Court Kept (Court High 3)

“I’m here to pick up something for Ramses Mallick,” I exclaimed, more than a few eyes on me. I suddenly felt like a girl Friday retrieving something for my boss. I faced the guy in a suit. “A ring?”

Taking the card from me, the man stepped away and slid back behind the corner. Following him, I watched as he ran the card on some device.

His eyes widened. “There appears to be a mistake here. This is Mr. Mallick’s card, but you’re not Mr. Mallick.”

What gave it away? I rolled my eyes. “I know. He sent me.”

He eyed me, pursing his thin lips a little before placing the chrome card on the counter. “It’s not customary to give out other customers’ merchandise. Even with their buyer’s card.”

“I told you he sent me. You can call him, and he’ll tell you.”

He smiled a little. “Even still. It’s not customary.”

Completely over this, I pulled out my phone. I came all the way out here, and I wasn’t leaving without the damn ring.

“What up? You get the ring?” Ramses asked, chewing on something. It was a pretty loud something and almost sounded like popcorn.

Well, he must be feeling better.

I rolled my eyes again. “Yeah, so can you get this guy at the counter to give me your ring? He’s handling me and won’t let me get it without you.”

“Ah. Is it Benjamin?”

I eyed the guy behind the counter, his look curious as he watched me on the phone. The man had no nametag, but he looked like a Benjamin if I’d ever seen one. I explained what he looked like to Ramses and heard a smile in his voice when he responded.

“Give me to him,” he said in my ear, more of that crunching into the receiver, and I did, handing the phone over to “Benjamin.” From over the counter, I heard a lot of “yes, sir” and “no, sir.” Basically, there was a lot of kissing ass, and at the end of the call, Mr. Benjamin looked like he sucked a lemon.

Benjamin lowered his head. “I will have the piece for you in moments, and I apologize for the inconvenience, Ms. Lindquist.”

So I was Ms. Lindquist now? Feeling a little smug about that, I thanked him before putting the phone up to my ear. “Thanks.”

“No problem, ’Zona. See you when you get back. Call me if Benjamin gives you any more lip.”

“Aye, aye, Captain.”

Chuckling, he told me he’d see me later again, and after I hung up the phone, Benjamin returned with a black bag with a silver bow on the front. Out of it, he pulled a black box, presenting me a ring.

It was a Court ring all right, gorilla mouth and everything. Up until this moment, this all hadn’t really felt real but here was that reality right in front of me.

We really were doing this.

Once that ring was on Ramses’ finger, he was Court officially.

“I take it the piece is to your liking?” Benjamin stated, and after I nodded, he wrapped it up and returned it to the bag. He slid it over to me, swiping Ramses’ silver card right after. He started to give it back to me, but something on the screen gave him pause.

He held up a hand. “It seems Mr. Mallick has one more piece of merchandise. If you’d excuse me for a moment. It requires special handling.”

After handing me the card, he backed away, and I got my phone out again, prepared to give another call if this guy was trying to pull something. Spinning around, I decided to use the wait to look inside the cases, and look I did. There was easily enough precious metals in this place to purchase a town and maybe even had. Royal was clearly influential at school and why not his family the same? That all had to come from somewhere. I also remembered Birdie saying he and some of the guys had come from a few of the first families who founded the Court. He came from riches obviously.

“Benjamin tells me you’re here to pick up something from our vault for Ramses Mallick.”

I stared up from a jewelry case, my eyes widening at the man in the pinstripe suit before me. I’d only seen him twice, but both times he’d been cruel.

He’d hit his son the last time.

He’d done so right in front of me. Though he hadn’t known I was there at first. I wondered if he’d even resist knowing I was there. Royal’s dad hit him with so much force that day, enough to say he’d done it more than once.

I swallowed as the man came around the counter, came toward me, and he really did look like Royal, older but from the same gene pool nonetheless. Frankly, his dad looked like a slightly older Hemsworth if one of the brothers just so happened to be a dick.