Cruel Kings by Skye Knight

17

Corey

“Hey, Corey! Caleb!” Sugary voices called out to us as we walked down Havannah Lane, one of the streets cutting through Silverlake Uni’s campus. Instinctively, I grinned at the two unfamiliar girls waving at us but didn’t feel any excitement.

My gaze searched for Milla but she was missing. A kind of anxiety bubbled inside me the longer it took for us to find her.

I didn’t like the sneaky way she and her mother invaded our family, but what I hated most was the way she’d wormed her way inside our minds before dropping the bomb about being our stepsister.

There was no way she wouldn’t have looked up our public profiles and figured out who our dad was. She couldn’t be that simple and naïve, could she?

“Where the fuck is she?” Caleb growled, his gaze surveying the vast area around Jerry’s café. “Do you think she’s gone somewhere else?”

“Patience, dear brother,” I said in a grim voice, mimicking Noah’s way of talking. “Thou shall find what you seek.”

“Stop fucking around,” Caleb muttered, walking past me.

“Oi, wait up!” I called out, chuckling loudly. When he didn’t listen, I grabbed his arm, pulling him backward.

“What?!” he snapped, raising his fist at me.

I laughed, enjoying his annoyance. No matter how much he pretended to hate her, he was worried about Milla too.

“She’s over there, butt-face,” I said before he could punch me in the face.

“Where?” he asked at once.

I gestured toward Jerry’s Café.

Caleb’s gaze soon fixed on the restaurant’s window. Milla sat with another guy and they were bending over a laptop screen.

“Let’s go,” I said, leading the way inside the café.

“Corey, hold up,” Caleb said just as I reached the counter.

“What?”

“That guy over there,” he said, gesturing toward the guy with Milla. “Do you know him?”

I took a closer look. He seemed kind of familiar. “He’s an Elite, isn’t he? The same year as us, I’m guessing. Why? You jealous already?”

Caleb’s face remained grim even as I chuckled.

“He’s the guy who paid to make that accident happen,” Caleb said in a grim tone.

“Why’s he still alive, then?” I asked, feeling a sliver of anger surge through me. “Why isn’t he crawling on his ass? Why’s he sitting so close to her? Why, Caleb?”

“Chill,” he said, digging his fingers into my forearm. “I’m still not a hundred percent sure yet.” He let out a long breath, forcing me to look at him. “I was supposed to get Noah to look into him but I didn’t get a chance yet. The dude’s an Elite. We can’t go stirring up shit on a whim.”

“You guys want to order anything?” a young guy asked from the other side of the counter.

“Three loaded subs and two americanos,” said Caleb.

“The extra one’s for Milla?” I asked.

Caleb stayed silent, glancing toward the table where Milla sat with the guy who caused my accident.

“Are you sure it’s him?” I asked, taking in the young man’s neat clothes and nerdy features. “He doesn’t look like the kind who’d stir up trouble with us.”

“That’s the thing,” said Caleb, looking disturbed. “The guy at Roger’s workshop gave me a description that matches his. He didn’t have a name to give me. That’s the reason, we’ve got to play it cool before doing anything. We need to find out why he’d want to fuck with us in the first place.”

“You know his name?”

“Luke Beckett.”

“I’ve never even talked to the guy,” I said thoughtfully. “Why’d he want to kill me?”

“I’m more interested in finding out his relationship with Milla,” said Caleb.

The barista at the counter passed a tray with all our food. Picking it up, I led the way toward Milla’s table.

“Hey,” said Caleb, pulling a chair back.

Both Milla and Luke glanced up at us.

Milla’s deep blue eyes widened at once while Luke looked mildly surprised to see us.

“Eat,” said Caleb, putting one of the gigantic sandwiches before Milla.

“I don’t want it,” Milla said immediately.

“You didn’t eat anything this morning,” said Caleb. “We don’t want you fainting from over-exertion.” A sly grin came over his handsome face. “Get some energy, hon. You’re going to need it.”

“I’m not hungry.” Milla’s luscious lips formed an adorable pout that made me want to take a bite.

“Why are you guys forcing her to eat?” Luke finally spoke up.

“We’re worried,” I said. “We’re family after all.”

Luke’s concrete-gray eyes widened a fraction. “What?” He glanced at Milla. “I didn’t realize you were related to them.”

“I’m not.”

“That’s hurtful,” I said, pretending to look sad. “You shouldn’t say such a thing to your brothers.”

“She’s your sister?” Luke asked, gazing between me and Caleb.

“Stepsister,” Milla said through clenched teeth. “My mom married their dad last week. That’s it. Their relationship shouldn’t matter to us. We’re all adults. At least, I am. An independent one.”

Venom dripped from her voice. She glared at us, believing her little speech was going to make any difference.

Picking up the sandwich, she threw it at Caleb. “I don’t want anything from you guys. Just leave already.”

Caleb’s gaze darkened.

Milla needed to be very careful right now. My brother was easy going but when he got mad, he did very bad things. As far as I knew him, he was more than eager to do naughty things to her.

He picked the sandwich that fell on his lap and pushed it across the table.

“Eat the damn thing or—” Holding his cellphone, he brandished it in her face. “Have you forgotten what we’ve got here?”

All the color drained from her face. She looked at me helplessly, but there was nothing I could do. Caleb tried being nice to her. It was her fault for throwing it back in his face.

Her lips trembled. Her thick, dark lashes blinked furiously as she struggled to hold back her tears.

She grabbed the sub, tore into the wrapper, and took big, hasty bites of the sandwich. Her blue eyes shone with tears and she nearly choked on the mouthful but she kept eating.

I almost felt sorry for her. Almost.

She should’ve just done as she was told in the first place. Why did she have to be stubborn about eating a fucking sandwich?

Caleb watched her with a smug, satisfied smile.

I grabbed my sub and took a big bite of the meat-filled sandwich. It was delicious. After a few bites, I glanced at Milla. She was eating it like we were making her eat a piece of cactus.

“What are you guys up to?” I asked, pretending to be casual. “Do you usually hang out?”

Milla silently shook her head and avoided looking at us.

“One of our lecturers paired us for an assignment,” Luke supplied with an enthusiastic grin. “This is actually the first time we’ve talked to each other.” He turned away from us and grinned at Milla. “I’m so glad we finally met. You’re smart. If it were my friends, it would have taken ages to simply explain the work to them.”

Milla forced a pathetic smile for him and continued to eat the sandwich like her life depended on it.

“Hey, it’s nearly time for Davidson’s class,” Luke spoke up, shoving his laptop inside his backpack. “Let’s get going.”

Milla stared at him and swallowed thickly.

“Come on,” said Luke. “He doesn’t like tardiness.”

She gave a determined nod. “I’m coming.”

I noticed she didn’t have anything on her except a small purse. It didn’t take a genius to know she’d directly fled to the campus from our home.

Without glancing at us, she walked away with Luke.

“Do you believe what he said?” I asked, turning my attention to my brother. “Is this really the first time she’s talked to him?”

“We can find out,” said Caleb. “Noah would know if they interact during classes.”

“Hey, you want another sandwich?” I asked.

“Get two more for me.”

I kicked him under the table. “You get it.”

He kicked me in the knee in retaliation.

“What are you both doing?” A cool, familiar voice spoke up, making us stop.

“Hey, Noah.”

Caleb flipped me the bird and shifted his chair away from mine. “Why are you here? Don’t you have a class right now?”

Noah’s brow rose high. “I don’t.”

“But Milla just said—” Caleb stopped and spat a curse. “Fuck! Did she just lie to us?”

“What are you talking about?” asked Noah and sat down in the same seat where Milla had been sitting.

I sneaked one of the cookies off his plate while his whole attention was focused on Caleb.

“We saw Milla talking to Luke Beckett,” said Caleb. “Do they usually hang out?”

“No,” said Noah, pulling his tray closer to him so I couldn’t sneak something else from his plates. “I’ve never seen them talk to each other.”

“At least, she didn’t lie about that,” I said.

“What did she lie about?” Noah asked and took a sip of his coffee.

“She ran away again,” Caleb said through clenched teeth. “She lied about a class and escaped.”

“There’s something else too,” I said, hoping Caleb would get to the important part. “Caleb thinks Luke was behind my accident.”

Noah glanced at Caleb.

“I’m not a hundred percent sure but the description I got pretty much matches up with him,” said Caleb. “Any idea why he’d want to go after one of us?”

“Becketts are our evergreen competitors,” said Noah slowly. His finger traced the rim of his coffee cup. “Luke hasn’t tried anything so far. He probably watched us all these years. Had to be fucking easy since he attended the same classes as me and lived in the same frat house as us.”

“You believe he’s a threat?” I asked. “What if he comes at us again?”

“Let’s go beat the shit out of him, then,” Caleb suggested.

“Don’t,” said Noah. “You can never be directly connected to an attack on him. It will have a direct impact on our company. That’s the reason Luke was so careful when he planned an attack on you. Even the guy he paid to mess up Corey’s bike doesn’t know who he truly is.”

“Sneaky bastard,” Caleb cursed.

“He just found out about our relationship with Milla,” I said as a sudden bad feeling crept down my back.

“That’s not good,” said Noah. “He could use her against us.”

“She won’t dare go against us,” said Caleb. “We’ll make sure of that.”

Noah gave a serious nod.

“We promised Eva we’d bring her over for dinner tonight,” I said, knowing it’d be fun to toy with her. She made it so easy with her expressive eyes and emotions.

“I can’t wait to bring her back home,” said Caleb, his eyes lighting up with hidden malice.

“Play with her but don’t break her,” Noah said in a stern tone. “We’re only just starting this game.”

“Don’t worry,” said Caleb. “We’ll be gentle. I’ve only had a single taste of her pussy. I want more.”

I wanted more too. And, not just her pussy.

I wanted her obedience too.