Games of the Heart (The 'Burg #4)(131)

But one day when Brandon decided to pick on a fat girl, Fin stepped in. That was totally not cool. Sure, she was fat and probably should do something about it but she didn’t need some douchebag making her obviously miserable life more of a misery.

Brandon didn’t like this. Then again, Brandon didn’t have much of a say. Troy and Jeff didn’t have the same lunch break so his crew was not there to take his back. And even last year, before Fin grew the extra two inches that took him up to six foot, he was taller and bulkier than Brandon. So Brandon saved face by making a lot of threats and slunk off.

Fin stepped in five more times last year. Luckily this year, both semesters, he didn’t have any of them in his lunch.

But right then, walking with Reesee down the hall, he took one look at Brandon’s face as well as his crew and he knew Brandon was in his usual mood to be an ass**le.

So he tightened his hold on Reesee, drawing her closer and he locked eyes on the leader of the pack.

“There he is, Farmer Fin,” Brandon called when they were getting close and Fin felt Reesee’s body get tight and her head jerked to face front. “With his new piece,” Brandon finished and Fin’s free hand formed a fist.

“When you throw that away, I’ll take seconds,” Troy offered, smiling an ugly smile at Reesee. Fin’s stomach clenched but he kept his mouth shut, his eyes on them and he kept walking.

Ressee pushed closer.

“Me too,” Brandon put in. They’d made it to the trio and all of them positioned, Brandon walking backwards, Troy and Jeff moving to flank. “Clarisse Haines. Off-limits freshman but you two hooked up, not anymore.” Brandon’s hostile eyes stared into Fin’s. “You tap that yet?”

“Shove off, douchebag,” Fin growled, continuing to move him and Reesee down the hall.

Brandon smiled big. “You tapped it. Was it sweet?”

Fin felt Reesee begin to tremble at his side even as she pushed closer and Fin felt a burn hit his gut.

“I said, shove off, douchebag,” Fin mostly repeated.

“Bet it was,” Brandon whispered, his eyes flicking to Reesee then back to Fin. “You always pick the sweet snatch. Way you go through ‘em though, you’ll be done and she’ll be ripe for the pickin’s in what? A day? A week?” He looked to Jeff and concluded, “I’ll give it a week.”

Reesee pushed closer but Fin wasn’t paying attention to her. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Troy’s hand up and moving toward Reesee’s hair.

Fin halted them then moved them both a step back, jerking Rees behind his back, he turned toward Troy and locked eyes with him.

“Do not even think about it, ass**le,” he clipped.

Troy grinned at him. “She’s got pretty hair.” He moved his grin to Reesee, it became a leer and he went on. “Always liked your hair, Rees.” His eyes slid down her body and he whispered in a sick way, “Always liked a lotta things about you.”

Reesee pressed into Fin’s back.

“All of you, f**k off,” Fin ordered.

“What’re you gonna do, Farmer Fin?” Brandon asked snidely. “Don’t got your crew with you so what are you gonna do, we don’t f**k off?”

Fin edged back, pushing Reesee with him, warning, “You don’t wanna find out.”

“We don’t?” Brandon whispered, a weird light Fin did not like burning in his eyes.

“No. You don’t,” Fin whispered back.

Then it happened. Troy moved in and around, his hand came back up going toward Reesee’s hair and Fin shoved her back. Then his hand darted out, he caught Troy’s wrist and twisted it behind his back. Once he got a lock on him, he moved him forward three steps and shoved him face first into a locker.

“Fin!” he heard Reesee scream but he couldn’t even look at her. The other two had jumped him.

He was pressed double, weight on his back, Brandon’s fist connecting with his ribs.

He heaved up, throwing them off while jerking his elbow back and catching Jeff in the jaw as he shouted, “Get a teacher!”

“Fin!” Reesee cried again.

He planted his hands on Brandon’s shoulders, got close and lifted a knee, hard, catching Brandon in his crotch. Brandon’s hands went there and he dropped to his knees on a pained groan but Troy and Jeff were all over him.

“Teacher, Rees!” he roared, just caught sight of her turning on her foot and running right before he caught Jeff’s fist on his cheekbone.

Stars exploded in his eyes and everything that happened since the sixth of January when he saw his Dad dead in the snow exploded in his brain.

And that was when Finley Declan Holliday lost his mind and unleashed hell on Brandon Wannamaker, Jeff Schultz and Troy Piggott.

*

Mike stalked into the school and right up front by the windowed administration offices, he saw Dusty pacing the hall, her face set right at fury.

The instant she saw him, with long angry strides, her legs took her to meet him.

“Where are they?” he asked, not taking his eyes from her flashing ones and she stopped a foot in front of him.

“In there,” she jerked her head toward the offices. “I’m in the hall waiting for you and trying to list the reasons it would be bad to kill three teenaged kids and lay the smackdown on a stupid-ass principal.”