RAMSAY.

I know you and Scout fucked.”

Clint dropped the ball as soon as we got in his vehicle.

“Clint!”

He leveled me with a hard look. “What are you doing, Rams?”

God. Him and his ability to just know things about me. “It’s—look, the attraction is insane. Like crazy insane, and him and me staying away from each other was making it worse. It was messing with us, but it’s just sex. There are no emotions. I can’t stand the guy. He can’t stand me. And we agreed that if either of us starts getting feelings, we’re stopping. That’ll mess everything up.”

“Yeah.” His tone was dry. “Because those agreememts always work out.”

“Just—”

“You’re going to do this. I know you, but I don’t like it. And I’m not holding this shit back from Alex.”

“Clint.”

“No, Rams. No. I’m telling him. If Scout doesn’t, I will.”

I was quiet, thinking, then I said, “I needed to feel good. I’m sorry, but I did and I do. I don’t like him. I’m not going to fall for him. There’s absolutely nothing romantic going on, but I felt good for a little bit. He and I know how it is between us. You guys are the ones making it complicated. This isn’t about you or Alex.”

He growled, starting the engine. “Doubt Alex will see it that way.”

I pressed my lips together. “If he doesn’t, then I’ll explain it to him.”

He grunted, but he pulled out to the street and I knew my cousin. He said what he needed to say, letting me know where he stood, and now the topic was dropped because that restlessness was still in him. Onto to the next stupid shit we were about to do.

“Where are we going?”

We went through Pine River.

Went over the river.

Went into Pine Valley, which I knew about, but Alred was the first person I knew from there. I’d not been on this side. It was a whole different town, and as we kept driving, I was realizing how much bigger it was. It wasn’t a town like Pine River. It was bigger, way bigger, enough whereas Clint hit the blinker and we turned, I saw that it had its own university.

Pine Valley University.

“Clint.”

He kept quiet, turning down one road after another before he hit the light and we were down a side alley.

I liked getting into trouble but fun trouble. Clint was different. He liked pushing the boundaries, and I was also now realizing I was troubled-out. I was good. I didn’t need this sort of trouble, whatever kind Clint was about to get us into.

“Clint,” I dropped my voice. “I can’t handle—” We went across another road and into another alley, but it was the glimpse I got from the road that had me speechless for a moment.

Pine Valley University had its own fraternity row. Every single house looked like they were partying, and the house we drove up to was Rho Mu Epsilon, the fraternity where Max was already a legacy, or would be once he joined. His great, great, great-grandfather was the first member. All the men in Max’s family were brothers, his real brother was a current member.

Clint pulled over so his car was hidden behind a dumpster, and I could only whisper, “Clint.”

He looked my way. We were completely blanketed by darkness. The side windows on both houses were narrow and closed off with curtains. The front and the back was where the lights were flashing. There’d been people on the front deck, and shadows were moving farther down so there were some people in the backyard, but that was sectioned off by a giant sized fence.

His voice started low and rough. “It’s my job to take care of you. It’s our job. My and my brothers’. It was your dad’s. It was supposed to be your boyfriend’s, but he’s the one who twisted shit. He broke the vow that all men take when they become men. You got hurt, and you really got hurt.”

Pain sliced through me.

“Oh, Clint.” They came the very next day after my dad died. They were there, and they stayed forever until Aunt Ailes forced them to go back. Clint made the trip out as often as he was allowed.

His voice turned fierce. “I told my mom that if you stayed there, I was moving and going to your school. Trenton was going to come when football season was done. We had it all worked out. Alex was going to stay, but he’d come every holiday, then he’d stay and I’d come back for baseball.”

I couldn’t talk. A tennis ball of emotion was smack dab in the middle of my throat.

“We fought so much with Mom and Dad, but I was going. We had that figured out too, how I’d be gone for a while before Mom and Dad would figure it out. Then Mom came to my door, and I had enough time to throw a blanket over my bag on the bed because I was literally in the middle of packing, and she told me you guys were moving here.”

I grabbed his arm.

“First time in a year that I’d felt relief. We can protect you here, but he never got his comeuppance.” He glanced to the house, the one where Max will join one of its brother houses in another state. “I came here the other time, scouted it out.”

My hand squeezed his arm. “That’s where you went the other night?”

“They keep their alcohol stock in a room that has two doors. One from the alley, easy unloading, and the other leading into the house. The door to the alley is locked, but the one going to the house is guarded by one guy. Inside the house.” His eyes found mine, shining bright. “We break the lock, we can take all of their alcohol and they won’t know it until we’re gone.”

“Stealing alcohol isn’t going to hurt them much.”

His lip quirked. “You’ve not seen how much alcohol is in there, and I don’t care. It’ll hurt the guy who’s supposed to be guarding the door. They’ll hurt him. One guy. I’d rather go in and steal their drugs, but figured I’d be pushing it enough asking your help for the alcohol.”

My hand squeezed again. He was right. Alcohol was one thing. Drugs were a whole other matter. He was also right that they’d hurt the guy guarding the door.

I let go of his arm, the tennis ball of emotion dipping to my chest. “The funny thing is that, even if Max joined this particular house, came to this college, and is a freshman, he still wouldn’t be the guy guarding the door. Legacies are treated like royalty in this fraternity.”

“I know.”

We did this, we’d be signing up for a guy to get hurt.

Maybe a black eye? Would that be it? Hazing?

He’d lose alcohol inventory guarding duty and have to clean bathrooms instead? Would that be his punishment?

My chest was burning up.

It wouldn’t be enough, not from who Max took from me.

“Let’s do it.”

Our jobs were simple.

The fraternity didn’t have any special security. It was a lock, so as Clint took out some tools to take off the doorknob—with bolt-cutters to get through if there was a secondary chain on the inside of the door, which Clint said he hadn’t gotten a good enough look so we were playing that part by ear—my job was to go inside the fraternity, find the guy guarding the door, and distract him.

My job was easy because it was already getting done for me. The guy had a girl wrapped around him, her legs, arms, and her lips were trying to devour him up. She kept trying to pull him away, but he kept insisting they stay at the door so while he was committed to standing by the door, he was good and distracted.

It was anticlimactic. It was so simply done, but I was still feeling it, my chest still burning because another house like this, the same Greek letters, and it would be where Max would attend. He’d go on, find another girl, and I was sure he already had another one, but he’d hurt her too. I had no doubt about that.

The look was in his eyes when he saw me.

He enjoyed taking away my father.

And he got away with it.

He’d do it again, and he’d get away with it.

And again.

And again.

It would go on and on, never-ending.

Everyone knew what he did to me.

They didn’t care.

They cared about Max more, about his family name, about their money.

The police sided with the Prestige family.

The school sided with Max.

My friends blamed me.

“You okay?”

I gasped, rearing back. The hatred burned so hard in me that I hadn’t realized I was blinking back tears. “What?”

A guy was there, looking concerned, a beer cup in hand. He was tall, over six feet, and he moved closer, bending over me. “You look upset.” His lips moved into a cocky smirk. “We can’t have anyone upset at our parties, much less someone as beautiful as you.”

God.

This guy even looked like Max. Same almost black hair. Wealth and privilege coming off him in waves. “Do you shop at the same stores?”

He frowned. “What?”

It was the shirt. Jesus Christ. It was the shirt.

Max wore this same shirt, all the time. It was his favorite.

I was now also getting why. It was a Rho Mu Epsilon shirt. The diamond crest on the collar was the same one from the house’s sign in front. I never knew that before.

“Never mind.” I wiped at my face. No way would those tears fall for Max. No fucking way. “I’ll have something to drink? Would you get me something?”

He took me in again, studying me before nodding slowly. “Sure. We have beer, but I could make you something else?” He took a step closer. “Something special?”

My insides stretched to the point where I thought I’d snap, but I only smiled. “Sure. Be creative.”

“No problem.” He hesitated and touched his thumb to the indent of my chin. It was a brief flick, but I felt branded by him. I’d not given him permission to touch me.

Asshole.

He lingered, his eyes on my mouth before he pulled away. “Don’t go anywhere.”

There was a poker around the corner behind me. I could take it and impale it up his ass, hoping it’d go far enough to reach Max himself, and thinking of that, my smile got a little easier. “Not planning on it.”

The second he was gone, I grabbed for my phone.

Me: I can’t stay in here much longer.

Clint didn’t answer right away.

Door guard and his girlfriend kept swapping saliva.

I kept waiting.

Still no answer.

Then, the guy was coming back with a drink in hand. There was no way I was going to drink that, but this guy wasn’t going to leave my side. He’d make sure I took at least one sip.

I resent my text again to Clint, then slid my phone into my pocket. I’d feel it buzz if he texted back.

The guy arrived, holding out a purple and pink drink. “The bartender made it, assured me you’ll like it. Apparently, the girls go crazy for it, but I have no idea what it’s named. Here you go.”

My fingers closed around the glass, and I upped my smile. “Thanks.”

I swallowed.

The guy frowned. “You’re not going to try it? See if you like it?”

My heart picked up, going fast.

“I—”

He moved into my space again. “We didn’t exchange names before. I’m Matt.” He was giving me a once-over. “What’s your name? Do you live in the dorms?”

“I—”

“What the fuck?” a savage growl came out from the side.

Clint was there, looking thunderous. His gaze fixed firmly on me.

The guy stepped back but then shifted to get between Clint and me. “Hey, man. How’s it going?”

Clint ignored him, coming closer.

Matt started to put his drink down, his hands going up between us. “Don’t know who you are, but the girl is here of her free will. She can stay as long as she’d like, man.”

Clint kept glaring at me. “I’d like to let you know that your daughter woke up crying.”

“Daughter?” Matt looked my way.

Clint moved to his side. “Thankfully, your other two daughters didn’t wake up.”

“Two daughters?” Matt edged back a step. “You got three kids?”

“Twins,” Clint addressed him for the first time. “Ten month olds.”

Matt’s eyes bulged out.

Clint’s gaze went back to me, dropping to my stomach. “I found the pregnancy test. When were you going to tell me you’ve got another one coming?”

“Another one?” Matt was in retreat mode by now. He raised a hand, going through his hair, but he turned and ran.

Clint snorted. “See you later, nice to have not met you.” He eyed my drink. “Tell me you didn’t?”

I snorted. “I would never, and also, you were mom-shaming me. Dick move.”

He shrugged. “That kind of guy? I used the one thing that’d get rid of him fast. I could’ve gone with some sort of disease, but I’d have to make one up and the way he was looking at you, he would’ve been asking all sorts of questions to make sure he wouldn’t get anything from one night with a rubber.”

We began heading back out, going a way that Clint must’ve used getting inside. There were a couple guys watching us, but most were interested in their own conversations. Once we cut through a side door that opened outside, I tossed my drink before leaving the glass behind.

“Wait.” Clint grabbed it, using his shirt to wipe it down.

“Are you serious?”

“They’re going to be pissed. Trust me.”

Once I got to the car, I saw he was right.

The entire back seat was full to the brim, a large blanket covering all of it. In the passenger’s seat, he only left enough room for my feet.

“The trunk?”

“All filled.”

“Clint, there are cops.”

He motioned to the back, already driving away. “Hence the blankets.”

“They’re going to call the cops.”

An ugly laugh left him. “Guys like that, a frat like that, they don’t call the police.”

My mouth dried up. “How do you know?”

“Because they got worse shit in that house, and cops come, they’re not going to risk any of that getting seen no matter how well they think they hide it.”

“How do you know?”

Clint glanced over. I wasn’t looking at my cousin who liked to get into trouble. Not that cousin. This was a whole different one, the one getting in trouble wasn’t enough, not in this situation. He wanted to hurt and he was going to do it smart and calculating.

“Because a part of that scouting trip I did? I found their hiding spots.”