The Broken Puppet (The Elite King's Club 2)

“Uh, he didn’t say much. Just gave me the rundown about how I need to keep things away from Nate’s mom.”

Tate pauses. “Why? Hey.” She leans in closer, checking to make sure no one can hear her. “What the hell is going on? You know you can trust me, Mads.”

I know I can; that’s not my issue with Tatum, never has been. I trust her with my life, but it’s the people you trust with your life who you want to protect the most. Telling Tatum every single thing about this… life would only put her in danger.

“I know, Tate,” I whisper back to her. “You know that if I could, I would tell you everything, but I can’t.”

“Can’t or won’t?” she snaps at me.

“Won’t!” I reply, leaning back into my seat. “Now ca—”

“Mads?”

I turn in my seat. “Carter? Hey!” I smile, standing.

He pulls me into his chest. “Where you been, girl?” I don’t miss the deep inhale he takes into my hair.

“Oh, being a rebel.” I smile, pulling away from him slightly.

“Ah.” He grins. “That’s not surprising at all.”

“No,” I answer, ignoring the way everyone in the atrium has silenced. “I guess it’s not.”

Carter’s eyes flick over my shoulder, his smile falling slightly. “Hey, I’ll text you.”

I inch my head around slightly, not bringing my eyes to the group before looking back at Carter. “Okay, I have the same number.” He nods and then yanks me back into his chest again. I exhale. “Hey,” I whisper into his chest. He stills, so I take that as he heard me. “Are you all right?”

He releases his breath, so much so that his chest relaxes. He lets go, drawing me back. “I’ll text you.” His smile stays, but his eyes drop slightly before he turns and walks back out the door.

I stay still, not wanting to turn around and sit back on my seat, because I know that when I do, I’m going to be faced with the Kings. The whispering starts again as all eyes remain glued on me. It’s like the first day all over again, only Ally isn’t here to fuel the fire. Exhaling, and with a slight eye roll, I turn around, my gaze instantly locking on Bishop. I suck in a deep breath at the way his eyes command mine immediately. Everything ceases to exist whenever he’s in the vicinity, which ultimately pisses me off. I hate that I can never control my body whenever he’s in the room. Walking toward the boys, I swallow any and all feelings that I have.

Reaching for Nate, I tap his shoulder. “Can I talk to you?”

He turns to face me. “Yeah, you okay?”

I pull in my bottom lip and tilt my head, ignoring the glare I’m receiving from Bishop. “Yeah, I think.”

“What’s wrong?” Nate asks, pushing his hands into his pockets.

I look over his shoulder at the rest of the Kings, and Nate tilts his head over his shoulder and grins. “Sis, these guys know more than you could ever imagine. Anything you have to say to me is fine to say in front of them.”

“Yeah,” I mutter, looking back to Nate. “For some reason, I have trust issues.”

He grins at me slowly. “Well, hell, I wonder why that is. I told Bishop scaring you in the forest was a bad—”

“Nate,” Bishop grunts from behind him. “I’ll handle it.”

I clench my jaw. “No, it’s fine. I’m sure Nate has me handled. Thanks.”

Bishop wastes no time, stepping toward me, taking hold of my arm, and dragging me out of the atrium. The whispers and chatting stops, and when we reach the entryway, I tug my arm out of his grip.

“What the fuck is your problem, Bishop?” I yell at him, my voice echoing throughout the empty hall. He pushes open the supply closet door and shoves me into the dark room.

“Bishop!” I yell, just as his hand slams over my mouth, pushing me up against the wall.

“Shut up, Madi. What did you want to ask?”

I whack his hand off my mouth. “Can you turn a light on?”

“No.”

Exhaling, I lean my head against the wall. “I want to know why no one is asking about Ally.”

A long silence drags between us until he finally says, “It’s simple. Ally moved away. Anything else?”

So he says Ally moved away and no one questions it? No one questions the Kings? It’s like Khales all over again.

“Yes,” I scoff, suddenly annoyed at his arrogance. “I wan—”

His chest presses against mine and I slam back against the wall again. Opening my mouth, he cuts me off when his soft lips press against my neck, setting off goose bumps all over my body. Fuck. I really need to find a grip on my feelings when it comes to Bishop, or my plan will turn to shit. I’m taking him down, but I won’t complain if he goes down with his face buried between my thighs. May as well enjoy it while it’s happening.