Cracked Kingdom (The Royals #5)(80)

Above me, Kyle stutters, “H-h-hey Easton. This bitch tripped and fell. Probably wanted to suck my dick but I told her no thanks.”

There’s a blur of motion that I can’t make out, followed by two bodies crashing to the floor next to me. I hear the sickening sound of flesh hitting flesh. I croak out something, like “stop” or “help” or “no.” No one pays a lick of attention to me. I struggle to my feet, using the locker handles to pull myself upright. I cradle an arm across my side, wondering whether my intestines will fall out if I let go.

The sound of the fight attracts attention. Students gather at the end of the hall.

“A hundred on Royal.”

“No one’s taking your bet.”

“How about a hundred on Hudson lasting five minutes.”

“Okay, that one I’ll consider.”

“What’s going here? Stop! Move aside.” A squat, heavy-set man wearing plaid pushes his way to the front of the crowd.

Easton’s on top doing his level best to drive Kyle into the floor. The boy is motionless on the ground. His face is covered in blood, as is Easton’s fist. A real worry grips me that Easton’s done some kind of irreparable harm to this boy. Kids have been put into prison for assaulting other students.

Ignoring the pain, I scramble over and grab his arm as he pulls back to hit Kyle again.

“Easton,” I moan. “Please.”

He drops his arm and looks at me. What he sees must be shocking, because a terrible expression transforms his face. He bares his teeth. “I’m going to kill him,” he says.

“No! I don’t care about him, but I need you with me.” The idea of my sun being taken from me is too awful to contemplate. I’d rather endure a thousand kicks to the stomach than for that to happen.

“Mr. Royal. Enough of this. One more punch and I’m suspending you. I don’t care how much your father has donated to this school.”

“Easton,” I beg. “Please.”

His stiff arm bends a tiny amount. I press my mouth to his elbow and whisper my plea against his skin. “Let’s just go. You paid him back. I promise. You paid him back.”

“Fuck. All right.” He curls his arm, bringing my head to his shoulder. He bends his head and rests his cheek against my hair. “I’m stopping for now, but I swear to you that if he touches you again, he will be picking his testicles out of his teeth until graduation.”

“Fair exchange,” I say, but I doubt Kyle will be back.

Easton plants another tender peck on my forehead before getting to his feet. “How’s the stomach?” He bends over to inspect me, pulling up my shirt.

I fight to keep it down since we have an audience of about fifty students staring excitedly in our direction. “I’ve felt better.”

“I want to take you to the hospital.”

“No, really, I’m okay.”

“Mr. Royal, you need to step into my office right now.”

Easton barely looks the man’s way. “I’m taking Hartley to the hospital to check to see if she has any internal bleeding. If she died because you kept her from care, it’d probably be a big ass lawsuit.”

The administrator’s already thin lips flatten into a non-existent line. “Fine, but first thing in the morning, I expect all three of you there.”

“Sure thing.” Easton has no intention of keeping that appointment, and as for me, I’d rather be expelled.

We get into a small tiff over whether I’m going to the hospital—which I refuse—and whether he carries me out of the school—which I also refuse.

“It’s embarrassing,” I tell him as I bury my face in his chest.

“This is some heroic shit I’m doing. It’s not embarrassing,” he states.

“You’re not the one being carried down a hall while a couple hundred students are watching.” There’s one student, in particular, whose gaze I don’t want to meet again. The malicious satisfaction on Sebastian Royal’s face as Easton was lifting me into his arms isn’t a sight I’m going to forget soon.

“Nah, everyone’s in their classrooms.”

“I can hear them. No one is in their classrooms.” There’s been a steady buzz of noise from the moment East picked me up. “You’re a bad liar.”

“They will be. Ella, can you get the door?” There’s a clink of metal against metal as the front doors are pushed open. “Thanks. I’ll see you at home.”

“Are we still on for tonight?” Ella asks anxiously.

I have enough energy to give her a thumbs-up, but East has to raise my hand high enough over his shoulder for her to see it.

“Toss me your keys, little sis. You can grab a ride home with Sawyer.”

Somehow he manages to catch them without dropping me.

“You could have opted for the hospital. I would’ve let you walk then,” he rumbles as he makes his way toward Ella’s convertible.

“No, you wouldn’t.”

“You’re right. I wouldn’t. I promise that if I get beaten to a pulp by someone two times my size, you can carry me around as much as you want.” He bends his knees and somehow manages to open the passenger’s door without dropping me. He slides me inside and buckles me in, pressing another sweet kiss to my forehead.