Kings of Linwood Academy - The Complete Box Set: A Dark High School Romance Series Callie Rose (i read a book TXT) 📖

The four kings of Linwood surround me on all sides as we make our way down the corridor—providing a buffer in case any school staff happen to see us, and silently telling all the students we pass that I’m still under their protection.

When we turn down a hallway on the north side of the building, our footsteps slow.

Savannah is standing near her locker, surrounded by four younger cheerleaders who are hanging on her every word like she’s a fucking guru or something. When her gaze flicks up and catches on the kings, annoyance flashes in her eyes, and when she notices me standing among them, her lips curl.

“What the hell are you doing here, Pool Girl?” she snaps. “Did you forget you were expelled? Want me to tell Mr. Osterhaut you’re loitering on school property?”

I don’t answer her taunt, stepping forward as the four boys open ranks to let me through. Savannah’s little posse of cheerleaders looks from me to her, bloodthirsty interest in their eyes. They’re probably hoping they’ll get to see her eviscerate me.

“Where’s your boyfriend?” I ask, glancing around the hall.

“Trent’s sick. He stayed home—just like you should have.”

Ignoring that too, I move closer to her. “No, I don’t think I should have at all. Because you’re gonna tell Mr. Osterhaut what you did. That you were the one who messed with my exams.”

“Why the fuck would I do that?”

I can feel the guys at my back, but they don’t step in, letting me handle Savannah on my own.

I like that.

Because I’ve got this.

Lowering my voice just slightly, I glance at the girls gathered around us. “I can give you a few good reasons why. And if you don’t want your little groupies to know what they are, you better send them away right now.”

“What—”

She starts to speak in a huff then breaks off, gazing at my face intently as if she’s trying to guess what I really know.

I’ve played a lot of poker. I can keep my hand hidden if I want to. But right now, I don’t want to. I make no effort to school my features or to keep my expression blank, letting her read the satisfaction and confidence on my face.

She blinks, then swallows.

“Go.” She tears her gaze away from me to focus on her minions, who all stare back at her in shock. “I said go! God!”

They all jump, and she waves her hand in a shooing gesture. The four girls scramble to obey her command, scuttling off down the hallway in a tight cluster. Their whispers and murmurs follow them as they go, and I can feel them casting glances back at us.

“Good call,” I say smoothly. “Now, if you do what I want, no one will ever be the wiser.”

She recovers some of her haughty bluster now that she’s alone, tossing her auburn hair over her shoulder and glaring at me. “I’m not telling Mr. Osterhaut anything.”

“Fine.” I shrug. “Then I’ll tell the whole school what Trent told us last night. He’s not really sick, by the way. He’s just… recovering.”

Her eyes fly open wide, and yup, I think she’s finally figured out for sure that I’m not joking. That I know things about her she definitely doesn’t want getting out.

“You can’t fucking threaten me!” she hisses. “You shouldn’t even be here! I’ll get campus security to kick your ass out!”

“Fine.” I glance behind me at the guys. “But these four will still be here. Do you really think they can’t make your life a living hell? They’ll make sure every kid in this place knows what we know.”

Her perfect face contorts in a sneer, and she shakes her head. “You don’t know—”

“I know my tests aren’t the only scores you faked,” I say softly. Then I shake my head, allowing a smirk to tilt my lips. “You know, I didn’t even know Miss Teen Connecticut was a thing. Much less something people would actually stoop to cheating to win. What was the matter? Did your talent not wow the judges?”

She stiffens, and I can hear her breath catch. She doesn’t answer my question, which is fine since it was rhetorical anyway. In fact, she doesn’t say anything. Her jaw is hanging slightly open and her cheeks are flushed.

Honestly, Trent had way more damaging secrets about Savannah than this. But I have a pretty strong feeling this will be the one that does the trick.

Little miss perfect head cheerleader doesn’t want anyone at Linwood to know her Miss Connecticut crown was stolen.

“It’s your choice,” I offer. “You can either come tell Mr. Osterhaut what you did, or I can tell all those little freshmen who idolize you so much that you’re a fake queen. Do you really hate me that much? To make that worth it?”

She stays completely frozen for a long moment, but even before she speaks, I can tell I’ve won. Her expression gets angrier and angrier, and that tells me everything I need to know. She’s pissed as shit because she has no choice.

“Fine.” She hurls the word like she’s trying to stab me with it.

“Good.”

I grin in triumph, and only now that I’ve won does my heart start to beat faster, the adrenaline of the moment catching up to me. I turn and head in the direction of the admin offices, with the guys behind me and Savannah walking stiffly by my side. Mr. Arndt passes us in the hall, and his brows furrow as he catches sight of me.

Shit. Good thing we’ve already got Savannah in tow, or I’d get kicked off campus before I had a chance to nab her. I have no doubt he’ll be reporting this to the principal, but luckily, that’s just the man I want to see.

When we reach the offices, the guys wait outside as I go in with Savannah. Mr. Osterhaut’s secretary looks a little taken aback by the sight of us—maybe because I look like I’m escorting a prisoner or something. Savannah fidgets anxiously,