Page 42 of The Sweetest Revenge

My gaze scanned the locker room as I strolled through, looking for Ariella, but thankfully, she wasn't there. I wasn't in the mood to hear her bullshit because even though she had no idea what I'd just done, she was going to be angry, but my intentions weren't exactly heroic either. They were selfish and malicious. Ariella was mine to ruin.

Exiting the locker room, I strolled through the hall toward the exit. My ears perked up at the sound of small footsteps echoing behind me, and I inwardly groaned, but I didn't bother stopping.

"What the fuck, Zaiden?" Ariella's words cracked. Rolling my eyes, I ignored her as I continued toward the exit. "Seriously, Zaiden?"

I gritted my teeth, shoulders tensing as her voice carried down the hall. She shoved her small hands into my back, pushing me forward.

I whirled around, and she stumbled. My hand shot out, finding her throat, shoving her back until she hit the wall. Hard. "Don't." My fingers tightened. "Ever." Her pulse raced beneath my palm. "Do that." Her eyes widened. "Again." I released my grip, letting my arm fall to my side.

"Oh, so you're allowed to do whatever the fuck you want, and I'm supposed to sit back and take it?" Her lip curled up. "Fuck you," she spat out.

"You might want to scurry home before that pretty little mouth writes a check your ass can't cash." I spun around to leave.

"Taking my virginity wasn't enough for you," she shouted. "You needed to take my scholarship away, too?"

Virginity?

Shes a virgin?

Wait, she actually thought we had sex?

I stopped slowly, turning back to her. "You were a virgin?"

Ariella's eyes narrowed, a mixture of disbelief and anger flickering across her face as she crossed her arms over her chest. "There was nothing," she said slowly, each word dripping with sarcasm, "that gave that away?"

I huffed out a heavy sigh. "You're not going to lose your scholarship or your spot on the team." I shook my head. "You're not losing anything but your locker." Her brows pulled together. "You'll have a locker in the hockey locker room by your next practice, so you'll never have to change in front of that pervert again."

Her head recoiled. "You were protecting me?" She shook her head like she was confused. "Why would you do that?"

I stepped forward, invading her personal space. My mouth dropped to hers, hovering over it so she could feel my words. "Because you are mine, princess. My property. If anyone touches you, I will kill them."

My hand wrapped around her throat, holding her in place. My gaze fell to her lips, breath catching in my throat as an overwhelming urge to kiss her surged through me, threatening to overpower every other sense and rational thought, but kissing her wasn't part of the plan. It was far too intimate, too dangerous of a line to cross.

I stepped back as I released her. "And I didn't take your virginity."

"What? But, I saw?—"

"What you saw was you riding my lap. You were coming all over my pants." Her eyes widened. "My pants were still on."

"Then why did you?—"

A loud pop from the distance startled her, cutting off her words and drawing both of our attention in the opposite direction.

"What the fuck was that?" A voice boomed from near the hockey locker room exit.

Ariella's whisper trembled in the sudden silence. "What was that?"

I opened my mouth to reassure her, to brush it off as nothing, but the words died in my throat as the air shattered around us.

Then— Pop. Pop. Pop.

Three more shots. My heart raced.

The sounds ricocheted off the walls, each one a hammering blow of realization, each stripping away another layer of denial until nothing was left but the raw, ugly truth.

Another pop. Screams erupted.

"It's a gun," I mumbled.

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