Chapter 15 THE SLAP HEARD 'ROUND RAVENSCROFT HIGH.
LUCIEN'S POINT OF VIEW.
They all walked out of the hall briskly, their shoes and heels clinking against the marble floors of the hall, as they rushed out of the hall. The parents, the board members, the shareholders, every important adult in the damn building walked out at the chaos that had ensued.
Except for Roxanne's mother and Mat's father, who stood awaiting their judgment.
Her mother, Stacy, looked around in shame as she clutched her pearls tightly. She knew the gossip making the rounds right now would be about how she and her daughter stole thousands of dollars from the school.
Roxanne thought no one knew, but I knew all too well that her father was the one who had all the money, but she and her mother were left with scraps because of their lavish spending habits.
Her clinching up to me last year was on mommy's orders, because she thought Eldric would give her to me in marriage if she ended up pregnant for me.
But as usual, I was one step ahead of them all, and my father and I decided to play the long game instead.
The room was quieter now, but not calm.
I leaned back against one of the conference tables, with my arms folded, as I watched the last PTA stragglers shuffle out. Their voices were a low buzz about Matt’s little “performance enhancer” scandal.
"I guess we can say goodbye to that loan, Rodgers," I yelled at him and his father. The moment the words about the loan left my lips, they turned to me in shock.
As I said, one step ahead, always.
The minute the doors shut behind the last parent, the air shifted with something viscous.
We weren’t in a PTA meeting anymore. We were in my arena.
The Horsemen arrived like clockwork, slamming the hall doors against the wall as they walked in like fucking models on a runway.
Theo, Jax, Kai, and Cassian walked with swagger in every step. They’d been waiting outside throughout, but now that they were inside, they winked at me with approval. And I knew it was done.
A predator doesn't walk alone. My father's voice droned in my mind as I smirked at them. They'd helped with planting the fresh batch of drugs and performance enhancers in Matt's locker; or rather, they had enlisted the hands of a sappy junior who knew he couldn't say no to the horsemren.
“Thought PTA nights were boring,” Theo muttered, smirking at me. “Guess I was wrong.”
“You’re never wrong,” I said, eyes still on the real show before me.
Roxanne.
She stood a few feet away, with her chin high with false pride, and the side of her face pale under the layers of makeup she’d painted on for this little parental pageant; the other side had a handprint of Sloane's hand from the vicious slap earlier.
Matt hovered beside her with false bravado, looking like a man walking the plank as he looked straight ahead, and. avoided everyone's stare. Everyone knew his football captain crown was slipping.
And then there was Sloane.
My girl.
Standing across from them, with her expression cold enough to freeze hell over. Her hair was pulled back in a way that showed the sharp line of her jaw, and the faintest flush still lingered on her cheeks from the adrenaline gained from the slap earlier.
I wasn’t supposed to enjoy it this much; I didn't think I would.
Jax leaned closer to me. “Looks like princess, there is about to go for the throat.”
“She might,” I said. “Let’s see who snaps first." I'd hoped she went for the jugular.
Roxanne caught Sloane’s stare and cracked. “You think you’re so clever, Bishop. You think you're so strong because you're hiding behind him;” she flicked her eyes toward me, “like the pathetic little charity case he’s keeping around for laughs. But we all know who you are, and it's not the false brave chick you're pretending to be.”
Sloane didn’t move, she didn’t blink, but I could see her jaw tick as she stared straight at Roxanne, whose mother nodded vigorously at her daughter's words. I could almost feel her pulse from where I stood.
Marcus chuckled low. “Oh, she’s asking for it.”
Sloane turned to her mother, and with a voice so low, so sweet, you'd think she were advertising cotton candy, she said, "Are you sure she's the daughter of Senator Bridge? I hear he's quite smart, but your daughter....she thinks like her genetic makeup is part fish."
Kai, Theo, Cassian, and Jax bellowed in laughter, as did I. She was on fire.
Her mother blanched visibly as she turned to Sloan with eyes so wide, her sunglasses barely hid them.
Roxanne looked at her mother, their faces as red as tomatoes, and she took a step closer to Sloane, heels clacking. “Everyone knows why you’re here. It’s not for your grades, sweetheart. I heard you’ve been-"
“Finish that,” I said, my voice cutting through the room like ice.
She froze instantly at the sound of my voice, and her lips parted with a flicker of fear in her eyes, making something primal in me tighten as the thought of her bringing up the reason Sloane was here made me see red.
Matt, the ever-fumbling idiot, tried to step in for his girlfriend and said. “Lucien, this isn’t your-”
“Everything in this damn school is mine,” I said, letting my smile curl slowly and dangerously. “Including how this damn conversation ends.”
I didn’t need to tell Sloane what to do next, as she moved from beside me.
And before anyone could blink, with one sharp step forward, and her strides calm and unhurried, her hand cracked across Roxanne’s face, landing another mean smack against her cheek.
The sound echoed in the hall like the clap of thunder.
And after that, the room went silent for a single, perfect heartbeat.
Then chaos erupted.
“Oh my god—” One girl whispered-yelled to her friends.
“Did you see that?”
“Someone’s recording—”
Theo laughed so loud it bounced off the walls. “And that, my friends, is what I call a kill shot.”
"She did say she would learn to shoot," Kai added, smirking as he crossed his arms.
Roxanne’s hand flew to her cheek, with eyes wild in shock. “You crazy--,”
“Careful,” I said, stepping forward just enough to cast my shadow over her, and it was enough to make her take a big step back. “The last person who touched my girl without permission regretted it.”
Sloane smirked and lifted her hands to my shoulders. "That's right. My boyfriend is best at protecting what's his." She smirked, staring into my eyes.
And with a smile of my own, I crashed my lips to hers, as my hands wrapped themselves around her waist, and pulled her closer to me.
The word “girl” made Sloane stiffen beside me, but she didn’t correct me. Not here. Not in front of them.
Matt glared at me. “You set this up—”
“Of course I did.” I didn’t even try to deny it. “And you walked right into it.”
Marcus tilted his head at Roxanne. “You know this video is already spreading, right? The slap heard ‘round Ravenscroft. You’re gonna be a meme before lunch.”
Roxanne’s breath hitched.
That’s when the staff finally decided to remember they were in the room.
One of the assistant principals stepped forward, looking like she'd thought she had some semblance of power and control in this school.
She looked new; I'd not seen her among the list of approved staff my father accepted.
“Everyone out. Now.” She barked out.
Nobody moved. They wouldn't, not until I'd left the hall at least. It was the first rule in the employee handbook, which she would know if she read the damn thing.
Theo smirked at her with a dangerous glint in his eyes. He knew she wouldn't last long in this school for the stunt she just pulled. “Sorry, ma’am, but this is kind of… educational.”
The assistant principal’s glare at everyone's defiance could’ve stripped paint, but she didn’t try to argue.
It was like she knew it was too late for her to say anything. The principal walked towards her and pulled her to him. He leaned towards her ear and whispered. I watched in satisfaction as she stared at me with wide eyes.
"I'm s-s-sorry, sir. I didn't realise-" She started, but I didn't care. She was done here. I flashed a look to the headmaster, who nodded at me in understanding. She wouldn't get a decent job in America or Europe, for as long as I'd want.
I took Sloane’s hand and pulled her toward the door. She followed beside me, her chin still high, though I could feel the tension humming through her as she moved beside me.
The Horsemen followed behind us like wolves smelling and tasting fresh blood.
“That,” Jax said, “was beautiful.” He smirked as we moved further away from the hall.
“Perfect form,” Kai added. “I’d rate it a ten.”
Theo grinned at Sloane. “Got any more of those in you?”
She rolled her eyes, but her lips twitched like she was fighting a smile as she stared at them.
Cassian whistled and asked, "Wanna hang out with all of us at our spot on Wednesday?"
She'd be the third girl to ever set foot in there, the second was Kai's girl, and the first... my mother.
Even though we'd walked out of the hall, and there was no one else on this part of the hall, I didn't let go of her hand, and neither did she move her palm from mine.
It was like she instinctively knew whose she was now.
Sloane looked to me, like she wanted permission, but I just smiled and said, "If you can take being around these fuckers for more than thirty minutes, I think you can handle them at the spot." And she nodded in agreement.
If I had the chance to, I would have smiled in satisfaction as wide as I'd wanted to, but instead, I settled for a smirk.
“They’re gonna talk about that slap for weeks,” I said. “But you know what they’ll remember longer?”
She tilted her head up at me, suspicion in her eyes. “What?”
“That you kissed me this time, and I didn't have to initiate it," I whispered low enough for only her to hear, and she smirked in response.
My little phoenix.
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The Next Day
My phone buzzes beside my hand. On the screen, there's a message from Theo: You’re gonna want to get back here. Now.
The attached video sends a feeling of doom straight to my chest, so I click on download.
The sight of Roxanne pushing a cornered Sloane into the pool has me sitting forward in anger,
Roxanne and her crones stand in front of her with victory smiles on their faces, while Matt stands on the other end of the pool, with his hands in his pockets.
My vision narrows at the sight, that I don’t even realize my knuckles are white until I hear the crack of my phone screen.
They want to see what I can do when I’m not there to protect her?
Fine.
They'll see just what the fuck I can do.