Devil on the Rooftop [Book 1]

Chapter 14 - Khaleel

I kept my eye on the new girl through Hermans's lecture. It was funny to hear her threaten me. Cute even. I wanted to get more reactions out of her. I wanted to know what it would take for her to act on those scary words. If she dropped Loyal on his ass, if she was as strong as she claimed to be, then I wanted proof. Something substantial to convince that me it happened.

My phone buzzed before I could bug the little spitfire again. I pulled it from my pocket and read the message from Loyal. 'What was that about?'

'What?' I texted back. 'I wanted to find out what happened between you two.'

Loyal's reply was immediate. 'Not much. I told her I was interested in her.'

'Probably not the right time to tell you that I was about to hit on her.'

Loyal glanced in my direction before he sent another message. 'That's out of character. Are you picking up Zander's bad habits?'

I smiled as I typed. 'I can't help it. She threatened me so seriously.'

'She threatened you? How exactly?'

'Something about turning me into a cripple. What does she have on you?'

His reply shocked me. 'My acceptance letter into Brown.'

'You applied to another Ivy League school? Are you crazy? If your old man finds out he will force you out of the academy faster than Z accepted that cougar's advances.'

'I know. It was a stupid move on my part. Still, I can't let her off the hook.'

I scratched the back of my neck, frustrated. Loyal was a prodigy, one of the smartest kid at Jackheights, but he worked hard to hide that fact. It was part of his three-year plan. It was so he could make sure our business went uninterrupted until graduation. If his old man found out he wasn't being challenged at the high school level then he would encourage him to attend college or university, which would put an end to everything he had been working towards. I couldn't let that happen. I couldn't stand by and let Arisa ruin his life.

'What do you need me to do?' I messaged.

'Nothing for now,' Loyal replied. 'I just need more time with her.'

'You really think she will trust you?'

'Hate can transform into love if you let enough time pass.'

'Did you want to tell the other two about this?' I asked.

'Yeah,' Loyal answered. 'The only person who can talk me up at this point is Hino.'

Well, that was true enough. If I was the enforcer who made sure our customers paid on time then Hino was the communications tower. He was in charge of recruitment and easing students into getting unconventional assistance with their tests and exams. Zander was our treasurer, the accountant, the one who helped us save money and accumulate good credit. His family's connection to the top five banks in the country taught him to be smart with his coins from a very young age. Loyal was obviously the brains of the operations, the key to making sure everyone who hired us passed with flying colours.