Twisted Complications by Nikita Parmenter
Chapter Nine
“Fuck.” Atlas curses.
I whip around and see him staring down at his vibrating cell. Trick walks up beside him and looks down at his screen. His eyes turn hard as he sees who’s calling.
“Answer it, put it on speaker.” He orders. “Guys, quiet.”
The guys all gather around, as we stand there and wait to see what’s going on, Rage’s face is set in a grim frown.
Atlas looks at Trick, and then nods, pressing the buttons on his phone to answer the call.
“Hello, son.” The voice on the other end is condescending and cold, it can only be his father.
“Father.” He replies through clenched teeth.
“My sources have informed me that there’s a girl now attending the academy.” Liam starts, making all of the guys tense and look towards me worriedly.
“Yes.” Atlas confirms cautiously, his eyes locked on mine.
“I want you to get close to her.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea Father, what do you want with some little girl?”
“Do not fucking question me, you little cunt.” Liam roars.
Atlas’s eyes grow hard, the anger building. He keeps his mouth shut.
“I may not be able to get to you or her while you’re on academy grounds, but you’ve both got to leave at some point.”
I tilt my head to the side as I listen to them talk, there’s something almost familiar about Liam’s voice. The guys all seem to know who he was and although I’ve heard of his name, I haven’t actually ever seen what he looks like. I can’t seem to place why it sounds familiar no matter how hard I try.
“Yes father.” Atlas finishes the conversation; I missed a chunk of it trying to work out why he sounded like someone I’ve met before.
“Your father is a fucking piece of work.” Cash says into the silence.
“You have no fucking idea.” He growls, his fists clenching.
“How are you going to handle it?” Rage asks, his eyes watching Atlas intently.
Throughout the whole exchange, Rage has refused to look in my direction as he stands as far away from me as possible, like I smell or have done something to offend him.
“We’ll feed him false information. He wants to know when she leaves the safety of campus, either so he can kill her,” He starts.
“I don’t think he wants to kill her.” Trick interrupts, looking thoughtful as he scrubs his hand over the blond stubble on his chin. “It sounded to me like he wants her for something. He wants you to watch her and get close to her. If he really wanted her dead, he could’ve told you to take her out.”
“That’s a really good point, I hadn’t thought of it like that. Which is in a way more worrying.” Atlas agrees, his voice dark, his eyes flashing with danger.
Riot walks over to me, threading his fingers through mine and squeezing them tightly.
“What does he want me for?” I say into the silence.
My heartbeat stays calm. Not only am I used to this sort of threat, but the chances of anyone getting close to me is pretty slim. I have the guys, I know they’d protect me, but ever since that stalker fuck, got the drop on me, I’ve realised that I’ve dropped my guard too much. The world that I find myself in now is no safer than the world I was in before. I just have people to protect me now. So, it doesn’t all fall on me. It also means that I have people who I need to protect. I can’t let my guard drop. That was my mistake with Jeremy, however being back with the guys and all of the feelings that were overwhelming me, distracted me and that’s okay, I’m allowed to have moments of vulnerability.
“I thought you’d be freaking out more, Puddin’,” Rage comments eyeing me with suspicion.
“Freaking out isn’t going to help anything, he’ll still want me for something.” I shrug. “It’s not like I haven’t been in this kind of danger before. At least this time I have people around me that have got my back.”
Something akin to admiration crosses Rage’s eyes but it’s gone before I can really get a grasp on it.
“Damn fucking straight you do!” Rafe growls, although he’s using his voice more than ever now, the years of no use have left it with a rough quality that I honestly hope never fades, it makes my toes curl in the best way.
“We’ll work it out together.” Luc says, his voice firm and protectiveness radiating from him.
“What’s our third lesson today, I’m assuming we’re now definitely late for our second one.” Jensen asks, changing the subject.
“I think its political studies, we have combat after lunch. It’s a double period so it’s our only lesson this afternoon.” Cash answers him.
I haven’t even taken a proper look at our schedule.
“Let’s get going.” Trick says, “We can work out how we’re going to handle this situation tonight. We’ve got to talk about the job anyway.”
Everyone agrees and within minutes we’re on the way to the main part of the academy. We split up into two groups, Cash, Trick and Jensen coming with me while the others all go together to their own class. When we enter the political science class just after the bell rings, the teacher gives us a nasty look but doesn’t say anything. If this is going to be another day of the teachers all ignoring us instead of actually teaching us, I have to wonder what the point in turning up to lessons actually is.
Fortunately, she does engage with us slightly more than the teachers yesterday, enough to at least hand us the books we need. I doubt she would answer any questions if we needed help though. Which I definitely do, I’ve never studied political science before since it’s not on the curriculum at most high schools. It’s confusing to say the least, I understand why they teach it here though. This academy is the school for the elite and as I look around, I can see at least two kids I know to be the offspring of very prominent political figures.
I try my hardest to engage in the lesson and absorb what is being said but most of it goes straight over my head. It doesn’t help that apparently this school starts earlier than most and we’re several pages into the large textbook. At least that’s what I’m assuming, the teacher could just be fucking with us. At this point, it wouldn’t fucking surprise me.
If I have any hope of passing this class, I’m going to have to start this textbook from the beginning.
“Did you guys understand any of that?” I ask as we leave the room and make our way to the cafeteria.
“Not a single fucking word.” Jensen grins, seemingly completely unconcerned by it.
“Me neither. I would’ve asked the teacher for help, but I don’t think that would’ve gone down well at all. What is it with the fucking teachers here?” Trick groans.
“I understood it.” Cash chimes in.
I turn to gape at him. Noticing that as we’re walking through the crowded halls all of the other students are giving us a wide birth. I’m guessing word got out about what happened in the cafeteria yesterday.
“Dad wanted to be a senator at one point, and I looked into it all to help me understand. He didn’t go through with it, but I had all of the books by that point.” He explains.
I thread my arm through his, “You sir, have just become my new best friend.” I joke, grinning up at him.
“I hope we’re more than that,” Cash grins, his eyes darken with heat as he stops, turning to me and backing me up slowly until my back hits the lockers.
Heat swirls in my stomach as I glance over Cash’s shoulder, Jensen and Trick wear matching heated grins, their lips tipped up into smiles that promise deliciously dirty things.
Cash presses his body against mine, pinning me in place and making my body sing as his lips descend on mine. The kiss starts off slow, his lips gently caressing mine. He deepens it, his tongue tangling with mine in the most tantalising way.
“Jensen don’t!” Trick suddenly yells, we break apart, my eyes darting over Cash’s shoulder, Jensen’s eyes meet mine, darkness writhing in their depths, he takes off chasing after some guy I’ve never met.
We all instantly follow.
“He’s not completely in control.” I say as we race through the crowd.
“Fuck.” Trick and Cash growl at the same time.
That’s what I thought, I’ve noticed his darkness taking over more and more. I think Atlas being gone and the various threats we have had to deal with along with the uncertainty surrounding the school have put us all on edge.
Jensen is fucking fast and I’m realising that I’ve gotten a bit lazy since I’ve been back with the guys. That’s not going to be great if I find myself in a dangerous situation, which I will, it’s just inevitable at this point.
We race down several corridors, the further we go into the school, the less students are around, and I start to wonder if maybe we’re being led into some sort of trap. The hallways become less looked after and dusty. We turn a corner and come to a dark wood panelled hallway, lined with doors, looking like they’re leading to classrooms. This hallway is missing all of the modern conveniences of the rest of the school and looks like it’s been completely forgotten.
There’s a layer of dust covering everything. The most interesting thing about this forgotten hallway is the black and yellow warning tape stretching from one side of the hallway to the other. Jensen skids to a stop, studying it briefly before diving underneath it. We’ve lost sight of whoever he was chasing for a reason still unknown to me. The dust is thick enough the other side of the tape that you can clearly see the footsteps in it. I share a glance with Trick and Cash before shrugging and ducking underneath the tape to follow Jensen.
He doesn’t get far down the hall, turning one final corner before entering the only open door. We all come to a screeching halt in the empty classroom save for us.
“This is weird. It’s like its stuck in time.” Cash mutters, glancing around.
I study the room as Jensen starts searching it for the guy we were chasing. Like the hallway, its panelled in dark wood. The desks are made from the same thing and in a style not seen in modern classrooms. There are papers still scattered on the desks, as if the kids have just gotten up to leave but the layer of dust covering everything shows that it’s been a long fucking time since anyone was in here.
The door slams closed, the noise echoing throughout the room and making me jump.
“What the fuck!” Jensen growls, pulling the door. “It’s locked.”
“I didn’t even fucking hear anyone.” Trick frowns.
“Can you pick it?” I ask, studying the older style lock.
“I haven’t got anything with me.” Jensen grumbles.
“Well fuck, what do we do now?” I ask, leaning back against one of the desks and instantly regretting it when a plume of dust rises and causes me to sneeze.
“How is it, you even sneeze cute?” Cash mutters, sounding amused.
I stick my tongue out at him in retaliation, “Call the guys and see if they can come and get us out?” I offer, ignoring Cash’s comment.
“Hopefully, Atlas or Rage will know what part of the school we’re talking about. There can’t be that many abandoned hallways.” Jensen shrugs, the darkness bleeding from his eyes as curiosity starts to overwhelm him. “This is pretty cool.”
Trick pulls out his cell, tapping the screen and then frowning.
“What’s wrong?” I ask.
“I’ve got no service.”
“Neither have I.” Cash says.
Me and Jensen pull our own phones out and both shake our heads.
“There’s something odd going on. I haven’t had a problem with the cell coverage since I got here. If we can’t call anyone, then we’re screwed.” Trick observes.
“We’ll just have to wait it out. As soon as we don’t turn up at lunch, they’ll be looking for us. Several guys saw us run in this direction, which should give them a vague idea of where we are.” Jensen shrugs once again completely unconcerned, by the situation.
“That’s true. I don’t understand what the guy’s end game is though. I mean why lead us down here and then just lock us in?” Cash asks, his brow furrowed as he thinks it over.
“What did he say to you anyway?” I ask Jensen.
His eyes clash with mine, flashing with danger, “Something disgusting enough that I’m not going to repeat it. I also wasn’t going to let him get away with it and leave the other fuckwits at this school thinking they could get away with saying the same sort of shit.” He growls.
“Oh, I love when you get all growly.” I tease, trying to lighten the mood.
“You like that huh?” He asks, stalking towards me.
My thighs clench at the heat in his gaze. Well if we’re going to be stuck in here for an unknown amount of time, I can think of worse ways to spend it. My eyes are locked on Jensen, so I see the second his gaze goes from heated and lust filled to wide eyed and slightly panicked. I don’t have time to worry that someone has snuck up behind me though because in true Jensen fashion the reason for his panicked look becomes clear as he trips on a loose floorboard and hits the floor with a thud.
“Holy hell, Jensen are you okay?” I rush over and crouch next to his head.
He just groans and starts muttering about stupid floorboards and a conspiracy.
“Dude, get up.” Cash says intently.
“No, it’s safer down here.” He grumbles and I can’t help the chuckle that escapes me, earning a half-hearted glare from him. I clamp my lips shut on the resulting chuckle that tries to escape.
“Seriously man, I think I heard something.” Cash tries again.
Jensen groans, but jumps to his feet with grace and dexterity he didn’t have on the way down. Cash moves forward as we watch him curiously and starts tapping his foot against the floor where Jensen just was.
“What are you doing?” Trick asks.
“Shh, do you hear that?”
I share a ‘he’s lost it’ look with Jensen but move closer.
“It’s hollow.” I say, surprised.
Trick bends down and starts wiping the boards, freeing them from the dust. “The floorboards look newer than the ones surrounding this area. You wouldn’t be able to tell in less you got up close. They’ve been made to look as close to the older ones as possible.”
“What are they hiding down there, that they’ve gone to so much trouble of covering up?” Jensen asks.
“I’ve got no idea, but let’s find out.” I grin excitedly.
“Really?” Jensen questions, sounding unsure.
“Fuck yeah, we’ve got time to kill. Besides, I’m too curious now to just leave it.”
“Alright, Dragonfly.” Trick smiles softly at me.
“Fine,” Jensen smirks, crouching down and studying the newer boards. “Don’t suppose anyone has a crowbar?” He asks sarcastically.
“No, smartass. But this one looks a little loose. If we can pry this one up, we can use it to pry the others up.” I mutter, looking around the room to see if there’s anything we can use.
We won’t be able to fit our fingers under it to pull it up like that, but we should be able to leverage something underneath to lift it enough that we can reach under and pull. I get up, searching the room and the cupboards to see if there’s anything in here that will help. The guys get up to search as well. I love a good mystery; I always have ever since I was a kid. It wasn’t only cookbooks that I used to read at the library when I had the chance, I also used to read as many mystery novels I could get my hands on. I remember on my twelfth birthday I’d gone in wanting to escape for a bit, at that point it still hurt when my father would forget my birthday. I wanted to lose myself in a book. I hadn’t realised how long I’d been reading for and panicked when it had been hours, as I was rushing out the doors, panic flowing through my veins, the elderly librarian stopped me and handed me the next book in the series I was reading. She whispered happy birthday with a wink and told me to keep it.
It was the first birthday gift I’d gotten in years, and I held on to her kindness for years after. The beating I got when I finally got home was made somehow that much more bearable because I now had the book to look forward to. That book was battered and worn with the amount of times I read it; I can still quote the story. Of course, eventually my father found it, I made the mistake of showing how much it meant to me, and he burned it.
I shake my head to free myself from the memories and bring myself back to the present. Now that I know there is something hidden under the floor, even if turns out to be nothing but a hatch to access the pipes, I won’t be able to let it go until I know for sure. Excitement thrums through my veins as I carry on trying to search for something to pry the floorboards up.
It’s nice to focus on something fun for a bit. I don’t mind all the serious we have going on in our lives at the moment, but I think it’s important for us to have a balance.