Lessons in Corruption (The Fallen Men 1)

King and his friend shared a brief look that was merely a flicker of eye contact before Mute took one large menacing step forward. With his enormous bulk, a six-foot miniature Hulk with severely buzzed black hair and a huge neck tattoo of some kind of red reptile, it didn’t surprise me that Carson’s shaky grin disappeared to be replaced with an ‘oh my goodness, I’m going to crap my pants’ expression.

He held up his hands beseechingly. “Dude, one time I get product from someone else and you’re flipping out?”

King stood up from his lean against the wall and uncrossed his arms as he turned fully away from me to face Carson. “Flippin’ out? If you think this is me ‘flippin’ out’ then you better brace yourself because if you don’t tell me in two fuckin’ seconds who supplied you, I’m gonna show you what it actually looks like when I flip the fuck out on your ass.”

“Whoa, whoa, fuck, okay!” he practically yelled as Mute slowly moved towards him, hemming him into the wall. “I got some mediocre weed from this guy named Hector.”

“Mexican,” Mute grunted.

King ignored him, his entire body stiff and radiating fury, but I had a feeling this was a significant insight.

“Where’d you hear about ‘im?” King asked.

“Dude,” Carson whined.

King stepped closer and calmly hoisted Carson by his dress shirt into the air before he thrust him hard against the wall.

My gasp was drowned out by Carson’s warbled whimper. I knew it was well beyond time to do something about what was taking place but I couldn’t bring myself to move. It wasn’t so much that I was scared, though I was. The problem was, I was only scared just enough to ignite the desire at the base of my belly. The monster that slumbered like Sleeping Beauty’s dragon inside my gut was rumbling, stretching and yawning as it had when I’d viewed a similar scene with King in the grocery store parking lot. Just like then, she wanted in on the action, to laugh in the face of the scared punk who dared to fuck with such a beautiful King. She wanted to revel in their power, bathe in Carson’s fear and try her own hand at manipulation.

It was totally and completely fucked up.

The Cressida I was didn’t live to scare people, she didn’t even live to intimidate people. I helped old ladies cross the street, I baked cookies for my neighbors and sat with students when they needed a good cry. I did this because I was a good person.

Only, King made me want to be not such a great person.

He made me want to indulge in all things that had tempted Eve: sex, gluttony and larceny. King was my apple, my Satan, my ultimate fall from grace.

And as I stood there riveted by his cruel power, I hated myself.

“Fuck, okay, I didn’t hear about him, all right? He found me at Evergreen Gas Station. Said if I wanted to find him again, that’s where he would be. But I didn’t, okay? His shit is nowhere near as good as yours,” Carson was babbling.

But I was done, on fire with shame and scrambling to put out the flames.

So, I made a rash decision.

I stormed out of the bushes.

Or, at least, I tried to storm.

But I was wearing impractical but utterly beautiful high-heeled leather boots that made my legs in their olive green riding pants look awesome, so I tripped. Badly. I fell through the bushes and onto my hands and knees just behind the trio who all turned their heads to witness my disgrace.

“Mrs. Irons?” Carson croaked, half mortified and half thrilled because he recognized that I was his savior even if I was doing a really terrible job of it.

Embarrassment lit my skin like a second-degree burn but I righted myself with minimal awkwardness and fisted my hands on my hips. “Yes, Carson, Mrs. Irons. The same Mrs. Irons who has just witnessed a drug deal and an attack against another student on school grounds.”

Carson’s hope drained from his face as he realized that he too was in trouble. King and Mute didn’t move.

“Drop your arm from Mr. Gentry’s throat, Mr. Garro and you both come with me. As for you,” I turned to Mute, “I’d get out of here before I have to find out who you are and what you’re doing here and then call your parents.”

I watched through my indignity fury as Mute’s mean face relaxed enough to twitch just barely into a smile. “Sure thing, Miss Irons.”

My mouth fell open as he turned on his heel, jerked his chin at King and ambled out of sight around the building. Rage built even brighter inside me as I realized that King had told his friend about me.

“Gentlemen,” I practically screeched. “Follow me to the Headmaster’s Office.”