Court Kept (Court High 3)

She didn’t know anything, and I knew that by the innocence of her accusations. She just wanted to know where Mallick was and needed my help to find him. I should be relieved by that.

My jaw clenching, I turned away, opening my hands and pushing a red cloth onto my desk. It was a handkerchief, old and worn and something my friend told me to keep. She hadn’t wanted it back after she’d given it to me to use.

My throat jumped. “Check the woods,” I told December, facing back at her. “The woods by the school.”

She simply stood there, stared at me, but in the end, not for long. She left my room, nothing but her scent in the air, and my head sagged forward. I’d made the right decision regarding Mallick.

The ultimate result of anything else would have gutted me.

I knew that for a fact, which was why I’d made the decision I had. After December left, I was alone in my room, but not for long.

LJ… Jax, Knight, and LJ opened my door. They didn’t come in, though, just standing there.

“You told her where Mallick is?” Knight asked, obviously having heard our conversation in here. He may have even passed her in the hallway.

Putting Paige’s handkerchief away, I nodded.

LJ frowned. “You know there’ll be repercussions from that, from her being here? Half the house saw her.”

“And heard you both.” Jax came in, cringing. “Your voices traveled down the hallway. People know Court business was told.”

It didn’t matter what our brothers knew, at least the ones here. It just mattered what got back to other members, a certain member in particular, and I’d deal with that like I always did.

I’d basically had to my whole life.

Five

December

The evening was cold, my breath in cloudy puffs as my boots crushed ice-lined leaves. The days had been warmer recently, but not warm enough. If Ramses was actually out here, somewhere out here behind the back of the school, that was crazy.

If Ramses was out here, he could be dead.

My friends didn’t even believe me when I t

old them, rushing back out to the car like a crazy person. I’d been talking a mile a minute, freaking out about the possibility of Ramses even being out behind the school. They hadn’t gotten it until I told them he pledged for Court. I hadn’t had a choice but to admit the truth.

I needed help searching.

I didn’t know how long it’d take to find Ramses in the woods, but I definitely wasn’t going without help. Along with the group in Birdie’s car, we’d been able to recruit pretty much the whole female and male basketball teams. If someone wasn’t out here looking, it was because we hadn’t gotten a hold of them. Ramses had a lot of friends, and everyone wanted to help. Currently, his name traveled through increasingly dark woods, the day shifting into night. The girls and myself huddled for warmth, the boys searching in other parts of the woods. The girls stayed together while the boys searched in smaller groups.

“Ramses!” I called out his name, several more of the girls doing the same. In their coats, they called just as loud and with just as much urgency as myself. We had to move quickly.

It was getting so cold.

Winter had been forgiving since December, but still, this was the Midwest, temperatures temperamental. Especially as things got dark. Soon, it’d be completely nightfall. Shakira shook her head. “Are you sure this is where Royal said he was? It’s too cold, December.”

It was too cold, all of this crazy. Especially if Ramses was out here for more than a couple hours. What kind of challenge could they possibly have had him out here for even? Did he have to just stand there, wait for someone to come and get him? That seemed way too easy, and if a previous haze had to do with lying on train tracks, it was too easy.

The fear running rogue through my veins, I faced my friends. “We need to split up like the guys. Smaller search parties.”

They nodded, myself somehow the leader of all this. They were looking to me for guidance, and I knew less about this school and these woods than they probably did. Even still, they took my advice, some with their flashlights triggered on their phones. It really was getting that dark, and after pointing in various directions, I led the girls to scan those areas. I had my own party, but in the end, started racing off by myself.

“December!”

My name was called as I charged forward, no time at all to be going slow. I’d be okay and had to be way more than Ramses was currently.

What the hell is wrong with Royal?