Page 52 of The Reckoning (Oakmount Elite #7)

Chapter One - Drew

In football there are two people, winners and losers.

Nothing else in between matters, and with my last name and image hanging in the balance there is absolutely no way I’m fucking losing, not even in practice.

I give the asshole trying to stand one more vicious kick to the ribs, then step over his body.

He'll be fine. He's wearing football pads.

My friends come up behind me, the men I trust most in the world. Lee, Aries, and Sebastian take my back as I jog slowly toward the training center to clean up after our practice.

The rest of the team, and even the coaches, follow at a healthy pace as if they want to keep their distance.

I'm amped up, as I didn't get nearly enough time to run off my energy. That dick groaning on the ground back there tried, unsuccessfully, for a sack. After his failure, my boys and I taught him a lesson. The coaches called practice over, but I'm still amped up for a fight.

I pull off my practice jersey and start unstrapping my pads as I head into the locker room. It takes a minute to strip them off, leaving me only in my pants and shoes.

Once I jerk my locker open, I shove the equipment inside and throw myself onto the bench to strip off my cleats.

Lee plops down beside me, his dark hair standing up in a sweaty mess. "You alright, man?"

I lean back into the locker, letting the cold metal cool me down. "Yeah, fine. Just wish we would have stayed out a little longer today. I have to work off some energy."

Aries leans in, his dark curls equally messy. "Want me to go find you a girl? Give you something to preoccupy yourself with?”

I shake my head and stretch my feet outside the confines of my shoes. "No, I'm saving it for tonight."

"You can go find me a girl, Ari," Sebastian says, his tone dark and deep. "I might need a little appetizer before the main event. It’s hard as fuck to wait until tomorrow. Just a little thing to suck me off, tide me over. It’s always good to get someone to take the edge off."

Aries narrows his eyes at Sebastian. "The last time I found you a girl, you fucked her throat raw, and now I can't go near that sorority house ever again."

Sebastian snorts. "She wanted it. She begged me before I let her have it. The only reason she got bitchy about it afterward was because I told her I wasn't fucking a cunt every man on the team has had. She could have my fingers or nothing, and she chose nothing."

Lee snorts from his spot at his locker a few paces down. The room is full now, the entire team filing in and stripping down to shower.

The boys rib each other a bit more, but I lean my head back, clenching my fists, thinking about tomorrow night’s big event.

I can't wait to sink inside some little doe-eyed beauty who doesn't have enough sense to run when I finally catch her. That’s what my body waits for, what my dick waits for.

I should have realized nothing else would do.

The guys strip off their own gear, shoving things in lockers and harrying the towel boy as he comes through to hand out the fresh towels.

I snatch one off the stack and shove him faster through the row to get him out of my sight.

"Sebastian, is everything prepared?”

I leave the planning for The Hunt to the most depraved of us. Sebastian always comes up with fun little surprises. He might appear to have his shit together, but he’s far from ordinary. The guy makes me look like a gentleman, and that’s saying something, given how fucked up I am myself.

Sebastian strips his undershirt off and drops it to the bottom of his locker. "Of course, it's all finished. Who do you think I am? Invitations have been sent out and shared by the guys. Every detail is in order.”

I stretch my neck from side to side, thinking. "And the pack this year…anyone who might pique my interest?"

Sebastian grins at me over his shoulder. "What do you think? There are at least a couple of virgins and a few lovely girls who have no idea what they’re getting into. I suspect a few of them might bring their own clueless friends along.”

Lee and Aries both chuckle at this.

Aries scrubs his hair away from his face. "I want one with a little fight. She might start out clueless, but when I catch her, I want her to make me bleed, and maybe I'll return the favor."

Lee shrugs. "I like surprises. I'll chase, and we will see what I happen to scare up."

I let out a long sigh and stare back and forth between them.

"You all know what I want. But this time, I want it to be fucking real.

None of this pretends not to want it while her cunt is sopping wet bullshit.

I want to see the whites in her eyes. If she fights, fine, but I want it to be out of fear, not pretense. "

Lee snickers as he shucks his cleats. "You want what we all want and have yet to find. Good luck, man. I hope when you find her, you're able to keep her."

I shrug. "Maybe, maybe not. That depends mostly on her, I suppose. The more she doesn't want me, I think, the more I'll enjoy The Hunt That's my goal. The ultimate hunt and the ultimate prize."

There are very few things I want in life. Given my money and my father's legacy, there is nothing I can't have except this: the perfect chase.

It disturbs me how much I need it. How much I've thought about nothing else recently. Maybe tomorrow will be the night. When you have as little control over your life and the things that happen in it as I do, something as simple as a little chase in the woods can make or break you. It’s one singular thing I have a choice about.

I clench my fists again and stand, shoving off my pants and tossing the rest of my kit into my locker.

Shower first, then I have a nerd to hunt down.

I check my phone again, and surprise, there's no response to my text.

The little shit is going to regret keeping me waiting.

I paid him five hundred up front for that paper, and if he thinks he can stiff me, he's sorely mistaken.

It doesn't take me long to shower and throw my wash into the designated bags. I make sure to shoulder-check the glowering team mate who thought he could take me on the way out. Ruckus or Tucker, maybe. I don't remember his name.

The guys watch me go and say nothing as I head out, hair still wet, in my hoodie and jeans. On the way through the training center to outside, I shoot the little asshole a text telling him to respond before I hunt him down and beat the shit out of him.

I stop to fill my water bottle from a fountain on the path while I wait for him to respond.

The idiot reads the text but doesn't answer. If that's how he wants to play it, so be it. Unfortunately, some people aren’t nearly as intelligent as they think. I don’t pay nerds to do the work because I can’t do it myself.

I pay them because it’s easier to have someone else do it.

I don’t have time to waste on writing papers or doing research.

But it only works if the person I hire actually does the work.

I stalk across the quad, heading toward the place I first found him: the library. It's not even a half mile, and the slight chill in the air cools the simmering rage in my veins into something sharper and more sinister as I walk.

A flitty little blonde rushes up to my side, matching my pace to talk to me. "Drew, I heard that tomorrow is the big night."

I give her little more than a grunt of agreement. "So?"

She bats her long, fake eyelashes, now practically running to match my long stride. "Well, I was hoping for an invitation. I have some friends I could bring along for some fun."

I stop, and the halt makes her lose her balance. I wait to see if she falls. She doesn't. "What kind of friends?"

Out of breath now, her smile widens. "Oh, I have a lot of friends. I guess it depends on the type you’re after?”

I narrow my eyes and scan down her low-cut top and skintight leggings. She’s dressed as if she’s ready to go frolicking through the woods at this very moment. "How about someone with a little innocence? Know anyone like that?"

She taps her chin, considering what I’ve asked, but her eyes have a knowing twinkle. "Well, I have a few who might fit. I'll ask them to come in exchange for an invitation of my own and some tips on how to bag one of your crew."

I tip her chin up gently, towering over her, and lean in. "Sure, come along, but you'll have to figure out how to catch their eye on your own."

Not so gently, I shove her back a few steps. "Meet at the Mill House at sunset, tomorrow."

I walk away without looking back. There's a small chance she might have what I'm looking for, but it sure as hell isn't her.

The rest of the walk to the library is uneventful, mostly because everyone else on the path takes one look at my scowl and doesn't even try to approach me. Good, that’s how I like it.

For appearances only I keep up the nice guy image, but I’m about as nice as a crocodile that hasn’t eaten in months.

I take the stairs up to the library entry two at a time and push through the glass doors. It's a big space, being the only library on campus, so it might take time to find the scrawny little fucker. Especially if he’s doing his damnedest to hide from me.

I stalk through the stacks first, slowly. My approach sends a few people scurrying out of my way, which is fine. No one catches my eye, and I slow my pace so I don't miss him between a row of shelves.

Once I reach the far side of the library, I start the other side and begin searching the little study nooks dotting the area. A group of tittering girls spots me in the distance, and I can hear their chatter as they dare each other to come and speak to me. I ignore their existence.

A few other people are spread around, and a professor tucked up into a glass cage in the back. No scrawny little nerd in sight, though. My patience is growing thinner by the second. If he doesn’t want me to murder him, he’ll make an appearance soon.

Frustrated, I tug my cell phone out of my pocket and shoot off a quick text. It only takes a second to hear the ding in the mostly quiet space. A smile tugs at my lips.

Gotcha, you little fuck.

I scan the space where I heard the sound until I spot him. He's staring at his screen, looking appropriately scared. Good. He should be scared. I stalk around the backside of the stacks and come up behind him.

It takes seconds to grab him by the scruff of his sweater and drag him between the shelves. "Hello, Mark. If I didn’t know better, I’d say you’re avoiding me. Because you forgot to send me something today?"

He sputters, his phone slipping from his hand to clatter on the worn carpet. Whirling around, he appears baffled. "No, no. I was… I’m not avoiding you. I’m just proofreading your essay. I didn't forget to send it."

"I'm pretty sure it was supposed to be delivered this morning. When I give you a deadline, I expect it to be met. Now, I have to worry about getting my assignment in on time. Which isn't something I should have to worry about, especially when I've already fucking paid you."

I give him a hard shove into the stack of books. He whimpers and turns his head to the side, likely hoping to protect his face.

“I’d love to let you go without any consequences, but that would just set a terrible tone for any future nerds I hire.” Minding the distance of the shelf behind me, I jerk back to deliver a punch in the gut when I hear a gasp to my right from deeper in the stacks.

It's loud enough to make me pause. I can be as depraved as I like, but I can't risk getting cut from the football team or making my father look bad. It would be unlikely, but I don't need to invite the question, especially not during the season.

It’s hard to see what I’m looking at in the dim lighting, but I focus my gaze on a spot hidden in the dark. The gasp came from a little thing in a worn oversized hoodie. Her blond hair is tied up in a knot on top of her head. It’s bright blond, a beacon of light in the dim space. She’s very pretty.

Something dark and sinister swirls in my gut. I can't look away from her. Not for a second.

She steps closer, tentatively, and places a hand on the nearest shelf. "Is everything okay here?" She doesn't sound sure of herself. Not like she's afraid per se… But she hasn’t raised her voice at all.

I release my hold on the nerd and let him sink back to his feet. "Yup, everything is peachy.”

“It doesn’t look like it. If you let him go, I can pretend I didn’t hear what you said. No one has to know what you’re doing.”

I’m a bit shocked at her gall. Is she dating this little nerd? Is that why she’s protective of him? The kid doesn’t appear to know who she is, not in the least bit, so it can’t be that.

“You don’t look like the type to blackmail, so what will you give me in return for releasing this little weasel? He's stolen from me. He took five hundred dollars in exchange for services performed, and he's yet to provide his end of the deal. So...where does that leave me?"

She waves at Mark. "If you hurt him, he can't do the work, can he? Think about it that way. Plus, like I said, if you let him go, then I won’t have to say anything."

The warning in her words should alert me, but it doesn’t. I’m not scared. I lean in and crook my finger. Instead, I’m curious. Who is this girl? I need to get a better look at her. To see the color of her eyes, the shape of her lips, and the slope of her neck. "Come closer."

I watch her intently as she swallows hard. My hand would fit perfectly wrapped around her throat. Like a glove. Yes, I can see it now. My cock grows hard.

Some of the bite she gave a moment ago is gone. "Yeah, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Who says you have a choice?” I hiss.