I nod, but I’m not really listening because I’ve already decided what I’m going to do.

I’m going to beat Billie Charter’s ass. I might just kill her, too.

“Let’s go,” I tell Hael, dragging him through the crowd and straight toward her. She sees us coming and tries to run, but I let go of Hael’s arm and start running, too, shoving open the door to the hall and sprinting in my motherfucking heels.

That’s when you know a bitch is just done, when she runs full-speed in stilettos.

Billie doesn’t even make it around the corner of the hallway before I’m on her ass, tackling her into the ground as she screams. Her jaw cracks against the floor as I haul her over onto her back and straddle her like a fucking maniac.

When Penelope was hurting, I tried to go about things the ‘right way’. I told my mom. I told my principal. I called child protective services. She still ended up dead. Well, guess what? I’m not wasting my time with the ‘right thing’ ever again.

Someone has hurt my family, and I’m taking that shit seriously.

“Where is Aaron?” I grind out from between clenched teeth as I grab Billie by the front of her dress and slam her head into the tiled floor. She’s already bleeding, clawing at me and screaming. But guess what? We’re in one of the hallway dark zones. There are no cameras. No administrators. Even the lightbulbs could use changing.

That, and I’ve got four of my boys with me.

Billie Charter must know that she’s screwed six ways to Sunday.

The guys form a loose circle around me, watching me do my thing.

“Told you she was dangerous,” Hael mutters, but I’m not listening to him. Instead, I’m intent on pinning Billie’s arms to the floor above her head.

“Where is Aaron?” I ask as she flails around beneath me like a madwoman.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?!” she screeches, but in reality, she started this. Her brother made up this stupid new crew and chose to challenge us. They just couldn’t let Havoc rule these halls the way we were always supposed to do. Well, fuck that, and fuck them, and fuck all of this shit. I slam Billie’s head into the ground so hard that blood spatters and she chokes out a cry of genuine pain, her bravado fading as quick as it came.

“Where is Aaron?” I repeat, holding her up by the front of her dress. “I’m not going to ask you again. I know you’re working with Ophelia Mars, and I know you have him.”

“Ophelia who?” Billie asks, and I crack her head against the ground again.

“Careful, Bernie, or the doll will break,” Cal says, but I honestly don’t care at this point.

“The woman who’s paying all your bills, that’s who. She has Aaron. I want to know where he is.” I keep my voice low; there’s no need to shout. Apparently, the sound of it must creep Billie the fuck out because she gives an uncontrollable shudder.

“I don’t know any of that stuff; only Mitch, Logan, and Kali do.” Billie gasps as I adjust my hands from the front of her dress to her throat. “Please, I don’t know anything. I just do what I’m told. My brothers are assholes, you know that.”

“Where is Aaron? This is the last time I’m going to ask you that question.” I squeeze Billie’s throat just a bit harder, and she chokes, sputtering on excuses.

“If they have him, he’s probably with Kali. She’s in love with him, always has been.” I release just a bit of pressure so Billie can keep talking. “She hasn’t told me anything about it, but I also haven’t seen her since the night you guys came to the racetrack. I swear, that was the last I saw her. By the time we figured out what the hell was going on, she had already left and taken her new car. Mitch was furious.”

I pause for a moment.

Of course Kali has Aaron. Of course she does. And if she’s working for Ophelia specifically, then it’s a double-edged sword.

“Leverage, but also obsession,” Oscar remarks, making my blood boil.

“Please don’t kill me,” Billie whimpers after a minute, when my hands tighten just a bit more on her neck. “I have a baby. Like you said before, I’m a terrible mom. I am. I know I am. But I don’t want to do this anymore.” I look her straight in the face, and I keep squeezing until she starts to cough. “My dad’s a drug addict, Bernie. He’ll end up foster care. Please, I promise I don’t know where Aaron is.” She starts to weep then, salty tears rolling down her face and mixing with a bit of the blood leaking down from her forehead.

Fuck.

Just hearing the word foster care … I’m not saying there aren’t nice foster homes: look at Oscar and the Peters. But … goddamn it, she’s found my Achilles’ heel.

The guys wait patiently around me to see what I’ll do. Looking down at Billie, all I want is to just push into her neck until she stops breathing. I’m furious, and I want justice … but I also have my own rulebook that I stick by. If I start crossing those lines, then I’m just like Neil or Eric or Kali.

I let go and stand up, leaving Billie to shake and sob on the hallway floor.

“Good call, Bernie,” Hael says, taking my hand and leading me back to the dance. I don’t bother to pay Billie a backwards glance; she isn’t even worth that much. Next time she pisses me off, however, there will be no other chances.

“And very informative,” Oscar agrees, biting the end of one of his fingers in thought. “The question is: where is Kali now?”

I step into the gym and the first person I spot on the other side of the room is Officer Young, wearing a very pretty lemon-colored dress and talking to Principal Vaughn.

And then the doors open, and the next person I see is Kali motherfucking Rose-Kennedy.

We look at each other, and I just know that one of us is going to end up dead that night.

I also know for a fact that it sure as hell isn’t going to be me.