Total pages in book: 155
Estimated words: 146392 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 732(@200wpm)___ 586(@250wpm)___ 488(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 146392 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 732(@200wpm)___ 586(@250wpm)___ 488(@300wpm)
So he’d handled the problem.
Dennis’s head shook. “I get it. I was an asshole, but the truth of the matter is I like her. I’m not going to make anyone pay up on that stupid bet, so you can back off. You know you’re the reason she can’t get a damn date, Taggart. You’ve got the whole school terrified of you. Do you think that’s good for her? Is she’s supposed to be alone for the rest of her life?”
She wouldn’t be, and he would have to deal with that someday. Not today. “Break it off with her. Gently. I don’t care what you tell her but make it sound good.”
His expression went stubborn. “And if I don’t? I know you Taggarts think you run things here, but you’re all freaks.”
“Hey,” Cooper began.
Kala waved him off. “That’s fair. Dennis hasn’t even met my dad. He has no idea how freaky we can get. But he’s going to find out if he doesn’t break things off with Lou. Today.”
“Fuck you. I’m not scared of you,” Dennis announced. “I think I’ll tell Lou about this conversation right here and see what she thinks. I know she feels awkward because she’s younger than the rest of us, but she’s a cool girl. I think it’s being around you assholes that holds her back. I think she’ll do better with my friends. We’ll show her what normal looks like. Yeah, that’s a much better plan. I’ll tell Lou who you people really are.”
“And then I’ll release the proof that you cheated on your trig final and get your scholarships revoked,” Kala said, cool as a cucumber.
And that was why he’d brought in the beast. Kala knew shit no one else knew. She kept track of the people around her, the ones who could potentially hurt her. Dennis had been running around talking about the free ride he was getting to LSU, but that would go away in a heartbeat if he was caught cheating.
Dennis’s jaw tightened. “I didn’t cheat.”
Kala smiled, a predatory expression. “Ya did, and I have proof. You paid a hacker you found on the Internet to hack Mr. Fender’s system and copy the exam. You were smart enough to not score a hundred, but you did not earn that 93.”
Lou had scored a hundred, naturally. She’d been helping Dennis study. It was how they’d met.
“You can’t possibly know that,” Dennis replied.
“Who do you think the hacker was, asshole?” Kala asked.
Dennis had been a moron. He’d actually asked some people how he could get his hands on the exam, and TJ had caught wind of it. He hadn’t liked how Dennis was sniffing around Lou, and so he’d put out the word that there was a way. Not that he told Dennis himself. Getting word out through mutual friends had done the trick, and now they had his ass in checkmate.
The key had been to let him actually get the grade so there was nowhere for him to go.
“And I’ll send it to the school anonymously,” Kala continued. “You could talk and try to get me in trouble, but I’ll turn everything over and no one will believe you. I’ve cleaned my tracks up. As far as the Internet trail goes, you sent two hundred bucks to a dude in Turkey to handle the problem for you.”
“Fuck.” Dennis’s eyes closed, and when he opened them again there was resignation there. “Fine. I’ll break it off with her. I should have known better than to try to hang with anyone in your group. You’re all toxic. Good luck to all you fuckers. May I never see any of you again after we graduate.”
He stormed off.
TJ really wished he’d gotten to punch the man.
“I’m not toxic,” Kala said, her lip pouting out.
Cooper frowned down at her. “Seriously? You’re hacking teachers?”
One shoulder shrugged. “He was getting close to Lou. TJ and I might have baited him a little. We wanted something on him in case I needed to get rid of him, and sure enough I did. You know I’ve got something on most of the assholes here. Information is far more effective than TJ’s fists.”
She was going to be a ruthless spy.
And that was why his ass was going into the Army and Kala would be in the elite circles of intelligence.
Story of his life. The women around him were all smarter, more ambitious, better than him.
Cooper was looking at Kala like he was going to eat her up. For all his Superman morals, he got truly wound up when Kala did something smart and slightly shady. She was Cooper’s own personal kryptonite.
“I’m going to go to class.” Anything to get away from the teen lust that was suddenly filling the hallway. “You two… Bye.”
He turned a corner and practically ran into Lou. She barely managed to keep her books in hand.