Uppercut Princess (The Heights Crew #1)(32)

Is a member of the Crew seriously the best way out of this place? I’m pretty sure that would get them stuck here forever, not the other way around.

“Don’t worry about them,” Brawler says. “They won’t dare touch you.”

“So, you noticed, too, huh?”

“It’s hard not to.”

We pass through security easier than I have yet. The uniformed security guy doesn’t even look into my bag.

I pick it up from the table and hike it up my shoulder. “I just don’t understand why.”

Brawler looks over at me for the first time since training this morning. “To them, the Heights Crew is a way out.”

“But they’re just trading one bad scenario for another.”

His eyes turn to slits as he tries to make me out. “Aren’t you doing the same, Princess? You have to stay here,” he challenges me, throwing in my face the fact that I won’t leave. “Why are you doing it?”

I lift my chin. Stupid, stupid me. I’m getting way too comfortable around him. “None of your damn business.”

He shakes his head. “Well, whether you admit it or not, girls only get involved in the Heights Crew for a few reasons. Either you’re stupid enough to fall for someone already involved, you’re looking for a way out of your own shitty life, or you’re doing it for protection. So, which one are you?”

He’s wrong. There is another reason. One he’ll find out eventually, but I’ll never be able to tell him “I told you so” because I’ll be long gone by the time they realize I’m the one who put a bullet between Big Daddy K’s eyes.

I don’t answer him, and he doesn’t push me for one either. He just lets the question linger until I walk toward my first period class.

School flies by. Everyone gives me a wide berth physically even though I feel like I’m under a microscope for most of it, which does nothing for my fight-induced headache. Everyone wants to gape at who’s caught Rocket’s eye, but when I swear someone’s looking at me and turn to tell them to fuck off, they’re already looking away.

The girls are the worst. The jealousy wafting off most of them is thick and heady. It makes my heart ache. When you think you only have a couple options in this life and one of the better ones was just taken, envy and anger are natural. If they only knew what I have planned though. I won’t be around forever, and they can have Rocket when I’m gone. I couldn’t care less.

Either Oscar or Brawler stays with me throughout the day. They walk or sit through each class with me whether they’re supposed to be in the class or not. Not one teacher even looks at them twice, and that’s by design too. They’re not interfering with Crew business.

At the end of the day, I don’t even bother bringing books with me. The school really is a joke. I’m not sure what I’m even being graded on yet, and I sure as fuck know my grades won’t matter in the long run because I don’t know when I’ll get my opportunity with Big Daddy K. If it’s sooner rather than later, I plan on disappearing from this place anyway. No need to stress about the work I leave behind. Hell, no need to stress anyway. Kyla Samson is made up. She’s no one. I could fail and it won’t even go on my permanent record.

Brawler walks me out the front of the school, past the eyes of the lingering security detail, and right up to a black car that looks the same as the one who dropped us off at the apartment last night. Everyone who passes it, looks without looking. They’re acutely aware of what’s going on, but they don’t show it. They go on with their business, but I know each one of them has filed this moment in their memory banks for later. Perhaps to talk about with a few trusted friends.

Rocket emerges from the back. He’s all smiles for me. “Hello, love.”

Brawler stiffens, and I don’t know if I’m reacting to him or my own free will, but I follow. My body locks up at the easy way Rocket addresses me. I try to shake it off, but it’s harder than I imagined it would be. It’s crazy how easy I molded to Brawler, but with Rocket, I can’t even pretend.

I have to though.

“Hi,” I say nervously. That part isn’t even faked.

Rocket leans over, his lips grazing my cheek. He breathes in deep, and instead of it being sexy, it reminds me of a predator sniffing out its prey. Or worse, marking his territory.

He takes my hand and pulls me behind him into the car. Before the door shuts, I take one last look back. Brawler’s turning away. Suddenly, I’m freaked out that I’m alone with Rocket, the son of the guy I’ve grown up loathing. Who I’ve imagined killing time and time again. So much so that it’s almost like a lullaby in my head, lulling me to sleep. The act promises me better days, tranquil nights.

Yes, it’s sick that a murder could make me feel better. But it’s also true.

Rocket pulls me into his side. “I know it’s weird,” he says. “In time, you’ll get used to me. I’ll make sure of it. You’ve probably heard stories, and even though they’re all most likely true, I would never hurt you.”

I swallow. His words are supposed to be sweet—at least in his eyes—but they fall far short of hitting that emotion for me. “Sorry,” I say, blinking up at him. “I guess we can start by getting to know one another first.”

His lips pull back. “Excellent idea. Your name is Kyla Samson. You’re a senior at Rawley Heights. You just moved here from the northern most part of the state…” Rocket goes on and on, regurgitating every last piece of my “past” that I compiled. It cost a pretty penny to make up a whole person, and I’m glad I paid as much attention to it as I did. “Your parents are gone. You have new guardians now, but they leave you alone. You don’t fight like any other person I’ve ever seen. Like a beautiful warrior,” he says, his voice soft as he trails a finger down my cheek.