“So maybe I’ll make an example out of her? Maybe that’s what I’m doing because people should be scared. They have no idea what I can do.”

It would be so easy to pull everything out from underneath her. I wanted to. I wanted to see that look on her face. She couldn’t match me, but I held back. “One word of advice, let it go. You’ve already lost power. You’re not going to get it back.”

“What do you know about it?”

“You have three friends right now.” I saw the scorn on her face. She was thinking she had more. She was wrong. “If you keep targeting Sam, you won’t. I’ll take them from you.”

Her sneer vanished. “You couldn’t.”

“I could.”

She eyed me, studying to see if I was bluffing. I let her see the truth. “Here’s your last chance. Drop it all and you can keep your friends. I won’t destroy that for you, but keep doing what I know you’re planning on doing, and I will ruin you. You’ll have no friends. You’ll have no allies. You won’t even want to come to this school again.”

A strangled laugh ripped from her and she shook her head. “Listen to you, big f**king deal here. You’re not God, Mason.”

“He wouldn’t do these things to you.” The cruel mask lifted. I let her see how lethal I could be. She saw it and shrunk back. “If you came here to make sure, one last and final time, that there’s a chance of you and me, there never was. There’s no chance you’ll ever be friends with the guys again. I know how you liked to hang out with them. You liked being at the top of the social chain. Those days are dead.”

“You shouldn’t talk to me like that.”

Really? She had no idea, but I fell silent. She was losing her control and I wanted to hear what else she would say.

“You have no idea, no f**king clue!” she shouted now.

Keep going, Kate. Tell me how I don’t have a f**king clue. Lay out the rest of your plan for me.

“No idea,” she continued to seethe. “Everyone forgets about you, but I don’t. You’re slumming when you go to this school. They forget about the rich daddy you’ve got. No one knows about the moneybags your mom has. No f**king clue, but I do. It’s not fair. You’ve got a scholarship. You’re going to college. Your life is set, Mason. Most the people at our school are going to community college. They can’t afford your NCAA football school.”

“That’s where this is coming from? I’m going to a better school than you?”

Her chest began heaving. The fury was bright and burning in her eyes. “Haven’t you seen my home? You know my folks. My dad’s a drunk. My mom works all the time, but when she’s not, she’s just as drunk as him. You think they saved up money for me? I’m not going anywhere, Mason, not like your precious princess. I’ve heard about her running. Track scholarship. Isn’t that what you were thinking, to get her here? You’re right, too. I know you are. She’s going to get a scholarship, probably at the same f**king college you go to, and you wanna know why? Because of you. They’ll give her one because you asked, because that’s how your life goes. You ask and people do it. I’m so sick of it—”

“You’re sick of it?” My eyes narrowed to slits. “Or you’re pissed because it isn’t you?”

“You’re such an ass**le.”

“Been called worse.”

“This is my school. This is my time.” She grew quiet, but the hatred still burned. “And you declared that we’re out. Just like that and it was done. You have no idea how much worse you made it for her.”

“If you’re pissed at me, take it out on me. Leave her alone.”

“Oh no.” She shook her head. “You’re unfuckingtouchable. You know it and I know it, but your girl isn’t. She’s going to hurt by the time I’m done with her. She’s going to beg me to stop, but I won’t. I’ll keep ruining her long after this year, even after you go to college. You’ll be gone, Mason. I won’t. My life’s over after high school. My biggest problem is going to be who I’ll marry, if it’ll be some jackass, or if I’ll win the lottery and get someone who sticks around. That’s the life I’ve got to look forward to, but the one thing that’ll give me pleasure is going to be destroying your girl. Just watch it.”

“Rethink all of this,” I warned. “This is my last offer. Walk away.”

“No,” she whispered, but her tone was murderous.

“You’re not going to destroy Sam.”

“Oh really?” She snorted.

“You f**k with who I love, and I f**k with you. You’re no exception. I’m going to destroy you, Kate. You’re going to have nothing left when I’m finished with you.” I didn’t wait to hear any more crazy shit from her. I got in my vehicle and left without looking back.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

The weekend passed with little drama. There was a basketball game. I went. They won. There was a party. The only big event there was when Logan took my advice and planned on going home with a new girl, but she had a friend with the same hopes. The two got in a fight. It was full of name-calling. Someone’s hair got pulled and the other girl got scratched. Eventful. And Logan? He bypassed the fight and went home with Tate. I had an entire speech ready to deliver over breakfast the next day for why he needed to stop seeing her. I had it all memorized, but the speech died in my throat when Tate showed up at the same restaurant with a different guy.