Monsters' Crew (Crude Hill High Book 1) Read online

  I had to remain pure. My dad demanded it of me.

  No boyfriends. No lovers. No flirting. There wasn’t a single guy at the school he wanted me near. He’d told me the Monsters’ Crew were out of my league. There was no way I’d snag a man like that.

  My only value was that piece of hymen between my legs. You had to love parents. I felt the love. It didn’t stop him from hurting me though. There were even occasions he’d make the doctor come and examine me. That had to be the most humiliating thing of all. The driver hated me. I knew that, for no good reason, but he still hated me. I think he had a thing about women, and he wanted me to suffer the only way he knew how, fucking coward. I hated assholes.

  I wasn’t late last night, so no interrogation. My dad was in a good mood because of something my brother did, again, so good news for me. So long as they were happy, I was left alone.

  Now, arriving at school, I ignored my driver, climbed out of the car, and made my way into school. No one stopped for me or came toward me.

  I had no friends.

  I turned down a corridor and came to a stop.

  There was no one around but four men, all of who were watching out for me. Gritting my teeth, I squared my shoulders and made my way toward the group. Gael was leaning against my locker.

  Holding on to my bag, I stepped toward them, keeping a foot away from them.

  I waited.

  The silence stretched on.

  Usually, the corridor was busy. They had cleared it for this reason.

  “Move,” I said.

  Gael chuckled. “You knew we were going to come for you, Crane.”

  “What I know is the bell is going to be ringing soon and I’ve got class to get to. Move out of my way.”

  “You know, we’ve hurt people for speaking to us with a little more respect.”

  “Then kill me, I honestly don’t care, but get out of my way.” I wasn’t afraid of them, nor of death.

  Caleb tilted his head to the side, watching me. I hated it, but I didn’t avert my gaze. To do so would show weakness. I wasn’t weak.

  The bruises across my stomach would say it was a lie, but it wasn’t. I took each punch from my father. It no longer hurt, and it hadn’t been for some time now.

  It was why death was so fascinating.

  Death would be easy. Like the man I killed last night. The knife I kept in my bag was for protection. I’d never had to use it until last night.

  I’d come around the corner, but because I was used to sneaking around, no one had seen or heard me. The man with the gun had looked so cocky. His stance, the triumph I’d seen just in the side of his face and body language had reminded me of my father.

  All of us deserved to die.

  I was a fool. I knew we were all going to die soon. I’d welcome it.

  That man, though, I was done allowing someone like that to win. So, taking out my knife, I’d done what I needed to do. Killing him had been a pleasure I hadn’t anticipated. Only, it hadn’t been some biker I’d killed, it had been my father. I wanted to kill him.

  “Last night,” Gael said.

  “I won’t tell anyone and seeing as the path is so very clean, I’m guessing you didn’t either. Your secret is safe with me.” I reached out to my locker. “Now move.”

  “Why?” Gael asked.

  “Did you want me to let him kill you?”

  “It wasn’t your fight.”

  “Next time, I’ll let them have you. When you save someone, the correct response is thank you. Clearly, no one taught you manners.”

  River started to chuckle. “And obviously it’s the same with you.”

  “What do you guys want? Do you want some big explanation? You’re not going to get it. I saw what was happening, and I reacted. Simple as that. Now can I please get my bag?” I asked nicely.

  No one moved. This was a standoff I didn’t want to be part of. It sucked.

  Putting my hands to my waist, I had no choice but to wait. “You can’t keep everyone locked out of here. They’re going to need to come into school, and class is going to begin.”

  The truth was, I didn’t want to analyze why I’d done what I did. I’d reacted, that was all it was, and now they were treating me like I’d done something special, when I hadn’t.

  “You know a lot of people in your position would have killed us,” Caleb said.

  “I guess I’m not like a lot of people.”

  Again, all four sets of eyes watched me. I hated feeling like a bug, but there was no way I intended to back down. They were in the wrong here, not me.

  In my head, I counted.

  If I were to react and my father found out, damn, I’d be fucked. There was no way I’d get away with insulting the entirety of the Monsters’ Crew and live to see another day.

  I’d take a chance, though, especially daring with my new fascination of the moment, death.

  Caleb chuckled. “I can see this isn’t getting us anywhere.” He turned and I watched as he moved the dial on my locker, opening it up.

  “You know my code?”

  “I know a lot about everything, Crane. See you around.”

  Just like that, all four of them sauntered off like they owned the place. They did, but for once, couldn’t they at least show a little humility? No, not these guys. They wanted everyone to know who they were and what they did.

  I put my bag into my locker, extracted my books, and went about my day.

  Math was the first class today, and nothing exciting really happened. This was one of those classes that were filled with the lame kids, myself included. They were the second or third sons, along with the daughters. In reality, I was probably the most important within my class purely because I was Crane’s only daughter.

  To most, we girls were useless unless we had good looks and a particularly wealthy man wanted to buy us. It would always be disguised as marriage but that was the harsh truth. We were nothing more than cattle to be sold.

  I was pretty. My blonde hair always caught attention, as did my lips and eyes. I knew because I’d been told that by many of my father’s associates. His biggest issue with me was my curves.

  Yep. My dad liked his women super-thin, so he believed every single man did. The only problem was no matter what diet he put me on, or how he starved me, my curves were here to stay. Big ass, rounded stomach and hips, and large tits. My mother said I was blessed with a beautiful body.

  One day, I’d find out. If my prospective husband didn’t kill me first, that was. I didn’t know if my father had a man lined up for me, but I assumed he already did. Most men did. All the girls here were taken in some way.

  Like Nancy. With her fancy ring. She was above all of this, but her future husband was in his late twenties, and the rumor about him wasn’t very nice. They called him the Butcher. Outside of the Monsters, there were men who could rival them in dirty deeds. Nancy’s prospective was that kind of man.

  I shook off the doomed feeling. Every now and then, it struck me hard. There were times I’d have a panic attack. When it got so bad at home, my dad would strike me across the face to get me to stop.

  Now, I learned to contain myself until I got to the privacy of my bedroom where there was a nice pile of brown paper bags.

  After math, it was English.

  The one thing to learn at Crude Hill High was to never, ever look down. Always keep your head up, waiting for the next strike. A bowed head was a sign of weakness. School was nothing more than an ocean full of sharks, waiting to dine on their next meal. Bowed head equaled seal, a nice big juicy meal.

  Entering English, I took my seat against the window at the back. No one had entered, but Mr. Bucati was there.

  We had the old chalkboards, and he wrote some line, probably from Shakespeare. Pushing my legs out in front of me, I lifted my arms and stretched.

  The tension within me wasn’t going to be doing me any favors.

  I nearly jumped out of my seat as Caleb sat down.

  No invitation.r />
  No nothing.

  Just sat down as if he owned the place.

  “What the hell are you doing?” I asked.

  “Simple, I’m sitting, getting ready for English.” He had this smirk that pissed me off.

  “No, not happening. You never sit here. You always sit in the back.”

  Caleb turned his seat toward me, legs spread, and he leaned back. “Nah, this feels like it’s my seat.” His smile appeared to be full of promise as he looked over my body.

  No one at school had checked me out, at least I hadn’t known if they did.

  “This isn’t funny. You want me to report what happened last night? Is that it?”

  “I’m surprised you didn’t. You know, for saving Gael, you’d have been rewarded.”

  I snorted. “I don’t want or need any praise. Leave me alone. You’ve got a full posse of people waiting for you.”

  There, that was supposed to be the end of it, but I should have known better. Caleb wasn’t about to take no for an answer.

  When I grabbed my books, intending to get up, Caleb reached out, putting his large, bear-like paw on my thigh. “Don’t even think about it.”

  “Seriously?”

  “I am being deadly serious. By saving one of us last night, you’ve gained our attention, and believe me, Emily, we’re not going to be getting bored anytime soon.”

  “I don’t want this. I want to be left alone.”

  He smiled and leaned in close. The scent of him reminded me of the earth, fresh, like walking through a forest.

  Crazy. So fucking crazy.

  “Then you should have let that trigger get pulled.”

  He was so close, almost within kissing distance, but I didn’t want to feel his lips on me. All I wanted to do was be left alone.

  If my father found out about this, I honestly didn’t know what he’d do.

  As I gritted my teeth, Mr. Bucati cleared his throat.

  Great, just fucking great.

  Hands clenched into fists, I waited, aware throughout the whole class that Caleb watched me.

  What fun.

  ****

  Caleb

  Emily smelled like lemons. Super sweet and citrus but with a very tart edge. My cock hardened as I stared at her.

  She was incredibly beautiful.

  Her long, blonde locks cascaded down her back in ringlets. They were natural, I could tell. She also wore barely any makeup.

  Everything about her screamed natural and I bet that really pissed her dad off. After what happened last night, all four of our fathers had demanded an explanation for what happened. Emily’s involvement had been kept secret.

  Until we all knew why she did it, we were keeping her safe. Part of me expected her to want this attention.

  The moment she caught sight of us at her locker, though, she’d been pissed. I truly believe what she said when she told us she wished she’d let Gael get it.

  Don’t get me wrong, the son of a bitch had it coming for turning his back, but Gael was my brother. I had stared at him with that gun pressed against his head. It had only been for a few seconds, but I’d tried to figure out how I could win. How I could protect him, and I came up blank.

  He was going to die.

  Until I saw that blade appear out of that man’s throat.

  Emily sneaked around. I got that. She didn’t want any kind of attention, and I understood that as well. But, and this was a big but, I wanted to know her. She’d been catching my attention for years, but I’d never approached her. None of us had.

  Leaving English, I watched the curves of her ass while she walked away. I wanted to fuck her, no doubt about it. She was all curves and mouth. A temptress, but beneath it all was something dark. She’d killed for us.

  Not many girls or women would have done that. They’d have screamed. Probably distracted the guy and got killed. Emily hadn’t reacted like a scared woman. She’d reacted like a fighter, and to me, that made her really important.

  I had one more class before lunch. I was starving. Entering biology science, I found River already seated with a knife in hand, pressing the blade against the wooden desks. They were well-used, heavily graffitied.

  Taking a seat beside him, I stared up to the front. Our biology teacher was a woman, and she hadn’t appeared yet. She was an older woman, late-forties, a bit of a cougar by all accounts. The guys loved her, and I could understand why. Free pussy was always so readily available and with teacher, it meant good grades without even trying.

  Mrs. Henchman.

  I shook my head.

  “Did she say anything?” River asked.

  I look toward him.

  “Emily.”

  “I know who you’re talking about and no, she didn’t say anything.” The entirety of English, she sat there and pretended I didn’t exist, which I totally loved. I wasn’t about to tell him that.

  She was a fighter. We needed one of those as well.

  “What are we going to do?” he asked.

  “Whatever we have to. She hasn’t told anyone.”

  “Why do you think that is? I don’t get it. I really fucking don’t.” He shook his head.

  “River, relax.”

  “You can’t tell me that you’re not the least bit curious?”

  I smiled. “Of course, I am. But I’ve got a feeling all she wants to do is get through high school without dying.”

  It was what most eighteen-year-old kids tried to do. Admittedly, we weren’t like most kids.

  Mrs. Henchman started the class. A few buttons of her blouse were open, and a couple of the guys in front were basking in the attention.

  “You know she’s a virgin,” River said.

  There was no way he was talking about Henchman. It was all about Emily.

  “How do you figure?”

  “No boyfriend. No husband. No one knows what her dad has planned for her.” River’s jaw clenched.

  This was a sore spot for River. His younger sister, Amelia, had already been sold. Engaged to be married to a man ten years her senior. This was the way it worked in our worlds.

  “We should have told our dads,” he said.

  “And do what? You think they’re just going to accept that a Crane daughter stopped one of us getting killed?”

  “At least we would have been able to get her in one place. Interrogate her,” River said. “School isn’t exactly the place.”

  “You want a chance to be alone with Emily?”

  “Yeah. Don’t you think we have a right to know?” River looked toward me.

  “How about you tell me exactly what I just said, Mr. Falls?” Mrs. Henchman said.

  It wasn’t unusual to be called upon in class to repeat what a teacher said. I wasn’t paying attention. I couldn’t give a flying fuck what she was teaching.

  I turn toward her. They always tried to humiliate one or more of us. It was their way of showing to the rest of the school we were human.

  “You were reminding everyone of the fact you’re the school slut. You spread your legs wider than any of the girls here, and what’s more, in the eyes of the law, it’s child abuse, if not rape.”

  The class went silent.

  “Is that what you wanted me to repeat?” I asked.

  Mrs. Henchman’s face was as red as the juiciest strawberry. A couple of months ago, she’d asked me to stay behind after class, and pretty much said if I ever needed a warm, wet, willing pussy, hers would be constantly available to me. There was no way a Monster like myself should go without. This bitch was fucking married and many people may not keep the sanctity of marriage. I did, like right now.

  Since I turned her down, she’d been looking for ways to embarrass me. She needed to learn I didn’t embarrass easily. This was all on her.

  “Back to your books,” she said, snapping at everyone.

  One day, everyone would learn we had the real power, not anyone else. All four of us had been trained to not take shit, to be leaders, to not back down from a fight
.

  We were the ones with the power.

  Class ended. Mrs. Henchman wanted to see me, but I didn’t stick around. There was no way I was going to give her the satisfaction.

  I left the classroom first with River right behind me. Rather than head straight to the cafeteria, we waited five minutes, meeting up with Vadik and Gael.

  Gael was bouncing on the balls of his feet.

  “Well, how did it go?” Gael asked.

  River sighed. “What is your deal?”

  “You guys didn’t see your life flash before your eyes? I know I play with death every single day, but I don’t want to die.” Gael shook his head, gripping the back of his neck.

  “You do realize she didn’t have any kind of agenda. She reacted,” Vadik said.

  “We all know there had to be a reason,” I said. I wanted there to be one. The guys didn’t know how I’d been keeping tabs on her. She was the only girl in the entire year who hadn’t approached us.

  I’d even been asked for my autograph, like I’d give something so precious.

  After five minutes, all four of us headed to the cafeteria.

  It was already thriving and I saw Emily the instant we entered. She was at the checkout. The woman on the register offered her a smile, which I saw her return.

  She grabbed her tray and avoided everyone as she got to the table in the corner. Like always, she sat with her back pressed to the wall.

  I had to wonder if the others had watched her before. If they knew how she reacted to everyone and everything. Her gaze stayed on the cafeteria, as she never once lowered her guard. Was it like this at home?

  I happened to notice the darkness around her eyes. She looked exhausted.

  I turn away to get my food, and one by one, I knew everyone’s eyes were on us. We had our table, and it was still bare. No one would dare sit where we did.

  We had a new destination in mind.

  Silence filled the air.

  The only sound was of our boots as we walked across the room.