Tiny Dark Deeds: A Dark High School Bully Romance (Court Legacy Book 3)

Dorian

“What do you mean they’re all dead?” I asked Thatcher, the other half of our table barely paying attention. Bow, Sloane, and Bru were going over the plans for his birthday party with Wells and Ares. Ares was at least sort of engaged, but Wells hadn’t even bothered. He was on his phone while Ares’s attention sporadically drifted to what Thatcher was going over with me.

It was some dark shit, and I thumbed past another page in the folder he’d given me. Thatch had ended up getting me Sloane’s adoption records that day he’d promised me, but once he found out I’d told Sloane (and that the pair of us had patched things up), Thatcher had offered to look further into things himself. I called that an act of goodwill and his support for my and Sloane’s relationship. The two of us had been very early as far as being on the mend then, and Thatcher had wanted me to focus on that.

There was a reason he was one of my best friends, and I hadn’t minded him looking more into things because I had wanted to work on my relationship with Sloane at the time.

Today, I was definitely invested, and Thatcher turned on his chair, the both of us abandoning our lunches to look at this shit.

“I’m mean they’re dead,” he said, pointing toward the pages in my hands. We had caseworkers here, lawyers, and government employees. They all had ties in some way to Sloane’s adoption and birth records. Sloane as Noa Sloane. Not Sloane as Pilar Mallick. These people on these pages had made things happen whether they’d signed off on documents regarding her adoption or simply aided with the process. Thatcher opened his hands. “They all appear to be from natural causes. The ones I found anyway. These records are old, and some of these people are hard to track down.”

From what it looked like, the majority, and only a handful of these people were actually dead.

“This one had heart disease. Died during an operation,” Thatcher continued, motioning to a social worker’s picture. He gestured toward a lawyer. “This guy died during an operation too. Plastic surgery. Not exactly natural, but he died on the table. A bad reaction to the anesthesia.”

I gave him back the folder.

“A ski accident,” he continued regarding a government employee. This person’s name was on Sloane’s birth certificate, had signed off on it. He shrugged. “It’s been hard to find pretty much any of these people, but the ones I have found…”

It hadn’t been good for them.

“Sounds like justice to me,” Wolf cut in, barely looking up from his phone. I supposed the party plans hadn’t been that invigorating for him in the end. His attention flicked over. “Anyway, I don’t know why y’all are even looking into that shit. I’m sure the parents are.”

That was the way he’d felt when I’d brought all this up over a month ago. I wasn’t about to look into his twin’s records and keep that detail a secret from him either, but once I’d mentioned it, he’d wondered why I was bothering. He hadn’t seen the point, and I received that resistance even more when Thatcher did start presenting me with information. Wolf and his family were in a good place. They were in a great place, and Sloane was back. He was happy.

So, I got it.

Even still, he didn’t question my need for justice, which I still wanted for my girl and his sister. I leaned in. “You know why I’m looking into this, and you’re right. It seems justice has been served.”

“Good. So maybe you can give it a rest?” Wolf stroked his jaw, eyeing me, and I shook my head.

“More needs to be done. Thatcher’s only found a handful of these people, right, Thatch?”

Thatch didn’t look like he wanted anything to do with this conversation, but I didn’t push him to engage. No one wanted to battle Wolf’s ass, and I preferred not to either.

I ended up having Thatcher put the folder away, at least until a more suitable time when it wasn’t bothering Wolf. This freed me up to lock both arms around Wolf’s sister who sat next to me. Sloane leaned back into my arms, and though we all may have been talking about things that surrounded her, she was rarely a part of these types of conversations. Like Wolf, she really didn’t care too much about the circumstances surrounding her adoption, and I’d even stopped giving her updates. She was trying to find her happy place too, and I respected that.

Her fingers grazed my arms around her while she too attempted to stay engaged in the conversation about her brother’s birthday party. The party wasn’t about her, but she was obviously meeting all the Legacy families while there. I think she was just staying involved mostly for Bru’s sake, who didn’t seem at all to want anything to do with the party planning either. He spent most of the time on his phone while Bow was talking about the details.

He was actually doing that now while Bow was going on about streamers or some shit, but looked up when Forrester, the head of the Legacy families’ hired security, came over to the Legacy lunch table.

“Afternoon, kids,” he said to our group, and my smile stretched.

“Hi, Forrester. You here to go over the daily changing of the guards schedule with us on this lovely afternoon?” I asked, being a complete asshole, but I didn’t give a shit. It’d become a game we all played with the security around here. Sloane and the rest of us were campus royalty while all the security personnel (both hired by our parents and not) were our royal guards. It was a way to keep things light and less stressful. Especially for Sloane, who definitely knew all these changes were about her.

I guess it was my way to help, to protect her. I knew all the security around here unnerved her, and anything I could do to make her more comfortable I did.

Forrester cleared this throat in front of us. “Good one, Mr. Prinze,” he said, not entertained in the slightest, but he played it off, so I’d give him that. He adjusted his tie. “We don’t want to bother you kids, but our views of Sloane are obstructed. It’d be easier to see her if she switched sides of the table.”

The man proceeded to ask her, which tugged Bru’s attention up from his phone long enough to scoff.

“You’re joking, right?” he questioned, but she elbowed his arm.

“It’s fine,” she said, getting up right away, and I did too. Usually, I’d fuck more with Forrester, but if she was fine on moving, I was too.

We got situated on the other side of the table, and this pleased the head of security. He thanked us, thanked Sloane, before heading back to his gaggle of suits.

“God, this is a joke,” Bru continued, while the rest of us kind of started to eat again. He frowned. “The press aren’t even allowed on campus and barely any of them are out there anymore.”

They had stopped the hard hounding after getting the juicy stuff from the people actually willing to talk about Sloane’s returned presence here. That hadn’t been Legacy or Court since they were all loyal to us, but a few other kids had spread what they knew. It hadn’t been much since they didn’t talk to her, and eventually, the press had gotten bored. I’d only seen a handful of them out there today.

Sloane raised a hand. “I told you it’s fine.”

“It’s not, but whatev,” Bru stated, picking up his phone again. The kid had been testy lately, and I did acknowledge what Sloane had said recently about him. He’d been keeping to himself, but if I had all these changes and shit happening in my life too, I’d probably be doing the same thing. Bru shook his head. “It’s just not necessary is all I’m saying.”

I definitely agreed about that, but I wasn’t going to be the one to tell the parents otherwise. Not to mention it’d be inappropriate coming from me. These changes were mostly for Sloane, which meant, if anything happened regarding reversing them, Ramses and Brielle would be at the heart of the decision.

Knowing that, I tipped my chin at Wolf, who exchanged a glance between myself and the situation. Wolf braced his hands. “Maybe I can talk to my parents,” he suggested, specifically looking at Bru. He shrugged. “You’re right. The press has been backing off, and maybe they’ll consider scaling back some of the security.”

I think we all knew it wasn’t just the press that kept the security here. The parents were all still uneasy with my grandfather being around, but even I thought all the added personnel was a bit excessive. We were all being watched 24/7 in these halls, and after a recent, awkward-as-fuck conversation Ramses had had with me… the one where my god dad had basically barred me from overnights at his house until further consideration, Sloane and I were finding it harder and harder to fuck without prying eyes around campus. We had to ditch the suits and personnel just to be together lately, so yeah, I could use a little less security.

It blew my mind how in sync my buddy Wolf and I were about that, but I also knew any opportunity he could find to help with the Bru situation, he tried. We all could feel how closed off Bru was, and I knew Sloane had asked Wolf to look out for him.

This suggestion seemed to appease Bru a bit when he nodded, and Sloane definitely appreciated it too. She smiled at Wolf, and it was nice to see them getting along. My buddy had wished for this relationship his whole life, and he was finally getting it.

With the chaos of the security issue figured out, Bow broke the tension a bit. She didn’t need to be in charge of Bru’s party plans, but she had taken the helm since Brielle was juggling trying to be mayor and working at the school. Ramses had offered to help, but he too was behind on work with how much time he’d been spending at home. With them tied up, Bow had basically jumped at the opportunity. She loved shit like that. She grinned at Bru. “So, I guess all that’s left now is cake. What’s your favorite flavor?”

“Uh, whatever’s fine,” he said, his phone back in his hand. I wanted to grab the fucking thing from him. We were all trying to accommodate his ass here. Even I was paying attention.  His shoulder lifted. “I’m cool with whatever.”

Bow leaned in. “Yeah, but it’s your party, and we’re not restricted to any flavor. The cake will be multiple tiers. So yeah, whatever you want.”

“Bru?” Sloane questioned, frowning, and the guy sighed.

“I mean it. I don’t care.” He tapped his phone. “Besides, I think we all know this party is not about me so the cake should just be whatever the majority wants.”

Bow opened her mouth, but whatever she’d been about to say cut off when Sloane lifted her hand.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Sloane asked, but Bru didn’t even look from his phone this time.

“Just what I said,” he stated. “This party isn’t about me. My birthday was longer than shit ago, and Wolf’s parents are just trying to be nice.”

“Our parents.” Wolf had his hair down today, wild and looking as intimidating at shit. He tipped his chin at Sloane. “They’re her parents too, and you’re very much a part of all this. Sure, they’re being nice, but we all do want to celebrate you.”

No agitation hit my buddy’s voice, and he had been very level-headed when dealing with the whole Bru situation. Bru had definitely been pushing lately, distancing. It was affecting his sister the most, which affected Wolf as well. Wolf had 100 percent been handling the situation with kid gloves, and he had to.

We all did.

We were all doing this for Sloane, and with all eyes on him, Bruno swung his attention to Bow.

“Sorry, Bow. Chocolate’s my favorite,” he said, then proceeded to gather his things. He got up, and Sloane lifted her head.

“Where are you going?” With a hard sigh, she scrubbed into her hair, and Bru shouldered his bag.

“I’m going to the library to get some studying in before lunch ends,” he said, mentioning the other thing he was doing lately besides being on his phone. He sauntered away, and when Sloane started to go after him, Wolf eased out of his chair.

“Let me go talk to him,” he suggested, though I had no idea what about. He gripped his chair. “Things shouldn’t be tense like this, and it has been.”

It had, but that wasn’t his fault.

Sloane appeared to be two minds about this decision, but in the end, she sat back down in her plaid skirt. She forced fingers through her hair, and the guys, Bow, and I sat in silence. Eventually, Bow had to get to her next class since it was on the other side of campus. Thatcher and Wells had the same issue as well, but they stayed.

“Now do you see what I mean?” Sloane questioned, specifically to me. “He’s not acting right. He’s…” She gripped her arms. “I didn’t want him being a casualty in all this.”

I’d once told her in an email she was like her father, and her saying this… putting others before herself, only stressed the point. My god dad, Ramses, was so giving and always put others before himself.

She really was her father’s daughter.

I was about to offer advice on a situation that I myself was ill-equipped to handle, but we were all disturbed when a guy from Court made his way over to our table.

“You guys need to come to the hallway,” he said, rushed and ominous-sounding. He didn’t specify who, but we all ended up following him out of the lunchroom. We actually made it there before security had a chance to follow.

Had they, they might have broken up what we all walked in on.

Bru and Wolf had a circle around them, the two of them at opposite ends, but only Bru was the one who looked puffed the hell up.

“You know what? You may be my sister’s brother, but you’re not fucking mine so back off,” he shot at Wolf, Bru’s face red. “I don’t need your sympathy, and I definitely don’t need your fake friend shit. We both know you were only my friend to get close to my sister.”

Sloane’s eyes shot open at my side. She said Bru’s name, but he only looked in her direction briefly before stepping up to Wolf.

“Don’t try to deny it.” Bru pointed at my buddy. “We both know what that shit was about when you visited me in the hospital and were all nice and shit. You knew the truth. Meanwhile, you were pulling the wool over my fucking eyes.”

People had their phones out, and accused of shit that he and the rest of Legacy all knew was most likely true, Wolf threaded his hands over his head.

“I’m not trying to, and I know how things started.” His lips turned down. “I do, but it doesn’t have to be that way now. It’s not that way now.”

Bru spun but didn’t back off. In fact, when he came back, his chest touched my boy’s, and at this point, I was shoving fuckers out the way to get to them both. A thick circle had formed, and people were definitely more interested in getting this on social media than letting Thatcher, Wells, and me through. I had Sloane by the arm, trying to keep her back, but she was following me.

“Bru, what the fuck?” she called, but this time, he wasn’t breaking focus enough to look away. Meanwhile, Wolf had attempted to put space between the pair, but for every space he took, Bru took two.

Wolf raised his hands. “I’m not lying, kid. It’s not that way now, and I’m telling you. You need to back off and give me my space.”

“Or what?” Bru hadn’t given him space, clearly egging Wolf on, and Wolf smirked.

Wolf pointed at him. “Let’s not forget the last time you stepped up on me like this, I let you.” His nostrils flared, eyes narrowed hard into slits. “Now, I’m trying to be civil here, but you throw a punch, I will end you.”

“Give it a fucking shot!” Bru roared, shoving his hands into Wolf’s chest. Wolf raised his fist, but cutting through the crowd, I locked arms under his. Meanwhile, Thatcher got Bru to back off via the chest, but Bru didn’t lower his fist until Wells got it.

“Back off, D,” Wolf growled, his voice low, menacing. He didn’t fight me, but I knew my friend. I let this dude go, and Bruno Sloane would be a pile of broken bones. A deep rumble hit Wolf’s chest. “I got this handled.”

I think we both knew that was bullshit.

I put hands on his chest, forcing the circle to break when I pushed him out of it. “Go walk this shit off.”

“D—”

“Now, Ares,” I gritted, and at this point, Sloane finally made her way into the chaos. I’d let her go when I saw Wolf swinging, and though she started to go to Bru, she stopped once she realized Wells and Thatcher had him. They were doing the same thing I had with Wolf. They told him to walk this off, and he started to, but one look at Sloane had him navigating the other way.

I didn’t know if he didn’t want to answer to her or what, but he shouldered through the circle to get away from her.

She took a step after him. “Bruno!”

He didn’t stop, and that was about the time security finally made their way into the hallway. Fucking useless. They immediately started herding people back into the lunchroom, and Sloane stalked her way over to me.

“You said you’d help,” she said, but she didn’t say it to me. She stepped up to Wolf. “I mean, what the hell was that?”

That had been her brother goading one of my best friends, but it wasn’t wise to cut into this conversation. She lifted a hand at Wolf, and all he did was shake his head at her.

He was choosing to be the bigger man when he walked past her, and when he did, I sent Thatcher and Wells after him. I, on the other hand, went after Sloane who was now headed in the direction Bru had left, and I hoped this wasn’t a snapshot of the future. Me being lodged between my buddy, his sister, and Bru.

It definitely didn’t feel like a good place to be.