Chapter 9: Teague

I watched Eve walk away with Kasey by her side, my eyes roaming over her ass as the mini skirt she wore teased me. Legs for days and an attitude that kept us coming back for more. She was everything.
My gaze landed on Max, the dumb fuck kid who should have known better than to go after our girl. I didn’t trust him. Then again, I didn’t trust anybody but Keane and Beau, so that wasn’t saying much, but the dull roar of jealousy that tried to claw its way up my throat told me all I needed to know about my feelings towards Eve.
She was ours. She belonged to us. Even if she couldn’t see it yet.
“Calm your tits, dude,” Beau said softly to me. I glanced down, realizing I’d been cracking my knuckles over and over until they started to ache. This mania was kicking my ass, and I hadn’t slept well in days. Lack of sleep often led to worse things for me, none of which were good for any of us.
Especially Eve.
“Hi, baby,” someone said, coming up behind me and putting their arms around my shoulders from behind. I flinched, resisting the urge to wheel around and punch whoever was touching me.
“Sadie,” I growled, shoving her hands off me. “I’m not in the mood.”
Looking scorned, our current fuck dropped her hands and stepped back, looking pissed. I didn’t care, not anymore. My focus was solely on someone else. Sadie, unfortunately for her, was old news.
“It’s prayer time, boys,” Keane said, rejoining Beau and me. He didn’t even look at Sadie, who eventually sulked away.
“Do we have to?” asked Beau, and Keane shook his head.
“No, man, but that’s where Eve is bound to be.”
“Then count me in.” I jumped up, and the three of us left the cafeteria, headed in the direction of the tiny little outside chapel that Blackwood insisted we visit at least three times a week. I fucking hated the religious class, but sometimes there was nothing better to do. This place was supposed to be some sort of learning academy, but it wasn’t. Most of the time, nobody even showed up for class.
“What a beautiful day,” Keane said, putting his face to the sky as we walked. Black clouds hovered above our heads, threatening a storm. We could hear the crash of the ocean waves against the shoreline. I shivered as a gust of wind whipped through the schoolyard, chilling me.
“Beautiful,” Beau agreed. “Fits my mood perfectly.”
We stepped into the chapel after Keane, stopping in the doorway to look around the dimly lit room. A few students scattered here and there, and at the front of the room our fill-in nun, Mrs. Harper, sat behind a desk. A bible was open in front of her, but low and behold she was playing on her phone, ignoring the whispering students. And there, sitting up front next to Kasey, was Eve.
Keane glanced back at us, and we nodded, making our way down the aisle. I plopped down next to Eve, and Keane and Beau took their place just behind us in the pew.
“Well, hello, sweetheart,” I said with a smirk. Eve turned to glare at me, and Kasey squirmed uncomfortably.
“There’s no getting rid of you guys, is there?” Eve said with a sniff.
“Not when we have our eye on something,” Keane said with a wink, leaning forward until his chin was nearly resting on Eve’s shoulder.
“Did you come here to pray or just harass me?” asked Eve.
“A little of both,” Beau said.
“I didn’t take you as the praying type, bunny,” I said, turning my body towards hers. Spotting the bible in her hand, I nodded towards it. “Salvation, eh?”
“There’s nothing better to do here,” she said, flinching away as Beau reached over the pew to touch her shoulder, kneading his fingers over her neck. I expected her to whirl on him and smack him, but she didn’t.
“Actually, there’s plenty of things to do here,” said Keane, leaning back in the pew. A few students were watching us fearfully, but most paid us no mind. As long as they weren’t on our radar, the better for them.
“Plenty,” I agreed, leaning into her until she flinched. “It just doesn’t involve clothing.”
“Or bibles,” added Beau. He reached over the pew and took the bible from Eve’s lap, holding it up in the air for a moment before letting it drop to the floor. It hit the concrete with a bang. Mrs. Harper looked up briefly from behind her desk, ready to scold someone, but when she caught sight of us her eyes darted back down to her phone. She wouldn’t say anything, not to us. No one ever dared.
“Maybe you should come with us,” I said, brushing my thumb gently against Eve’s chin. She didn’t cringe away, simply stared at me, eyes narrowing into tiny slits of utter hatred.
“I would rather die a thousand painful deaths than spend any more time with any one of you,” she said steadily. Beside Eve, Kasey cringed, looking like she wanted to curl up in a ball and die.
“Mind if we steal her from you, Kasey?” I asked, but we all knew it wasn’t a question. She swallowed, meeting Eve’s gaze, and before either of them could speak, I stood up from the pew and offered my hand to Eve. For a long moment, she refused it, her deep blue eyes shooting daggers at me.
“Apologies,” said Keane, getting to his feet as he brushed Eve’s arm with the tips of his fingers. “Teague is being far too polite. You, my dear kitten, don’t have a choice. Get up.”
I expected her to refuse, but much to our delight Eve got to her feet, still scowling at us. Her gaze shifted from us and over to Mrs. Harper, who was pretending not to notice that anything was happening inside the chapel. Grinning, I offered my hand to Eve, which she refused.
“Lead the way, douchebags,” she said instead, putting her hands on her hips with a sigh. “Let’s get whatever bullshit you have set up for me over with.”
I couldn’t help but laugh as we herded Eve out of the chapel and across the courtyard, one of us on each side of her as we walked. The clouds in the sky were haunting now, threatening a storm, and I took a deep breath, inhaling the crisp autumn air. We led Eve to the edge of the forest, stopping momentarily to let her catch her footing before proceeding through the brush.
“Where are we going?” Eve demanded, holding an arm up to slap away a tree branch.
“You don’t recognize the path?” Keane asked, offering his hand as she struggled across a rocky spot on the ground. She ignored it, and he smirked as she shoved past him, fuming.
“This is our favorite place to go, bunny,” I said. “Nobody and nothing can bother us when we’re out here.”
It didn’t take us long to trudge down the man-made trail and into the wide clearing away from the academy. Eve stopped when arrived, crossing her arms over her chest with a shiver.
“Why did you bring me here?” she demanded with a shudder. “I hate this place.”
Keane grinned, taking a seat on top of one of the headstones. “I knew you’d remember it once you were here.”
“How could I forget?” she asked. “This is where I thought you were going to kill me.”
Keane laughed at this, but a sharp pang of sympathy traveled through me at her words. We were assholes, and we knew it; often Keane got ahead of himself. But to be so frightened that you thought death was looming? That hurt.
“We can’t kill you,” Beau said, pulling a joint out of his pocket. He followed it with a lighter and lit up, taking a long drag. “We aren’t done with you yet.” He winked, and Eve turned away from him to look at me, eyebrows raising.
“Anything stupid to add?” she asked, and I chuckled.
“I think the boys about summed it up.” I took the joint Beau offered me, took a hit, and then offered it to Eve, who put her nose up.
“No thanks. I don’t do drugs.”
“It’s hardly a drug, kitten,” said Keane, reaching for the joint. “It just helps sometimes, ya know?”
“Are we done here?” she asked, arms tightening around herself as the blunt chill in the air settled over us. “I’d like to go back to the academy.”
“Why?” I took a seat on the damp grass, leaning my back up against a second headstone. “This place is peaceful as fuck.”
“It’s creepy.”
“It’s a cemetery,” said Keane. “Show some respect.”
“Why is this even here?” Dropping her arms to her side, Eve turned to look around, making a face. “It looks old.”
“Rumor has it that the academy used to be a legit insane asylum,” I said. “And that the bodies buried in the ground here are those of the insane patients.”
“They’d do lobotomies and shit,” added Beau. “And when it failed, turning people even more nuts, they’d bury them alive out here to be rid of them. See, it’s far enough away that you wouldn’t be able to hear the screams.”
“Bullshit,” Eve said, but the confidence in her voice wavered. “Kasey told me that your families founded this school.”
“Kind of,” I said with a shrug. “They just bought the building. They didn’t build it new. The history here is more disturbing than that.”
“What in the hell is with these holes?” Eve demanded, walking from row to row. Her arms curled around herself again and she shivered.
“We dug the holes,” said Keane, jumping to his feet to join her. “We use them for, erm, keeping control, if you will.”
“Control over what?” Eve asked, cringing away as Keane brushed her shoulder with his.
“Control of the academy, of course,” I said. “Nothing scares the new intakes quite like spending the night alone in a dark hole in a cemetery.”
“Yeah,” she said, glaring at me. “I remember.”
“We didn’t put you in the hole,” muttered Keane. “You fell in.”
Glaring at him, Eve moved away, arms still protectively around herself. “Why am I here?” she asked again. “Why did you bring me here?”
“Maybe we just want to spend time with you, sweetheart,” said Beau, herding Eve back to the center of our circle. Even if she wanted to run, there was nowhere to go. We had her surrounded.
“For sure,” added Keane. “Oh, and we also want to know what you’re in here for.”
“You make it sound like a prison,” she murmured. “I’m not in here for anything.”
“We’re all here for something.” Approaching Eve from behind, I reached out and trailed my fingers up and down her bare arm, satisfied when goosebumps popped up on her skin. She shied away, scowling.
“I’m not supposed to be here,” she said. “It’s a mistake.”
“That’s what they all say.” Keane stepped forward until he was inches from Eve. Now, she was caught between the two of us, and her breathing hitched as she realized this.
“Don’t,” she said. “Don’t do this again.”
“Do what?” asked Beau, stepping up until she was caught between the three of us. “We just want to know why you’re here, sweetheart.”
“I already told you. I’m not supposed to be here.”
“Did you hear that, Keane?” I asked with a chuckle. “She’s not supposed to be here.”
“Me either,” he said. “But, fuck, here I am anyway.”
“Same,” I said with a grin. “I’m not supposed to be here either.”
“And here I thought it was just me,” said Beau.
“You guys are assholes.” Eve turned, bumping into Beau. When she realized she was trapped, she stopped where she stood, shaking her head. “What do you intend to do with me out here?” she asked. “Hurt me? Rape me? Force me to drink more blood?”
“You speak as though we’re monsters.” Keane took a step back, tilting his head to the side as he studied her like a curious animal. “Have we hurt you?”
“You forced blood wine down my throat.”
“That’s only because you weren’t cooperating.”
Seemingly disinterested in the remainder of the conversation, Even turned away again, practically seething. “I’d like to go now.”
“No one is stopping you,” I said, taking a step back and extending my arm to show her the way. She looked wary, like she was expecting one of us to tackle her to the ground.
It was tempting.
“Shame you don’t want to spend more time with us,” Keane said. “We’re not half bad.”
“You’ve done a hell of a job trying to convince me of that.” Putting her hands on her hips, Eve turned in a circle to glare at each one of us. “I don’t understand your obsession,” she said. “I’m nothing special.”
Keane stepped forward and touched her cheek. To her credit, Eve didn’t cringe away. “Oh, kitten,” he said with a sly grin. “You have no idea how special you really are, do you?” He dropped his hand from her face and stepped back with a shrug. “Go,” he said, and she must have sensed the underlying demand in his voice, because she turned away abruptly, heading for the exit in the trees. I wanted to reach out and grab her, pull her back, dominate her. But I didn’t. We couldn’t.
Not yet.
“Run fast, little bunny,” I said, leaning against a tree as we watched her depart. “Run and hide.”