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n gave him a brief introduction, then began the lecture. I dug out my notes and textbook and tried to focus on what Mr. Tyson was saying, but my attention kept wandering. A couple of times, I caught Eli looking at me, his gaze intense and piercing in a way that felt oddly familiar.
It was kind of like the way the Lost Boys unapologetically set their gazes where they pleased, simply because they could.
I had to admit, it raised the hairs on the back of my neck, for reasons I couldn’t quite place. After class, I hefted my backpack over my shoulder and made a beeline for the door, anxious to escape the strange tension that seemed to hover in the room.
Students jostled each other in the halls, laughing and joking loudly, as I headed to my locker to get my books for my next class. Before I could slam the locker door closed, a new awareness prickled up my spine, and when I looked up, I saw Eli leaning against the locker beside mine.
“Hey. Your name’s Cora, right?”
My brow rose, and I closed my locker slowly before turning to face him. His expression was impassive, his arms crossed over his chest.
“Does it matter?” I asked coolly.
No matter how intimidating he seemed to be trying to be, I didn’t have to answer to him. My days of answering to anyone at Slateview were long over, and this boy—this stranger—might think he needed to build himself up a reputation, but I wasn’t going to entertain that kind of shit.
To my irritation, he smirked.
“It was just a plain question, but that answers it just as good as a ‘yes’ would,” he said. “You’re feisty. I like it. I was just wondering—”
But whatever he was wondering, I never got to find out. He stopped speaking suddenly, looking over my shoulder. A lazy grin tilted his lips, and his head tilted with a nonchalance that was mildly irritating.
“What do you want?” a voice behind me growled.
I peered over my shoulder, a surge of relief filling me. Bishop came to stand right behind me, giving Eli a hard stare before he looked down to me.
“Everything alright?”
“Of course it is. I was just asking Cora if she’d like to chill sometime,” Eli said, answering before I could even open my mouth.
My head whipped back toward him, my jaw dropping in surprise. That’s what he’d been about to ask?
Irritation spiked in my veins. He was speaking for me as if I wasn’t even here, and the vaguely taunting tone in his voice made me want to punch him. “Excuse me—”
“The answer’s no,” Bishop said flatly.
“I think a lady can answer for herself.” Eli grinned. “Unless you’re worried about what she might say? Maybe she’s looking to branch out?”
“The lady has the same answer,” I said before Bishop could say anything more. Seriously, what was this guy’s deal? This was the first time anyone at Slateview had been so blatantly… antagonistic toward Bishop. Maybe it was because he was new. He’d only been here a day—maybe he didn’t know that Bishop and the Lost Boys had control of Slateview High.
Or maybe he did, and he didn’t care.
He smirked a little, dragging his gaze away from Bish to look back at me, the smug expression still on his face.
“Shame. So I guess the rumors are true. Y’know, it’s healthy to spread your horizons about a little bit.”
Eli reached out, intent on brushing a bit of my hair behind my ears. I jerked back, but before he could touch me, Bishop’s large body was between us, muscles seeming to pulse and swell with anger.
“Listen up, fuckhead,” he grated in a low, dangerous voice. “I’m only gonna say it once. You’re new, and that’s the only reason you get a pass. But around here, I run shit. Me and my boys do. And Cora? She’s. Off. Limits.”
The same infuriating smirk remained on Eli’s face, even as Bish spoke. He seemed completely unaffected by Bishop’s words, by his strength and bulk, or by his dominating presence.
It was unnerving.
“Oh… Oh, I see. You ain’t heard yet.” Eli shrugged. “Listen, I already know who you are, Bishop. And I know that the ‘Lost Boys’ run interference around here. But you’re not the only one working under a big name here, and the only person I answer to is Luke Carmine. Ya feel?”
My spine straightened as the words fell smoothly from Eli’s lips. The name didn’t sound familiar, but it didn’t sound good either, and even though I couldn’t see Bishop’s face, I knew he’d been taken off guard too. The tension that went through his shoulders was visible, and his silence and lack of answer for a few moments spoke volumes.
What the hell is going on?
