Page 186 of Wicked Little Darling

“Are you jealous, Everett? That someone would like him? Honestly, you seem to be a little too obsessed with Dakota. Why? Inferiority complex much? Or are you in love with him or something?”

His eyes became vacant, his smile brittle, and a chill slithered down my spine. “You know, I heard you were transferred for fighting. What do you think my father will do when he finds out you hurt his precious son? I’m talking about me, of course. Dakota doesn’t count, and Val is…well, Val. He’s just the afterthought. I’m the star of the show. Always have been, always will be.”

I wanted to burn that self-satisfied expression right off his face. I wanted to grab his skull and smash it into the ground. I wanted to fuckinghurthim, this malicious bastard. He was pure fucking evil, had done nothing but torment Dakota for years and years and I wanted him to fucking suffer for hurting him.

As much as I wanted to see Everett writhing in pain, my promise to Dakota mattered way, way more.

All I had were my words, which didn’t do much, especially when it became hard to think straight once my anger had reached its boiling point.

But I still had to try.

“If you think you can get away with all the shit you’ve done forever, then you’re not very smart. Everything ends, Everett. Even your reign of terror. And I’m the one who’ll be putting a stop to it. Me. The poor little nobody with the shit stain on his face. How does that feel? Huh? To be bested by someone likeme?” I taunted, heart hammering in my ears.

“Well, you can’t very well spread around false information if you can’t even speak, now, can you?” He said, rolling the sleeves of his shirt up.

My brows drew together in confusion. Was that a death threat? “What? Everett, just?—”

“Don’t you think you should be more concerned with yourself?” His dark, empty eyes lifted to mine. “Because once my father finds out what you’ve done, he won’t be transferring you. No, I’m sure you’ll find the inside of a jail cell an inviting accommodation. One you’re perhaps already familiar with.”

What the fuck was he talking about?

“I haven’t done anything,” I snapped.

He grinned, chucked me under the chin, and said, “You’re about to.”

He stepped around me, drew his head back, and then…smashed his own face into the wall.

All I could do was stare at him, my mouth agape, as a tiny trickle of blood slid down his forehead. He smiled at me, his eyes empty, like he had no soul, and I was pretty sure he didn’t.

He was fucking insane.

“Ouch, Reese. That hurt,” he said with a fake pout, fingering the cut on his forehead. “Please don’t hurt me. Please stop.”

“You…” I stepped back, but the wall was behind me, and honestly, I was having a really hard time processing what was happening, believing that what I was seeing was real. I jumped when he slapped his own face, and as those dark eyes locked onto mine, horror and confusion washed through me in a heavy wave.

“Please stop hurting me,” he said with a smile. I glanced left, toward the door at the other end, but he moved in front of me, blocking the path. “You’re just going to hit me and run away? Don’t be a coward.”

He reached out like he was going to touch my face, and I reacted before I could think about it. I slapped his hand away, and the surprise in his eyes quickly turned to anger.

I hadn’t anticipated any of this, and he moved so quickly I didn’t have time to recoil or stop it. He wrapped his hand around my throat and shoved me back into the wall.

Fuck me, this was definitely an extenuating circumstance.

“Here’s a little piece of advice, Mr. Walker, since you seem so clueless: don’t ever touch me.”

I laughed, though it came out as a choked, garbled sound. “You’re insane, you—” He squeezed his fingers and cut me off.

So I brought my knee up and rammed it into his balls.

I thought he’d let go, but he only gripped me harder and slammed my head into the wall.

Pain exploded through my skull, and for a long second, the whole world fell away. And then it came rushing back, along with Everett’s voice in my ear.

“That dog doesn’t deserve to have anything.Nothing.And you? Less than nothing. How dare you meddle in our business? You willneverwin going up against someone like me.”

I whipped my head forward, biting down on his arm. Kept applying pressure as he let go of my throat and screamed, grabbing my hair and yanking. Blood flooded my mouth as Everett started punching my head, one of the hits landing so hard on my ear that it knocked me off him and I went stumbling back into the wall.

My ears were ringing, head spinning, and Everett was drawing his fist back to punch me again when Evelyn came rushing up behind him—where the fuck had she come from?—and grabbed at his arm.