Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 76298 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 381(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 254(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76298 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 381(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 254(@300wpm)
I try to stand, but Malcolm wags a finger at me. “Stay where you are, little stray.” He looks back at Lesley. “You took something from me.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
One of the guys behind her grabs her hair and yanks. She screams and he pulls harder until she’s nearly falling over backwards. When he releases her, she crumples forward.
Malcolm walks closer. “Let’s try again. Where’s the key, Lesley?”
“Up my ass. Get it out with your tongue.”
“I love your foul mouth. It’d love it more wrapped around my pulsing cock.” His friends snicker and laugh. “Should I strip search you? Actually, don’t answer, I think I will anyway. Maybe I’ll get lucky and that key really is up your ass. I’ll fuck it out and make you scream while I do it.”
Lesley glares at him as he gets closer. I’m panicking, not sure what to do. We’re in the middle of the lights, surrounded by the empty classroom buildings—there has to be security nearby, right? But nobody’s coming to stop this nightmare.
Malcolm kneels in front of Lesley and tilts her chin up. She’s breathing hard, staring into his eyes.
“Where’s the key?” he says quietly.
She wrenches forward and headbutts him in the face.
He growls in surprise and stands, clutching a bloody nose. Lesley laughs until one of the guys punches her in the gut and throws her over onto the ground. They’re about to kick the shit out of her when Malcolm speaks up, stopping them.
“Get the key. Don’t waste your energy hurting her more.”
The two Cask thugs look at each other and shrug. They start patting her down, grabbing into her pockets, feeling along her waistband, basically touching everywhere they can but they don’t find the key. I’m starting to think she wasn’t kidding about shoving it inside of her body—when two men come roaring out from the darkness nearby.
“Shit,” Malcolm says as Terrence barrels into the Cask thugs pawing at Lesley. The big Calico monster throws one of them onto the pavement and punches the other so hard the guy drops like his lights were turned out. Emilio takes another down with a brutal fist to the throat and turns to Malcolm as Terrence makes sure Lesley’s okay.
“You shouldn’t have touched one of my people,” Emilio says, advancing on Malcolm.
Malcolm backs away slowly, grinning through his bloody nose. “Tell your people to stay the fuck away from me and I won’t have to do shit like this.”
“Who’s funding your little excursions, Malcolm?”
“Fuck you.”
“Why aren’t you going on runs yourself, huh? How come you have your people doing all your dirty work?”
“What can I say? I can’t swim.” Malcolm barks a laugh, eyes wild and intense. “You shouldn’t have fucked with me. We could’ve shared the island, but now I see how it is.”
“I don’t share.” Emilio steps forward. Malcolm steps back. “Take your fucking losers. Go back to your lame party. Pray I don’t come for you myself.”
“You wouldn’t though, would you? No, you send your girls to do the tough parts.”
Emilio snarls but holds himself back. The Cask boys get to their feet and limp over and the whole group begins to walk away. Emilio watches them go with scorn, and Terrence looks like he wants to chase them down and kill them.
Once they’re far enough away, Emilio bends over and helps me up. “You okay?”
“I’m fine. Lesley’s worse than me.”
“I’m good, no worries. Those fucking handsy assholes grabbed at every inch of me and still didn’t find the damn key.” She grins and winks at me. “But now I have to do something really gross.” She sighs and steps away from Terrence before shoving two fingers down her throat and puking into the grass.
“Oh, shit,” Terrence says, backing off. “What the hell, Les?”
Lesley kneels down and pokes around before coming up with a small golden key and a huge grin on her face. “Got it.”
“You’re insane,” I say and we burst out laughing together.
The boys stand there sharing a look, not sure what the hell to make of us, as I sling an arm across her shoulder and we stagger off together toward Calico House, the puke-slick key held up high in the air like a trophy.
Chapter 16
Emilio
After Cask’s successful beach party, I have to throw something even larger, more raucous, even more insane, or else suffer the shame of being bested by a second-rate society at best. Which means I’m off on a smuggling run to the coast the next day, unloading that evening, and planning and prepping the festivities the following day.
Terrence and Jayson stack the beer cases so high it’s like a mountain. Coolers are placed all around the fire pit filled with ice and drinks. We set up tables with food, get one of the students to DJ, even get a machine to blast everyone with foam. It’s already crowded at nine, and it’s a rager by ten. Drunk girls in bikini tops and wasted shirtless guys mingle by the waves, making out, laughing, sharing shots of free tequila, acting like the world’s going to end tomorrow. And based on the way some of them are drinking, it really might or at least the hangover will feel like it’s ending.