Page 51 of Volatile King (The Kings of Wayward Academy #6)

“Mr. Collier,” the dean called out, following him.

Everyone passing by stopped and looked their way. Nash spun around and glared at Dean Henry.

“No. I’m done talking to you. You always find a way to make the shit you do seem okay. But letting that asshole into this school isn’t okay. There is nothing you can say that will wipe away the threat he poses. So…fuck you, and this place.”

Oh shit. Could Nash be thrown into a dark hole with only a semester left? Nash’s face was the epitome of rage. I knew it wasn’t just Sabastian showing up this morning that had set him off. Some of this was him not talking to Ren, but shit…I never thought I would see him speak to the dean like that.

Nash resumed his march for the door once more.

“You speak to me like that again, you’ll be off the swim team and expelled,” Dean Henry said, his voice far too unfazed for the situation. For some reason, that scared me more.

“Do whatever you feel necessary. I don’t care,” Nash growled.

I fell into step beside Nash, but gave Dean Henry a look that said I would deal with him. Or at least I hoped that was what it conveyed. I waited until we were outside and halfway to the pool before speaking.

“Is this about Sabastian?”

“Yes, of course it is. I can’t fucking believe he is going to let him in here.” Nash was fuming.

“I’m not saying that I don’t agree with you, but shouldn’t we find out if he is actually a threat before just assuming?”

Nash glared at me, and he was so livid that I expected his blue eyes to turn red.

“We know what he wants. Christov is his father. That fucker came here to work with Lawrence and hurt Ren. You really think that Sabastian is not in on that?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“Fuck,” he growled. “How can you even think he is a decent guy? He is very obviously a fucking dick.”

“Oh, he’s a dick, but…” I dared to grab Nash’s arm. He stared at my hand but stopped walking. “Just stop for a second.”

Nash didn’t fight me, but any hope of getting through to him was slim. When he was like this, the only two people he listened to were Liam and Ren.

“Look, I don’t want Ren or us in any more danger than we already are. But…and hear me out, we are always saying that we are not the sins of our father. If someone didn’t know you, but knew everything that Lawrence had done, what do you think they would say about you?”

Nash didn’t move or look away. He was so still, I wasn’t even sure if he was breathing.

“My point is that you may not like everything that Dean Henry has done or how, but you can’t deny that he has tried to help.

And this school is neutral ground, as long as Sabastian is on campus, he can’t go after us or Ren without enraging the Curators.

It may actually work in our favor. We can find out what he is up to with our network.

He can’t come after us, and…if something does happen, then we have backup. ”

“Maybe, but this feels like a really big fucking gamble. Why transfer in now? With all the shit going on, and my father and Christov in the wind…I don’t get it.”

We looked up as a bald eagle flew overhead and cast a massive shadow on the ground. It felt like a sign, if only I knew what it was trying to say.

“We can figure that out. You always say keep your friends close and enemies closer…so here is your chance. Let’s dig into him, really dig, and find out what he’s hiding.”

Nash crossed his arms, and I tried one last angle.

“Okay…Sabastian is an asshole. I’ll give you that, but…

you saw how close Mr. Genovese and Dean Henry really are at Thanksgiving.

Do you really think Mr. Genovese won’t have something to say if he thinks that Sabastian is a threat to Ren?

I mean…he seems like he’ll happily shoot Sabastian between the eyes and then finish paperwork.

Think about it. What does he know that we don’t? ”

“Unless he doesn’t know Sabastian wants to transfer. Dean Henry has too many secrets…you never know what anyone else knows.”

Okay, I hadn’t thought about that.

He was at least calmer and didn’t look ready to rip someone’s head off. It was a win. We started walking again, and Nash looked at me.

“Why the hell are you limping?”

I glanced at him, but kept quiet.

“Blake? Is there something I should know?”

“Oh fuck off. It has nothing to do with drugs,” I growled, my own annoyance flaring.

“I didn’t say that.”

“You didn’t have to. But if you must know, between swim practice and last night, I’m sore.”

Nash’s face screwed up, and his eyes narrowed.

“What happened last night?”

Oh fuck…why was I the one who had to tell him? No one said a thing after practice this morning, but we were all so tired that we hardly spoke.

“We were all with Ren.”

He shrugged, opening the door to the sports complex and holding it for me. I walked inside and was hit in the face with a blast of heat and the smell of chlorine from the pool. The scent was always strong, despite it being at the other end of the building.

“You’re all staying at Edmundo’s, I know that,” he said.

Fuck.

“No, I mean we were with her, together.” He still stared at me with a blank expression. “Nash…we fucked her at the same time. We had an orgy or whatever you want to call it.”

A group of girls walking in the other direction looked over at me and then giggled.

Nash stopped walking. “You what?”

Oh great…

I stuffed my hands into my hoodie. “You heard me.”

“At the same time?”

“Yes, that’s what I’ve been trying to tell you.”

“Fuck all of you. I don’t need to hear this shit,” Nash grumbled and marched off. I stayed where I was just in case he decided to turn around and hit me.

“Does that mean you don’t want to know how good it was?”

Nash held up his middle finger, and I smirked. Okay, rubbing it in was kind of fun.