Monsters' Crew (Crude Hill High 1)

“Seriously?”

“I am being deadly serious. By saving one of us last night, you’ve gained our attention, and believe me, Emily, we’re not going to be getting bored anytime soon.”

“I don’t want this. I want to be left alone.”

He smiled and leaned in close. The scent of him reminded me of the earth, fresh, like walking through a forest.

Crazy. So fucking crazy.

“Then you should have let that trigger get pulled.”

He was so close, almost within kissing distance, but I didn’t want to feel his lips on me. All I wanted to do was be left alone.

If my father found out about this, I honestly didn’t know what he’d do.

As I gritted my teeth, Mr. Bucati cleared his throat.

Great, just fucking great.

Hands clenched into fists, I waited, aware throughout the whole class that Caleb watched me.

What fun.

****

Caleb

Emily smelled like lemons. Super sweet and citrus but with a very tart edge. My cock hardened as I stared at her.

She was incredibly beautiful.

Her long, blonde locks cascaded down her back in ringlets. They were natural, I could tell. She also wore barely any makeup.

Everything about her screamed natural and I bet that really pissed her dad off. After what happened last night, all four of our fathers had demanded an explanation for what happened. Emily’s involvement had been kept secret.

Until we all knew why she did it, we were keeping her safe. Part of me expected her to want this attention.

The moment she caught sight of us at her locker, though, she’d been pissed. I truly believe what she said when she told us she wished she’d let Gael get it.

Don’t get me wrong, the son of a bitch had it coming for turning his back, but Gael was my brother. I had stared at him with that gun pressed against his head. It had only been for a few seconds, but I’d tried to figure out how I could win. How I could protect him, and I came up blank.

He was going to die.

Until I saw that blade appear out of that man’s throat.

Emily sneaked around. I got that. She didn’t want any kind of attention, and I understood that as well. But, and this was a big but, I wanted to know her. She’d been catching my attention for years, but I’d never approached her. None of us had.

Leaving English, I watched the curves of her ass while she walked away. I wanted to fuck her, no doubt about it. She was all curves and mouth. A temptress, but beneath it all was something dark. She’d killed for us.

Not many girls or women would have done that. They’d have screamed. Probably distracted the guy and got killed. Emily hadn’t reacted like a scared woman. She’d reacted like a fighter, and to me, that made her really important.

I had one more class before lunch. I was starving. Entering biology science, I found River already seated with a knife in hand, pressing the blade against the wooden desks. They were well-used, heavily graffitied.

Taking a seat beside him, I stared up to the front. Our biology teacher was a woman, and she hadn’t appeared yet. She was an older woman, late-forties, a bit of a cougar by all accounts. The guys loved her, and I could understand why. Free pussy was always so readily available and with teacher, it meant good grades without even trying.

Mrs. Henchman.

I shook my head.

“Did she say anything?” River asked.

I look toward him.

“Emily.”

“I know who you’re talking about and no, she didn’t say anything.” The entirety of English, she sat there and pretended I didn’t exist, which I totally loved. I wasn’t about to tell him that.

She was a fighter. We needed one of those as well.

“What are we going to do?” he asked.

“Whatever we have to. She hasn’t told anyone.”

“Why do you think that is? I don’t get it. I really fucking don’t.” He shook his head.

“River, relax.”

“You can’t tell me that you’re not the least bit curious?”

I smiled. “Of course, I am. But I’ve got a feeling all she wants to do is get through high school without dying.”

It was what most eighteen-year-old kids tried to do. Admittedly, we weren’t like most kids.

Mrs. Henchman started the class. A few buttons of her blouse were open, and a couple of the guys in front were basking in the attention.

“You know she’s a virgin,” River said.

There was no way he was talking about Henchman. It was all about Emily.

“How do you figure?”

“No boyfriend. No husband. No one knows what her dad has planned for her.” River’s jaw clenched.

This was a sore spot for River. His younger sister, Amelia, had already been sold. Engaged to be married to a man ten years her senior. This was the way it worked in our worlds.

“We should have told our dads,” he said.

“And do what? You think they’re just going to accept that a Crane daughter stopped one of us getting killed?”