Could it really be happening already? Was it possible that people cared this much about the opinions of the Delta heirs? I tried to discreetly look around the room, and more than one set of eyes were on me. But … that didn’t mean anything. I mean, people had been curious about me since day one. I was a Deboise by birth but not by name; I was part of their elite crowd, but never actually claimed in any way. Beck and I had a relationship of some sort, but almost no one knew about that.
I was an enigma. That was the only reason they were looking at me. It had to be.
Focusing on the teacher for the rest of the lesson, I managed to take one page of notes and gain zero understanding of what we were learning. When the bell rang and the students filed out, I slowly made my way to his desk.
“I really am sorry,” I started, as soon as we were alone.
He didn’t seem to care about an apology though, already writing something on a green piece of paper, his lips pursed, making his wrinkles a little more defined. “Detention slip,” he said, handing it out to me. “Next time you’re late. Or you leave without permission, it’ll be two. See you this afternoon.”
With a low, almost inaudible groan, I reached out and took the slip before I tucked it into my folder. “It won’t happen again,” I told him, and then spun to rush from the room. No way in hell was I going to be late for my next class.
The guys might have won the first battle, but I was going to win the war. I was determined.
6
By the time the lunch break bell chimed, I was more than ready for the detention. At least there—hopefully—I would be left alone.
News of the Delta boys “rejecting” me had traveled like fucking wildfire, and by the time I’d left calculus every eye in the school was on me. For several classes, I was just stared at, but come lunchtime—when I quite deliberately chose to sit as far away from the boys as possible—it was like the floodgates opened. Some bitch tried to trip me before I even got to my table, and it was only thanks to Eddy’s shouted warning that I didn’t end up wearing my massive, overflowing plate of roast chicken, vegetables, and gravy.
In my defense, while I despised almost everything about Militant Delta and their dodgy, shadowed world … the food wasn’t one of those things. The food was something I’d actively missed, and I would have been pissed if that bitch had made me waste it.
“You sure you want to sit here?” I asked Eddy with an arched brow as I placed my tray down and sat. “In case you didn’t get the memo, I’m public enemy number one now.”
Eddy snorted a laugh. “Oh, girl. No one missed that memo, trust me.”
I glared at her, and she just rolled her eyes and shrugged. “I’m still a Langham, even if I’m not a successor. The boys withdrew their protection from you, not me.”
I glared harder. “Gee, thanks.”
“It’s entirely within your power to stop it, Riles. I don’t understand what they did to get you so worked up, anyway?” It was posed as a question, her head tilted slightly to the side and for a moment I just wanted to tell her everything. But that would mean admitting to murder.
My breath escaped in a heavy sigh, and I poked at my food. “I can’t tell you.”
Eddy nodded, her eyes downcast. It was clear she was hurt. She’d spent her whole life around the secrets of Militant Delta and now here I was, her best friend, keeping secrets from her.
“I’m sorry—” I started, but she shook her head.
“I get it,” she said with just a touch of bitterness. “I just think you’re being stupid. Or stubborn. Whatever, same thing in this situation.”
I groaned and scrubbed my face with my hands. I’d only been back at school for half a day and it already felt like a fucking lifetime.
“Change the subject,” I muttered, trying to find a topic of conversation that didn’t make me want to rip my head off. “Uh … wanna come look at real estate with me this afternoon?”
My heart wasn’t in the offer. I was still leery as fuck of all things even remotely Delta related—Eddy included—but knowing that the entire school planned on hazing me, a friend in my court surely wasn’t the worst idea. So, fake it till you make it. Right?
Eddy’s brows shot up, a forkful of lettuce halfway to her mouth. “Real estate? For what?”
My lips curled up in a half grin. “I’m getting my own place. Debitch and I came to an agreement.”
Eddy’s jaw dropped. “Uh, does Beck know?” She answered before I had a chance. “I’m going to guess no.”
I shrugged. “Doubtful. Unless Catherine told him? What does it matter?”
My friend’s eyes cut across the lunch room to where I knew Beck was watching us. I could practically feel his eyes burning holes in my back. “We all live within the Delta compound for a reason, babe. There have been like, loads of assassination attempts on the guys … not to mention Oscar.” Her voice dropped to a whisper as fear decorated her face. “I just think Beck is going to have an issue with it. Especially now.”
I laughed a bitter, humorless sound. “Beck has issues with a lot of things right now. Doesn’t mean I should give two shits what he thinks.”
Just as I finished saying that, something wet hit me on the cheek … and stuck there. Horrified, I raised my hand and swiped the gob of saliva soaked napkin paper from my skin and turned my death glare in the direction of where it’d come from. A pack of cackling students congratulated one of the boys for his superior aim, and a blonde girl I’d never seen before smirked at me like she’d just won some sort of competition.
“Who the fuck is that?” I muttered, gritting my teeth and turning my back on the table of snickering cretins. I wasn’t prepared to take on the whole school. Not yet, anyway.
Eddy wrinkled her nose in distaste, sneering in blondie’s direction. “That is why the guys are going into major freak out mode. Katelyn Huntley.”
I spluttered the sip of water I’d just taken. “Sorry, fucking what?”
“They didn’t tell you? Seems a bit stupid,” Eddy was muttering, and I snapped my fingers at her to bring the focus back.
“They told me there was a spy, but they didn’t say it was an actual fucking Huntley heir. I thought Delta owned this school?” I was trying to keep my volume down, so my words were coming out in a harsh whisper. “How is this possible?”
She shrugged. “Beats me, no one tells me anything, remember? I only know who she is because I hacked into her school records just before lunch. She’s enrolled under Katelyn French, but her birth certificate has her surname as Huntley. She’s the youngest daughter of Graeme Huntley, CEO of Huntley Tech. Oh, and his wife, Cunt— Christie Huntley.”
It was very clear that Eddy was not a fan of the wife. If she was anything like the daughter—my one minute impression of her anyway—then I wasn’t surprised.
A dull ache was forming behind my right eyeball and I rubbed at my forehead. A Huntley heir. Fucking typical of the boys to leave that minor detail out.
“She looks like a bitch,” I commented, casting another look in the new girl’s direction. She’d moved fast, already surrounding herself with fawning acolytes who appeared to be pandering to her every whim—including shooting a spitball at me.