Drop Dead Queen (Corium University Trilogy 2)

“To cover the tab and the clean-up.”

Sherry stares at the cash for a few seconds as if she is not sure it’s real before she grabs it and shoves it in her pocket.

I scan the crowd one more time, making sure none of our rivals are here who could use this against me. The asshole who touched Scarlet is getting to his feet, cradling his bloody face. His swollen eyes find mine, and he takes a step back, holding up his palms. A broken sorry passes his busted lips.

“Not a word to anyone about this, or I really start beating you next time,” I warn before I finally head out.

I let the cold winter air cool the heated blood coursing through my veins as I walk to my car. Ren is sitting in the driver’s seat while Scarlet is huddled up in the passenger’s seat. Her legs are drawn up, and she is hugging her knees.

Opening the back door, I slide into the seat behind her. “Are you okay? Did that guy hurt you?” I place a hand on her shoulder, wanting her to look at me. If he did hurt her, I’m going back inside to kill him.

“I’m fine. I was just worried about you. I’m always worried about you,” she admits, her voice breaking at the end.

“I’m sorry,” I apologize, knowing that a simple sorry is not going to be enough. “You don’t have to worry about me, okay? I shouldn’t have brought you here, and I’m glad you called Ren. I always tell you, you are much smarter than me.”

“Flattery will not make me less mad at you… but it helps.” She sniffles. “How much smarter are we talking?”

“I’m basically on a fifth-grade level while you’re taking advanced statistics. You’re a genius. I’m a dumbass.”

“I’ll remind you of that in the future,” Ren chimes in, just as he is pulling out of the driveway.

Leaning back, I suck in a deep breath. Using the ride home, I reflect on what a disaster tonight ended up being. I am a dumbass. What was I thinking? Taking Scarlet there? My only hope is that my parents didn’t realize we were gone.

That hope bursts like a soap bubble when Scarlet’s and my phones ring simultaneously. I answer on the first ring.

“We’re on our way home. Everything is fine,” I say without even checking who it is.

“There better not be a hair out of place on your sister’s head,” my father roars into the receiver before ending the call.

“I promise, Mom. I’m fine. We just went out for a drive,” Scarlet lies. “I will see you in a few minutes. We’re almost home… okay. Love you too.” She ends the call and looks back at me.

“I’m sorry,” I say again.

She gives me a sad smile and nods. “It’s okay. Let’s just not do that again.”

We make it to the house ten minutes later. Our parents are already waiting outside. My mom looks worried, but my dad simply looks furious. As soon as the car stops, Scarlet gets out, and our parents crowd her, peppering her with questions and scanning her body for any injuries.

I almost roll my eyes at how obsessed they are with her safety, but then I remind myself that they have every right to be this concerned. My mom quickly takes my sister inside, which is my cue to exit the car.

“Good luck,” Ren mumbles from the front seat as I get out.

My father doesn’t waste any time ripping into me.

“What the fuck, Quinton? What the hell were you thinking? First, you put yourself in danger at Corium. Now you drag your sister into your shit? What were you thinking?”

“We just went—”

“Shut up! It’s not your turn to talk,” he growls.

Squeezing my lips together, I remain quiet and let him continue to yell at me. “You act like an irresponsible child. How am I supposed to trust you? You are supposed to protect your sister, not put her in danger!”

“I’m—”

His lips turn into a snarl, and the usual stoic man he is, is replaced with the fierce Rossi Crime Family leader I’ve only ever seen directed at others. “Shut up! I’m not done. If you don’t get your shit together, I will cut you off and kick you out of this house until you figure out what kind of man you want to be because the one standing in front of me right now is not someone I’m going to leave my legacy to.”

His disappointment in me spreads like a cancer through my veins, and with one last glance, my father spins around and stalks off, leaving me to wallow in my pity.

Just like I deserve.

39

ASPEN

The helicopter lands at the airport, where we get onto a jet that flies us back to North Woods. It’s a lot of traveling for someone who didn’t wake up expecting to spend her entire day in the air. Surprisingly, I only had one slight panic attack when the helicopter first took off, but after only a few minutes of my heart racing and gasping for air, I was able to calm down.