Lawless Kingdom (Reign & Ruin 1)

I walked down the hall, eager to go home and get out of my uniform, soak in a bath, and mentally prepare to do this all over again in less than twenty-four hours.

Audrey was waiting for me near the weird mascot statue, her face buried in her phone.

“Hey,” I greeted.

“Hey, you ready?”

“God, yes,” I groaned.

She laughed, and we fell into step beside each other.

“Okay, so, do you want to tell me about your day first? Or about that kiss between you and Judas?”

I was hoping she’d forget about that, but who was I kidding? This was Audrey. I chewed my inner lip, unsure what to say. I’d avoided thinking about it for the remainder of the day, which took more strength than should have been necessary.

“Both were intense,” I finally replied.

“Don’t you dare hold back from me, Rhia. I know you’ve got more to say than that. What’s up with you two?”

“Do you remember the huge Halloween party we went to a year ago? I was Red and you were Goldilocks?”

She nodded as we crossed the crosswalk to get to student parking.

“Well, do you remember me wandering off to find the wolf?”

“I was kicking major ass in flip-cup. But yeah, the one that couldn’t stop looking at you?” she laughed, sobering up as soon as what I was referencing clicked. “No fucking way!”

The kid walking in front of us damn near shit his pants she’d yelled so loud.

“Audrey,” I hissed.

“Sorry,” she apologized without meaning it. “Rhia that’s…holy shit, really? So, you two are like—”

“Nothing. We. Are. Nothing.”

I hadn’t told her anything about that night other than that I’d been with someone and it was consensual.

She’d been about to lose her shit when she saw the bruises the next morning. I hoped I wasn’t making a mistake telling her now, but I had to give some reason as to why Judas was suddenly showing me any attention.

“You two are nothing, huh?” She stared down the row of cars to where hers was parked.

I groaned internally, seeing a shiny pearl Mercedes blocking hers from going anywhere, two more flashy cars idled behind it. One guess as to who would do something so blatantly arrogant.

“Want me to handle it?” she asked, deathly serious.

Get her entangled in Judas’ crosshairs more than she probably already was and risk her finding out the truth from him of all people? Hell no.

“Nope. I got it.”

“Be careful, okay? I’ve had a bad feeling ever since Dax went MIA. Did you see the last picture he posted, by the way?”

I nodded. “Something happened that made him leave.”

Judas happened, my inner voice snarked.

We came upon the Mercedes, a sleek coupe I was scared to breathe on, it was so clean. It was more diamond-white than pearl, the immaculate paint shimmering in the sun. One of the tinted windows went down and Judas’ voice carried from inside.

“Get in.”

“Since you’re clearly stalking me, you know I rode with Audrey.”

“You know I don’t give a shit.”

I sighed. “Your decorum is terrible.”

“Get in,” he repeated, the command in his voice leaving no room for argument.

Audrey opened her mouth, but I intercepted what was sure to be a nasty remark.

“I’ll text you when I get home,” I told her.

I could tell she wanted to say more, but I was already pulling the passenger door open and climbing into Judas’ car.

Considering the circumstances and all that had occurred between us, trapping myself in an enclosed space with him was not my brightest moment. I had my satchel on the floor, hands folded loosely in my lap.

The air was on, blowing the scent of his cologne and a new car smell around.

At first, I forced myself to stare out the window, doing my best not to look at the enigmatic boy beside me. But…how could I not ogle such fucked up perfection?

He’d ditched the jacket and tie, and his sleeves were rolled back, revealing the tattoos on both his arms.

The one closest to me had a tribal like pattern turned into what I was guessing was a wing of some sort.

“You smell like honey.”

I blinked, startled at the sound of his voice. “…Thank you? I think.”

“It was a compliment,” he confirmed.

I expelled a breath and glanced out the window at a Mom and Pop’s diner known for their amazing burgers. If I’d ridden with Audrey, we could have stopped. Instead, I’d gotten in the luxury vehicle of a guy who although beautiful and intelligent, was equally as dangerous and cold.

“Why did you want me to ride with you? What do you want from me, Judas?”

“I have a reason to keep you close, don’t you think?”

“Almost two years later? No. Why? You know I haven’t and will never talk. I’d be screwing myself.”

“And me.”

“Bullshit. You’re the one with the bank account big enough to fix it and family powerful enough to make it go away.”