“Look what the cat dragged in,” Trent says, propping his elbows on the table and glaring at me.
“Aw, did you miss me, small dick?” Mention of his dick resurrects last night in my mind, and all good humor fades. “Or where you too busy forcing yourself on innocent girls to notice?”
Drew pinches my thigh under the table, but I ignore him.
Trent smirks. “I don’t have to force myself on anyone.” He grabs his crotch. “They’re lining up to ride my cock.”
“Thanks for that,” Shandra says drily, stabbing a piece of lettuce like she wishes it was his head.
Trent grabs hold of her hips and slides her over onto his lap. “They want me, but they can’t have me,” he tells her. “I told you we were exclusive, and I meant it.”
I cough. “Bullshit.”
“You say something, whore?” Trent snaps just as Charlie returns.
Charlie places a tray down on the table before coolly turning to Trent. “You want to say that again to my face?”
All the tiny hairs lift on my arms and the back of my neck, and the atmosphere in the room alters. But it’s not because Charlie and Trent are squaring off to one another.
It’s because the new elite have just entered the cafeteria, sucking up all the oxygen and claiming all the attention in the room. I don’t look at the door, because I’m not sure I’m strong enough to resist Kaiden’s lure. And I don’t need visual confirmation to know he’s here because I can sense his presence the instant he sets foot in any room. Maybe it’s our potent connection, or his intense aura, or it’s the audible gasp that rings out around the room, or the subtle shift in the air, but whatever it is, I could walk into a hundred rooms and immediately know he’s there.
Drew grips my hand in warning, and I shoot him a frustrated look, telling him to back off, that I know what to do.
Things have progressed while my mind has wandered, and Charlie has yanked Trent up out of his chair, and he’s fisting his shirt and snarling in his face. “You will apologize or I’ll put your face through the nearest wall,” he says in a clipped tone.
“I’ll apologize when she does. She started it by trying to embarrass me in front of my fiancée,” Trent retorts.
My head whips to Shandra’s hand, and I don’t know how I missed the whopper pink diamond on her hand. “You’re engaged?” I screech, asking the obvious.
“Jealous much?” Trent asks, smirking.
I ignore him, fixing Shandra with a genuine sympathetic look. “Commiserations.”
“Fucking bitch,” Trent snaps, and Charlie shoves him across the floor, slamming him up against the wall.
You could hear a pin drop in the room.
“Listen up carefully, Montgomery. You don’t speak to my fiancée like that ever. You don’t disrespect her, or even fucking look at her, or you’ll have me to deal with.”
Trent pushes Charlie away. “I’m quaking in my boots.” He shoots him a derogatory look as he shoves past him. “And you needn’t worry about your precious fiancée. I’m through with the slut.”
“Need I remind you of the conversation we had last week with our fathers,” Drew calmly says as Trent reclaims his seat beside Shandra.
Trent grinds his teeth and his knuckles blanch white. “I don’t need a reminder.
“Good.” Drew leans back casually in his chair. “Because I’d hate to inform my father you’re already breaching the terms.”
Charlie sends Trent a smug grin as he drops into the seat on the other side of me and drapes his arm around my shoulder.
Shandra clears her throat, and her eyes twinkle with mischief. “I hear commiserations are in order for you too,” she teases, eyeballing me.
“Charlie is the catch of the century.” I smile adoringly at him. “I’ve zero complaints.”
I send her a pointed look to say, “unlike you, you poor bitch.”
Charlie grins, delighted with my fake sentiment, pressing his lips to mine, and I don’t know if he believes it or he’s just playing along.
A scuffle breaks out in the background, and I pull away from Charlie, grabbing some items off the tray, pretending like I’m not aware of what’s happening.
“Get the fuck off me.” Kai’s angry tone is like a dagger straight through my heart, because I know he just witnessed that. I want to look up so badly, but I remind myself of why we’re doing this and stick to my resolve.
Trent grins, and the menacing glint in his eye spells trouble. “Guess Anderson didn’t get the memo.” He pops a piece of pasta into his mouth, chewing slowly while I mentally compile a list of ways to kill him. “Was murdering his bastards too subtle for him?” he adds when he’s finished, and I explode.
Jumping up onto the table, I throw myself on top of Trent, and we crash to the ground in a tangle of limbs. I don’t even feel the impact as the chair breaks underneath our combined weight, and we hit solid ground. Grabbing hold of his head, I bounce it off the floor, slamming it up and down before he flips me off.
Strong hands reach around me from behind, attempting to lift me up, but my reflexes are fast. I lunge at Trent, scraping my nails down his cheeks, enormously satisfied when he roars in pain. Arms reach for me again, and I rip my stiletto heel off one foot and smash it into the side of Trent’s head, getting two good hits in there before Charlie throws me over his shoulder.
Blood gushes from Trent’s temple and trickles from his injured cheek, but it’s not enough. I want to slice his cock off and feed it to him before I chop him into itty-bitty pieces and pin his severed head to the wall. How dare he say that to me!! I pummel my fists into Charlie’s back. “Let me down! I want to fucking kill him!” I yell.
“You’re going down for this,” Trent threatens, pressing a paper towel to the wound on his temple.
“You snitch and it’ll be the last thing you do,” Drew says, standing and walking around the table. He glares at Trent. “You deserved that. And if you ever repeat that comment or make any of those remarks to my sister again, I will fucking end you myself.” Drew puts his face all up in Trent’s. “This is your last warning.” Drew walks over to us. “Get Abby out of here.”
Charlie nods, striding toward the exit with me still strewn over his shoulder. In my peripheral vision, I spot Jackson and Sawyer physically restraining a fuming Kai. Our eyes meet across the room, and I want to go to him so badly. Especially after Trent’s cruel words because the only arms I want comforting me are his.
But I won’t be selfish.
We silently communicate, and his pain, anguish, and longing are mine too, but we can’t fall at the first hurdle. We are stronger than this. I subtly shake my head just before Charlie exits the cafeteria, leaving chaos in our midst.
“I’m not saying he didn’t have it coming to him,” Charlie says, when we’re outside in his car a few minutes later. “But you can’t go around attacking people. Your father would go apeshit on my ass because I’m officially responsible for you.”
“Trent won’t say anything because he’ll land himself in hot water if he does.”
“Agreed, but you need to stop and think before you react, Abby.”