“You little bitch! All this time, you said you were putting Operation Fake Boyfriend on hiatus because you’re hung up on Creigh, aren’t you?”
“Now that you mention it.” Cecily narrows her eyes on me. “Maybe the reason she doesn’t glue herself to Creigh’s side anymore is because they’re having alone time in private.”
“Also, Creigh did ask me what the best film at the cinema is these days,” Bran supplies to my horror.
“A date?” Ava’s eyes nearly bug out. “Cray Cray on a date? This is huge. We need deets, like all of them, and in order. Did you kiss? Did you fuck?”
My face must look crimson, but I still clear my throat. “I…don’t know what you guys are talking about.”
The three of them close in on me, but before they can grill me for answers, the fight begins.
That definitely gets their attention.
I release a long breath, but it’s caught in my throat when Nikolai all but lunges at Creighton as soon as the referee announces the start.
Most fighters spend the first few seconds carefully circling each other.
Not Nikolai.
He was born to inflict violence. A mafia prince through and through.
The King’s U’s crowd goes wild as he lands the first blow, sending Creighton’s face flying sideways.
A gasp falls from my lips and my whole body stiffens.
REU’s crowd starts chanting Creighton’s last name in unison. Ava and even Cecily join in.
“King, King, King!”
I’m unable to breathe properly, let alone speak.
Creighton sways back, but he doesn’t fall. He swings his fist and it lands straight in Nikolai’s face. Blood trickles from his nose, and he groans, then wipes at it with his wrapped hand.
They go at it for some time, one hitting and the other jumping back before punching harder.
All the shouts, screams, and cries from the crowd mingle together until they become one.
It takes everything in me to stay and watch as they punch and send each other flying. But I do because this is also a part of Creighton.
There must be a reason why he is the way he is. Why he’s so intent on inflicting sexual pain and violence.
And I need to be acquainted with it.
Only then will I be able to understand Creighton.
And I want that more than anything. I can’t just take his lashes of pain and hide from the reason he became like this.
Remington jumps by the side of the ring, calling out and cheering him on. Soon after, Landon joins him, a bored expression covering his face.
Both Cecily and Bran go still at the sight of him. Only Ava continues jumping up and down. “Get him, Cray Cray! We love you!”
“Do you now?”
Ava comes to an abrupt halt, and her mouth remains slightly parted as we all turn toward the gravelly voice.
The newcomer is none other than Eli. I’ve never met him, but I’ve seen him around, and Ava made me follow him on IG so she could stalk him.
He followed me back, so we’re in that awkward situation where we’re mutuals but have never spoken.
Besides, he’s Creighton’s brother and his IG is one of the few places where there are any updates of him. Some of them are within family settings, but most are selfies where Creighton is sleeping in the background and Eli has captions like:
Documenting the Sleeping Beauty chronicles. Day 100.
The cheeky bastard fell asleep while I was talking. The audacity is presumptuous.
I asked him to choose between me and sleep. He covered his head with the sheet. Revoking brotherly rights as we speak.
Eli King looks nothing like his younger brother. They’re both handsome, but while Creigh looks like a beautiful prince, Eli is more like a serial killer prince. His build is leaner, his features sharper, cutting even. And he has black hair and dark gray eyes that could compete with pure metal.
I thought maybe the drastic difference in their looks was a case of someone taking more after one of the parents, and that’s true in Eli’s case. He does look like a carbon copy of their father. Creighton looks nothing like their mother, though, so maybe he resembles someone else from the family.
Ava’s face has gone red in the span of seconds, but she still says, “Shouldn’t you be hiding in the dark to do some satanic rituals?”
“I’m missing an important ingredient.” His expression doesn’t change. “Blood.”
Wow. Okay. Maybe the King brothers are more alike than I initially thought.
“Annika, right?” He offers me a hand and I shake it. “I’m sure Creigh talks about me all the time.”
“He actually doesn’t.” I grin, then follow up with, “But I’ve heard about you.”
His brow furrows. “Not from him?”
“No?” I answer awkwardly, thinking that’s probably not what he wants to hear.
“That cheeky bastard.” His gaze flits to the fight that’s getting heated. “Want to get out of here?”
I cast a glance at Cecily, but she pretends the fight is more important than the nuclear war currently happening.
Ava grinds her teeth, but she stares ahead, too.
Brandon has been so engrossed in the fight that he hasn’t moved an inch. Hell, he’s been so silent that I’d forgotten he was here in the first place.
“Leave her alone,” Ava finally grits out.
A cruel smirk curves Eli’s lips. “I have a few things to ask Annika. It won’t take long.”
The two of them glare at each other, or more like Ava does, while he keeps that perfect smirk in place.
I’m distracted away from whatever is going on between them, because something’s changed in the ring.
The crowd goes wild and it’s because Creighton has backed Nikolai in a corner.
Punch.
Punch.
Punch.
His expression has turned savage as he plows over and over. Nikolai bursts out laughing, maniacally, not even attempting to protect himself.
I catch a glimpse of Bran lifting his hand to his nape and tugging at the short hairs so violently, I wince.
The harder Nikolai laughs, the more savage Bran’s hair pulling turns.
The referee announces that Creighton has won by points. REU’s crowd goes crazy, shouting his last name.
Cecily claps. Bran turns around and leaves without a word.
Eli and Ava are still in that weird stance that even made her lose focus on the fight—and that says something since she’s the most enthusiastic about these types of scenes.
I throw a glance behind me and gasp when Creighton jumps from one of the ring posts. He completely ignores Remi and Landon and jogs in our direction.
The crowd parts for him, and some slap him on the back while others attempt to shake his hand. He pays none of them any attention. His sole focus is on me.
There’s a cut on his lip and his face looks like that of an underworld lord who’s fresh out of a battle.
“Oh, hi—” Whatever I had to say dies in my throat when he grabs me by the waist and slams me to his side.
Creighton’s voice is clipped at best as he glares at his brother. “Stay the fuck away from what’s mine.”
And then he drags me out of the club.
ANNIKA
“Hey, slow down…”
I practically jog to keep up with Creighton’s wide strides. We fly past the gaping students who are probably as shocked as I am by his actions.
Or maybe it’s because he’s half naked, his honed muscles on display and only shorts hang low on his hips.
Even though I’ve never come to watch any of his fights before, it’s a known fact that Creighton King is a reigning champion. His detachment is his power and the reason he won last year’s championship and has won every match since.
So to have him lose his cool at the end of the fight must have looked like some sort of blasphemy.
His grip on my wrist forbids me from entertaining the thought of fighting. All I can do is keep up—or try to. When I remove my sunglasses to see better, they fall to the ground, but he doesn’t let me pick them up.
We walk on and on, flashing past students and locals, and then we’re going down the empty streets and past closed shops. I attempt to talk in a soothing tone, to tell him to slow down, but he’s not hearing me.
He’s a beast with the sole purpose of sweeping me off my feet.
The night air seeps into my bones and I’m thankful I wore a hoodie, not only does it keep me warm, but it also allows me much-needed anonymity.
“I’m fine with being kidnapped and all, but can you please walk slower?” I try to joke. “It’s impossible to keep going at this pace.”
He glances at me over his shoulder, eyes dark and tension rippling through his frame. “Shut up.”
My words die in my throat. I guess that means he’s angry. No, maybe it’s a step beyond that.
But why are these destructive emotions directed at me? It’s not like I did anything wrong.
To prevent unknowingly worsening my case, I bite my tongue and let him drag me to God knows where.
After what seems like forever, we arrive at the beach. People usually go to where there’s sand so they can enjoy the water and the view.
Definitely not Creighton.
He leads me to a rocky area where the pointy parts look like savage animal fangs.
I struggle to get free. “No, nope. I’m not going there.”
He pulls on my hand and I plant my feet on the ground. “I said I’m not going there. Weird things live on those rocks, waiting for their next victim. Who knows what type of animal would jump at me in the dark?”
“The only animal you need to worry about is me.”
My lips part and he uses my moment of bewilderment to tug on my wrist, bringing me along with him to the top of a huge rock.
I carefully watch my surroundings. It’s dark around here, the sky is cloudy, and only a distant streetlight offers a break in the night.