From the corner of my eye, I saw him pause before hitting dial.

“Is there a problem?” I demanded, glaring at him.

Evan’s jaw clenched, and he darted a sharp look around us—probably checking that none of the other students were within earshot—before replying.

“Yeah, Beck,” he said quietly, “I have a problem with all of this. I hate leaving Riley at their mercy. They’re fucking animals when they smell fresh game, and we all know it.”

“I agree,” Dylan muttered, “This doesn’t sit right.”

I snorted a sarcastic laugh, unable to help myself. “Of course you don’t like it, Dylan. If you had your way, Riley would be playing the part of your girlfriend.”

I wasn’t being dramatic. When we’d discussed how to best handle Riley’s safety at school, Dylan had offered to be her “fake” boyfriend to keep the haters away and divert attention away from my clear weakness where she was concerned.

Not that Riley would have ever gone for it, given how pissed she was at all of us. But I shot that suggestion down pretty fast. I hadn’t expected her to take this angle, though. The whole threat of publicly denouncing her had been nothing but bluster and bullshit. But one of Katelyn’s little bitches had been spying on us and we’d been forced into a corner.

Fucking appearances.

“She’ll come around,” I told them both, but really I was trying to convince myself. “She’s not stupid, and Jasper will talk her down. It’ll be fine.”

Dylan grunted a disagreeing noise. “She’s not stupid, but she’s damn stubborn. I think she’ll put up with a whole lot more than a bit of public nudity before we’re forgiven.” He eyed me up with pity. “You especially.”

I clenched my teeth hard to prevent punching my best friend in the face. “I’m aware that I fucked up. That we fucked up. But she will get over it, in time.”

This time it was Evan who sighed and gave me a skeptical look. “Whatever you say, boss.”

“In the meantime,” I continued like they hadn’t just been questioning my judgment, “we need to keep an eye on her, from a distance. As much as possible, just try to keep her in sight. Delta won’t let us remove Katelyn until they know what Huntley is up to, but I don’t trust her near Riley.”

Both of my friends nodded their agreement then headed out. Dylan was no doubt going to tail Riley because it was fast turning into his favorite pastime, while Evan was dealing with getting the pictures erased from every phone in Ducis Academy.

“Quite the show your little throwaway put on for the school,” a sultry, sarcastic voice commented, and I didn’t need to look to know who’d just slinked up.

“Fuck off, Katelyn,” I snapped.

She made a sound of indignation and batted her overly mascaraed eyelashes at me. “Such hostility, Sebastian. I thought our generation was meant to forge alliances, not continue the warring ways of our parents.”

“Don’t call me that,” I told her with a growl underscoring my words. “We are not friends, and I have no interest in forging any sort of alliance with a common high school bully like you.”

She laughed a fake laugh, and the sound grated on my ears. “You act like I had something to do with your little tramp’s striptease. I promise, I was just as shocked as everyone else.” She paused, grinning like a shark. “Besides, isn’t poor orphan Riley on the outs with you all now? So why do you care who pulls innocent little pranks on her?”

She cocked her head to the side, and I had to resist the urge not to kill her on the spot. “We don’t. But you’re acting childish and Delta has no use for children, so cut it out.”

This actually seemed to offend her, and she raised her chin as though to argue the subject with me further.

“I have more important places to be,” I told her in a bored voice. “Go torture someone else with your whining.”

Without waiting for her response, I headed across the parking lot and slid into my car. Our attendance at Ducis was becoming a bit of a joke since Riley had started, but we’d all graduate regardless.

Katelyn was proving a bigger problem than I’d first given her credit for … which meant she needed to be dealt with. If only Delta council would let us handle her.

I hesitated a moment before starting my car, my head filled with images of Riley’s determined, beautiful face as she cut her deal with Jasper.

Fucking Judas. Not that I blamed him… I’d rather she forgive him than stay mad at all of us. She needed some people in her camp to get her through all the shitty crap that came with Delta, and if it couldn’t be me, then I was glad it was Jasper.

Unable to stop myself, I opened my phone and tapped out a message to her, hitting send before I could talk myself out of it.

Me: Riles, baby, are you okay? Where the fuck did you go?

It made me sound like a pussy whipped prick, and I didn’t even care.

8

We’d barely even left the academy when Eddy started blowing up my phone. I’d changed my mind again about keeping her at arm’s length for multiple reasons, but high on that list was her own safety, so I rejected all her calls and ignored her messages. Catherine’s threat to break Eddy’s fingers still echoed around my head, and it made me nauseous to think she might actually be hurt to force my compliance.

Still, it was a moot point when Jasper immediately took her call and told her where we were.

“Really?” I muttered, glaring at him when he hung up.

He frowned in confusion, tilting his head to the side. “What? Why are you pissy at Eddy? She didn’t know anything about … uh … you know.”

My glare flattened out further. “About the four of you playing me so I’d trust you enough that I wouldn’t see the corner you were backing me into until it was too late? I never thought she did. Eddy wasn’t faking our friendship.” My voice was dry and harsh, not bothering to hide my residual anger.

Jasper’s mouth tightened, and he dropped his gaze from mine in a clear sign of guilt. “We weren’t faking it, Riles,” he murmured with a sigh. “Not totally. Or … not at the end.”

Ignoring that statement, I pulled up in front of a very impressive apartment complex, and I got out of the car to find Stewart already waiting for me on the sidewalk.