Page 16 of The Devils They Are

"Tell me or else you're going to take a nap," I warn, focusing on placing pressure on her carotid arteries to show how serious I am.

I have to hand it to her—she's stubborn. Even as spots start to assumingly appear in her eyes, and her nails retract, she refuses to tell me.

"Tai Beckett has it!" one of the other cheerleaders blabs out.

Looking up, I spot Peyton, watching with wide, frightened eyes. She meets my gaze with a desperate plea.

"I gave it to him," she admits quietly, sounding embarrassed. It’s obvious she was acting under instruction.

"Thank you, Peyton," I reply, releasing Liv and letting her drop to the ground with a thud.

Arch and I step aside, the cheerleaders flocking over to check on their captain who pants and coughs.

Liv glares daggers at me from the ground, clutching her neck. "You'll pay for that."

"And you'll need to pay for nail repairs," I point out, nodding toward her two broken acrylic nails. "But it's okay becauseyou can afford it, right?"

I tap Archie's arm and gesture for him to follow me before she can reply. "Come on, Arch. Time to go find Tai Beckett."

Turns out finding Tai was easier than playing Hide and Seek with the cheerleaders… because all I had to do was follow the paper trail.

The paper trail of my textbooks.

Word must have spread fast about our encounter in the courtyard because the hallways were eerily deserted when we stepped back into the building. But that asshole had left me a trail of torn-up pages guiding us to the computer science lab. How nice of him.

Stepping through the door, I’m met with the sound of ripping pages.

Across the room, Tai sits atop the teacher’s desk, legs parted with the contents of my bag all over the floor and around him.

"Took you long enough," he grins, holding eye contact with me as he shreds another page from my biology book.

Arch slams his hand on the doorjamb, glaring at Tai as we both scan the pile of destroyed textbooks. But despite how much this hurts, because there's no way I'm going to be able to afford to replace them, I won't give him the satisfaction of seeing me angry. Not yet anyway.

"I didn't take you for a toddler, Beckett," I merely say.

He pauses. "Why do you say that, Sexy Bexie?"

Ooft. Double whammy. He's really going for gold in the Olympic sport of being punched in the jugular.

"Toddlers love to tear up paper to entertain themselves. But, I mean, if that's what you like…" I trail off with a shrug.

Tai slams the biology book down, jumping off the desk. "Aw, you're not upset, are you?" he asks with a patronizing tone.

I shake my head. "Not at all. In fact, you've just given me the perfect excuse to leave this shithole for the day. Since I don't have any material for class, I'll have to head home. What a shame.”

He laughs. "Nice try. Maybe try the library—we actually have a decent one here. Most of the books were purchased brand new. Hell, even our second-hand ones are probably in better condition than what you are used to. Consider it a treat for yourself, sweetheart. And you can thank me later."

Archie steps in front of me, fists curled. "Pick her shit up," he demands.

Instantly, Tai's playful face vanishes, replaced by a flare of anger as he glances at Arch. "You going to make me, lap-boy? Must suck knowing she has your balls in a vise. I bet your manhood hates having awomanin charge."

I place a hand on Arch's shoulder, moving in beside him. "Weird flex, but props to you for admitting there's room for improvement among the students here."

Sexist comments mean nothing to me. I've been dealing with them long before schoolyard taunts got thrown into the mix.

"That's funny," Tai shoots back. "Because we outperform you in every measure." He straightens up proudly, tapping the Willowbrook crest on his shirt.

"Except for the dick measuring contest," I quickly reply. "Mine is several inches bigger than yours, even on the flop."

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