was never a scenario where we wouldn’t choose you.”

Tears well in my eyes. “So why am I here?”

“The principal thinks that you need to have weekly sessions with me due to your loss.”

“How convenient,” I mutter. “I’m sure he isn’t aware of your role in my grief.”

Done with this conversation, I turn and head for the door. When I reach for the handle, Brennan calls my name and I pause.

“I will look at your schedule and let you know when your sessions will be. It’s non-negotiable.”

I huff and twist the handle, ripping the door open so hard it bangs against the wall. I exit and head to my first class, having missed form room completely.

“Don’t forget your late note,” Brennan calls after me.

I ignore him and head towards biology. We received our new timetables via email a few days ago.

My mind reels in anger that Mr Z feels the need to control every aspect of my life. I’m not an idiot. I know he placed Brennan at the school for my benefit, but I’m not exactly sure why Colt or Summer are here. Is it just to keep an eye on me or is there something else going on that I don’t know about?

“Hey, Cupcake. Wait up,” Colt’s unmistakable voice calls from behind me.

I turn and see him racing down the hall towards me. It’s so hard to believe this is the same Colt. I wonder who made him clean himself up from the shaggy-looking man to this more polished version in front of me.

“What, Colt? I have class.”

He hands me a coffee and I give him a small smile in appreciation.

“Same, we have Bio together,” he mutters, taking a sip of his energy drink. I really don’t think he needs that, but I don’t share my thoughts out loud.

“What do you know about biology?”

“I happen to know a lot about female biology.” He waggles his eyebrows.

I roll my eyes. “I’m sure you do.”

“The offer still stands. If you need a good dicking, I’m here.” He grins while pointing to himself.

“Dicking.” I snort. “Really?”

We walk into the biology lab side by side and find a seat together. I’m still pissed that he was involved in what went down, but he didn’t physically hurt anyone, and he isn’t so bad to be around.

Whispers start around the class, and I figure it’s because we have a new kid—not that Colt looks like a regular high-school boy.

“We are going to be good friends,” he says, throwing his arm around the back of my chair.

“Is that so?” I ask, turning to face him and he nods.

“Yep, because yours truly has to help get your ass in shape, and I like to run. It’s usually from people I’ve pissed off, but I figure we could kill two birds with one stone. Pick a target, and we’ll make them mad, then run. Win, win really.”

A growl from the front of the class interrupts us. Without looking up, I already know who it is—I can feel his presence. All the tension in my body starts to float away, which internally annoys the crap out of me that being in his mere presence has this effect. I glance at the front of the room and our eyes connect. Creed looks as sexy as ever. His light-brown hair is perfectly styled, which is unlike him, and his obsidian eyes shine brightly from the lights in the room. His black dress slacks are moulded perfectly to his thighs, and the bright-blue button up hugs his sculpted chest, its sleeves rolled up to showcase the grey-scale tattoos on his perfect forearms.

I stand from my chair and Colt’s arm falls from behind me.

“Why are you here?” Cracking my knuckles, I ready myself for a showdown.

“Tenshi, sit down. I have a lesson to get on with.”

“Don’t ‘Tenshi’ me. Why the fuck are you here? Everywhere I turn, there you are. I don’t want to see your stupid face.”

Lies. I do because he reminds me so much of Laughn. It’s the small things: the shape of his eyes, the way his lips pull together when he is thinking, and even the shape of his eyebrows.

“Enough,” he booms, the class watching on with rapt attention, waiting for the bomb to go off. “You need to go to the guidance officer.”

“I’m not going to see him either. Screw you both.” I flip him off and head towards the door, needing to bypass him to get there.

He takes a step towards me as I reach the front of the class and I stare at him, waiting for him to touch me. He can explain to the principal how he knows me, but I’m sure it won’t matter. Mr Z has something up his damn sleeve and I’m going to have to go see him to find out what it is.

He tilts his head as a warning and his nostrils flare. He wants to hurt me but can’t with all these witnesses. I smirk and walk past him towards the door.

“You can’t just leave,” he seethes.

“It’s okay, Teach. I’ll go with her.”

“Sit. Down. Colt,” Creed forces out between clenched teeth.

“No can do. What if she needs a shoulder to cry on? I happen to have a damn good shoulder, or cock, whatever she prefers.”

I chuckle under my breath as I hear a growl and Colt laughing as he runs out of the class behind me.

“Now might be a good time for us to run and hide,” he mock-whispers, grabbing my arm and forcing me to move. “One of them will be sent to find you soon. Let’s play a little game of hide and seek.”

“Let’s do it. I’m not going back to that class.”

“I hate to break it to you, Cupcake, but they’re all here.”

“Are you fucking serious?”

“Yup,” Colt says, popping the P.

“That fucker. One damn meltdown, and I’m saddled with a whole entourage of handlers.”

As we race down a hall, Colt skids to a stop when he spots a janitor’s closet, and with an oomph , I slam into his back.

A little warning would be nice.

He opens the door, then switches on the light. It’s a small room with shelves lining one wall, holding various cleaning products. Plus a sink, a few brooms, and a bucket.

“You’re the most important person in the organisation,” he says, shutting the door behind us. “He can’t afford anything happening to you or all his years of mind games, fuckery, and research will be gone.”

“How do you know so much? I thought those who weren’t genetically engineered didn’t know shit.”

We both sit with our backs against a wall. Colt empties his pockets and lollies fall to the floor. I shake my head as my brows hit my hairline. All that sugar isn’t good for him—they are just as bad as the energy drink he had this morning.

“We don’t. I just hear things. Girls like to talk when a guy has skills.”

My phone buzzes, causing Colt’s eyes to snap to my boobs. He quirks an eyebrow as I remove it from my bra.

Unknown

You need to make this transition easy.

Me

Who is this?

Unknown

Mr Z. Save my number.

Me

We need to meet. The sooner the better.

Mr Z

How about dinner tomorrow? I’ll send a car to pick you up.

Me

Ok

Mr Z

See you then and play nice. I will explain tomorrow.

I tuck my phone back into my bra, Colt watching while he slips a hard lolly into his mouth.

“Who was that?”

“Mr Z, he wants to meet for dinner tomorrow and tell me why he has all of my handlers posing as school staff.”

Colt laughs and holds out a pink lolly to me. I take it and unwrap it. The door to the room is thrown open—nearly smacking Colt in the shoulder—and we both stare at Brennan standing in the doorway. He looks down at us, taking in the way we’re sitting. I don’t miss the slight jealousy that washes over his face before he pulls himself together when he realises we’re not doing anything.

“Colt, back to class. Jolie, my office.”

Colt stands and helps me up before he leans down and picks up his lolly stash from the floor, shoving them back in his pocket.

“See you at lunch, Cupcake. I’ll introduce you to my team—they’re going to love you.”

He moves towards the door and Brennan steps back to allow him to walk past. Colt slaps Brennan on the ass and takes off running down the hall. I snort at his antics and know we will be good friends.

“Lead the way,” I say, my voice laced with sarcasm as I lift my hand into the air in a gesture for him to start walking.

He doesn’t attempt small talk, and the silence is deafening in the empty hallway. I walk a few steps behind him all the way to a staffroom in the science building. Just as I’m about to ask why we’re here, Creed walks in and locks the door. Oh joy, this might be about to get good. I wonder if I can use sex to get out of this? I doubt it—Creed would know that I’m not feeling it and call me out.

“How are we going to do this? Tag team? Pig on a spit? I’ve never had two at once. I’m willing to gi?—”

My words are cut short when Creed rushes towards me and his hand wraps round my throat. I take a few steps backwards to brace for his attack, and my back hits a wall as I look up at his stone-cold face. The fire burning in his eyes tells me he’s pissed.

“What is your problem?” he demands, not letting his grip loosen so I can take a breath. “I get that you’re mad, but life goes on.”

I push at his chest with everything I have. He lets go of my neck and steps back, but he’s still too close for comfort at this point.

“What is my problem? Come on, Creed, you’re not fucking stupid, so don’t play dumb. You think you can do what you did and there wouldn’t be any consequences? Well, think again. I don’t want to see you, any of you.” I cut a glare to Brennan, who is standing back just watching the encounter. “You all just need to leave me the hell alone.”

Creed laughs. “Now who’s playing stupid? You don’t have a choice. We’re your team and you just have to get over it. You don’t have to like what we had to do, but don’t think for one second that they just let us win. They were just as ruthless as we were, but lucky for us, we have years more experience and maybe we just loved you more. We never forgot about you like they did.” He spits the last sentence out with venom.

“And whose fault was that? You all wanted to play the hero and didn’t even give them a chance to help you. They didn’t love me less. You just had an advantage of knowing that I was alive,” I admonish, stabbing my finger into his chest.

“Besides, let’s face it, what did your protection get me?” I tick each one off on my fingers. “Foster brothers who liked to creep into my room at night, a sense of not belonging, an unhealthy attachment to needing to be wanted so I used my body to get a feeling of love. So, congratulations to you, we may have to be a team, but I won’t forgive you. And that is on you.”

With my feelings now out in the open, I turn and storm towards the door, unlocking it and flinging it open. I turn back, and Creed just smirks at me, making my heart sink. Laughn used to do the same. Tears prick at my eyes, and I exit before they can see me cry. They’ve seen me vulnerable too many times. I need to be stronger and one step ahead of them from now on.