Page 14 of Rules, Roses, and Rivals
Students streaming out of their classes and down the hall split as they reached us and went around. I closed the gapbetween us and Patty’s eyes widened. She backed up and then stopped when she hit the lockers.
“Don’ttalk about her like you know her.Don’tstart spreading shit about her either. I don’t need to remind you what I can and will do if you go after her.” I didn’t give a flying fuck about me. Patty could spread all the gossip she wanted.
She didn’t get to pick on Frankie.
“You have it for her so bad and you can’t even see it. She doesn’t want you and that has to sting. Instead, she’s putting out for someone else.” Her victorious smile vanished at my smirk.
“Green isn’t your color. It looks more like puke.” Cruelty edged the words and I didn’t care. She should know better than to provoke me. “Keep her name out of your mouth. Shut the fuck up about her.”
“Or what?” She dared me.
“Or photographs from this summer can get leaked. Accidents do happen.”
She paled even as the hostility in her eyes increased. I raised my eyebrows, daring her to say another word. To try me… I knew how to destroy people. You didn’t grow up where I had or gone to the schools I had without swiftly learning how to protect yourself by taking out the competition.
Patty was less than nothing to me. There wasn’t anything I wouldn’t do to protect Frankie.
“We understand each other.” It wasn’t a question. Despite the fury radiating off of her, she nodded jerkily. A little fear would go a long way.
Done with her, I pivoted and stalked down the hallway. Frenchy had to go. We had to know someone that could get his visa revoked.
He’d need one to study here, right?
If he was back in France, he would be away from Frankie. I also packed away the idea of Frankie “putting out” for anyone. If he’d laid a finger on her, I’d let Jake kill him.
After I got my pound of flesh.
Chapter
Seven
JAKE
Mr. G was always cool, part of the reason I’d signed up for the AP European History with Frankie was that Mr. G would be the teacher overseeing it. But that was only part of the reason. The rest was the blonde sitting two feet to my left and doing her level best toignoreme.
I could let it get on my nerves. I could let it piss me off. I could—I was more than capable of picking a damn fight. Thing was, I didn’twantto fight with her. So, I divided my time between the reading and watching her.
Her distance over the summer had stung. Even when Archie had his surgery, she hadn’t shown up, which was my first clue something had to be really wrong. I thought it was her bitch of a mother. Apparently, that wasn’t it at all.
Coop hadn’t mentioned her being out of town. Had he not known? I only found out later that she came to Bubba’s party. If I’d seen her there, I might have ditched to take off with her. But she didn’t return messages or calls. The only time I’d seen her had been when she was at work.
The fact she’d given me such a cold shoulder had pissed me off, so I brought Maria with me the next time. When the fuckhad this French guy really entered the picture? Before the party? After?
When did she suddenly develop an interest in dating? Goddammit, I had a thousand questions and her ignoring me wasn’t working for me.
“All right, you have your reading for the week,” Mr. G was saying. “I need to go down and prep for tomorrow. I’ll trust you two to behave for the last fifteen minutes of the day, yeah?”
“You got it, Mr. G.” I almost fist pumped that he was leaving. Fifteen minutes with me and Frankie.
“See you tomorrow,” Frankie said, though she sounded a little less enthused. Her sigh as he closed the door confirmed it and that gave me more than a little pause.
“You really hate the idea of being alone with me that much?” The blunt question probably wasn’t what she wanted to hear, but I needed some guidance on what the fuck was going on.
Surprise flickered in those gorgeous green eyes as she finally looked at me. Surprise, not fear. That part was at least good. If she were afraid of me… Yeah, just no.
Lips pursed, Frankie glanced down at the book in front of her before flipping it closed. She put it and the notebook she’d been using into her backpack. I did the same, we still had thirteen minutes to go. Still, she was right, we weren’t going to do any more work.
Packed up, she twisted to meet my gaze again. “Are you going to yell at me too?”
