Cruel Academy: A Dark High School Bully Romance (Princes of Ravenlake Academy Book 2) Read online

  Cruel Academy

  A Dark High School Bully Romance

  Nicole Fox

  Contents

  Mailing List

  Also by Nicole Fox

  Cruel Academy: A Dark High School Bully Romance

  1. Haley

  2. Haley

  3. Caleb

  4. Caleb

  5. Caleb

  6. Caleb

  7. Caleb

  8. Haley

  9. Haley

  10. Haley

  11. Haley

  12. Caleb

  13. Caleb

  14. Haley

  15. Haley

  16. Haley

  17. Caleb

  18. Caleb

  19. Caleb

  20. Caleb

  21. Haley

  22. Haley

  23. Haley

  24. Haley

  25. Caleb

  26. Caleb

  27. Haley

  28. Haley

  29. Caleb

  30. Caleb

  31. Caleb

  32. Haley

  33. Haley

  34. Caleb

  35. Caleb

  36. Caleb

  37. Haley

  38. Haley

  39. Caleb

  40. Caleb

  41. Caleb

  42. Haley

  43. Haley

  44. Caleb

  45. Caleb

  46. Haley

  47. Caleb

  48. Haley

  Epilogue Part 1

  Epilogue Part 2

  Sneak Preview of Cruel Elite

  Mailing List

  Also by Nicole Fox

  Copyright © 2019 by Nicole Fox

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

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  Also by Nicole Fox

  Princes of Ravenlake Academy (Bully Romance)

  *Can be read as standalones!

  Cruel Prep

  Cruel Academy

  Cruel Elite

  Bratva Crime Syndicate

  *Can be read in any order!

  Lies He Told Me

  Scars He Gave Me

  Sins He Taught Me

  Belluci Mafia Trilogy

  Corrupted Angel (Book 1)

  Corrupted Queen (Book 2)

  Corrupted Empire (Book 3)

  De Maggio Mafia Duet

  Devil in a Suit (Book 1)

  Devil at the Altar (Book 2)

  Kornilov Bratva Duet

  Married to the Don (Book 1)

  Til Death Do Us Part (Book 2)

  Heirs to the Bratva Empire

  *Can be read in any order!

  Kostya

  Maksim

  Andrei

  Tsezar Bratva

  Nightfall (Book 1)

  Daybreak (Book 2)

  Russian Crime Brotherhood

  *Can be read in any order!

  Owned by the Mob Boss

  Unprotected with the Mob Boss

  Knocked Up by the Mob Boss

  Sold to the Mob Boss

  Stolen by the Mob Boss

  Trapped with the Mob Boss

  Volkov Bratva

  Broken Vows (Book 1)

  Broken Hope (Book 2)

  Broken Sins (standalone)

  Other Standalones

  Vin: A Mafia Romance

  Box Sets

  Bratva Mob Bosses (Russian Crime Brotherhood Books 1-6)

  Tsezar Bratva (Tsezar Bratva Duet Books 1-2)

  Heirs to the Bratva Empire

  The Mafia Dons Collection

  Cruel Academy: A Dark High School Bully Romance

  Princes of Ravenlake Academy (Book 2)

  Ravenlake Prep was my refuge.

  Caleb Wilson made it my nightmare.

  My ex-boyfriend did awful things to me.

  But running from him just made it worse.

  Because now I’m stuck at Ravenlake Academy with the only boy in this town who might be more dangerous than my ex…

  And he wants to break me in half.

  Caleb Wilson is gorgeous. Deadly.

  And very, very pissed off.

  But I need something from Caleb.

  Something only he can give me.

  So now, I’m at the mercy of a boy who’s sworn to ruin me.

  I have one semester to change his mind.

  CRUEL ACADEMY is a full-length high school bully romance and Book 2 in the Princes of Ravenlake Academy trilogy.

  The Princes of Ravenlake Academy is a series of standalones that all take place at the infamously cruel Ravenlake Preparatory Academy.

  You can read any of the books as standalones, but they work best when read in order.

  Book 1, CRUEL PREP, is Finn and Lily’s story.

  Book 2, CRUEL ACADEMY, is Caleb and Haley’s story.

  Book 3, CRUEL ELITE, is Noah and Penny’s story.

  1

  Haley

  The boy getting his ass kicked in the ring looks like he does not want to be there.

  I get it.

  I don’t want to be here either.

  I don’t know why I came at all, to be honest. It’s not safe for me here.

  John could be anywhere, around any corner. Waiting for me.

  Not a single person in the crowd would do anything to intervene if he chose tonight to try and drag me back into his world.

  Underground fights like this one aren’t exactly a breeding ground for Good Samaritans.

  If John did pounce out, they’d probably all cheer. Like this was just another fight on the undercard.

  Haley Cochran versus her abusive ex-boyfriend, John “Bumper” Whitley! Watch as this hundred-pound girl desperately tries to fend off the leather-clad douche bag who’s made her life a living hell!

  Shit—not only would they stand around and watch, they’d probably start betting on the outcome.

  I’m seated at the top of the bleachers looking down at the boxing ring in the middle. Sunglasses on and hoodie pulled over my face so nobody recognizes me, even though it makes me look like a total diva bitch since it’s, ya know, nighttime.

  But even up here, I’m still close enough to see the blood spattering the canvas of the ring down below.

  One of the fighters is bigger than the other—taller, broader, thicker—but something about him seems unsteady. Ready to crumble at any moment.

  Probably because it’s almost entirely his blood that’s been spilled.

  His opponent, a stocky boy with light brown hair and a distractingly muscled back, is fully in charge of the match.

  Even worse—he knows it.

  He’s so arrogant that I can’t sense it from here.

  It’s in the way he walks around the ring. Hands down by his side, inviting his opponent to strike. Taunting. Sneering. Laughing.

  It’s in the way he grins. The way he spits. The way he waves his arms at the crowd, egging them on to get louder, rowdier.

  And they do. They love him. They envy him. They want him.

  Caleb Wilson is a god here…

  To everyone but me.
r />   Dread coils in my stomach like a snake. I take a deep breath to try and shake off the nerves that have been clinging to me like static electricity all day. My clothes feel too tight, my hair keeps brushing across my nose, and I’m suddenly unsure of what to do with my hands.

  I shouldn’t have come here. This was a mistake.

  It’s time for me to go.

  I adjust my hoodie lower and start to clamber down the bleachers. I keep my head down and move fast.

  But not fast enough.

  “Haley?” comes a shrill, drunken voice.

  I freeze. Fuck. I should just keep going. Run out into the parking lot, get in my car, and get the hell out of dodge.

  But it’s too late. I’ve been spotted.

  “Haley Cochran, is that you?!” the girl repeats.

  Sighing, I turn around and lower my sunglasses.

  “No fucking way!” shrieks the girl—Anna McCauley—in a bastardized New York accent that is as fake as the long lashes she’s wearing. Anna always has her lashes on.

  I give her a tight smile. “Hi.”

  “Are you slumming or what?” She takes a long sip of whatever spiked drink is inside of her gas-station Styrofoam cup and smacks her lips. “I didn’t think you ran with us anymore.”

  “I’ve been busy. We moved this summer and—”

  “I know. Big castle on the hill. We’ve all seen it.”

  My stomach flips. “You know where I live?”

  She nods, looking dangerously unsteady on her high heels. “If you thought you could disappear after the way you left Public, you’re batshit crazy. Crazier than I thought, actually.”

  Shit. No bueno. If Anna knows where I live, then John certainly does, too.

  Hell, she’s probably the person who told him.

  That’s not good. Not good at all.

  Anna leans forward, eyes as wide as possible considering the weight of her lashes. “Is it true you tore his place to shit? I heard you trashed his house after he dumped you?”

  “After he dumped me?” I bark out a laugh. “I broke up with him.”

  She purses her lips and nods, but I can tell she doesn’t buy it. No one does. Not a single one of the Public kids I used to call my friends.

  Not that I care. If I had it my way, I’d never see any of those people again.

  Anna shrugs, takes another long sip of her beverage, and then totters away without even bothering to say bye. I watch her go.

  “Bitch,” I whisper under my breath.

  She takes a seat amongst a cluster of Public girls on one of the front bleachers. They all start whispering and cackling. A few of them throw mean glances my way.

  “Bitches,” I correct. Wouldn’t want any of my former so-called friends to feel left out of that term of endearment.

  Even though it’s a bad idea, I let myself search their faces to see if Estefania is among them.

  Estefania—my actual former best friend. Who is also the girl who hasn’t returned a single one of the many, many text messages I’ve sent since my family moved across town and I switched schools from Public to Ravenlake Academy.

  I’m desperate to see her. To hear from her. For her to say something to me, anything at all. Even just a “hi” or a “fuck you.” She’s the only person left at Public that I care about.

  But it seems the feeling is not at all mutual.

  The crowd noise picks up. I look over to the ring to see what’s happening.

  Between the ropes, Caleb is doing what he does best—pounding his opponent into a pulp. His back is facing me, so I can see how his muscles flex and shine under the spotlights.

  Slicked with sweat.

  Dangerous and deadly.

  Also, absurdly gorgeous.

  I shake my head and stick that thought where the sun don’t shine.

  Caleb hates my guts. With good reason. After everything that happened between us…

  No! I think to myself. Noooope. No way, Jose. Don’t even go there.

  The past is the past. Nothing good can come of revisiting the things that John did while I was with him. The things he made me do.

  I shudder and turn away as the crowd roars behind me.

  I’ve overstayed my welcome. It’s time to get the hell out of here.

  This part of my life is over.

  2

  Haley

  I take a deep breath when I push through the rusted side door and emerge into the parking lot.

  It’s summer in Ravenlake, Texas, so the air is humid. But it feels good anyways. Calming. Soothing.

  Out here, the roar of the crowd is hardly noticeable. It’s just crickets. Distant cars passing on the highway. The drone of the single fluorescent streetlight in the far corner of the parking lot. The sounds of South Texas at night.

  Until, when someone reaches out of the darkness and grabs me, I add my scream to the mix.

  “What the fuck are you doing here?” someone snarls.

  I whirl around, still caught in the man’s grasp.

  I’m expecting to see John.

  He found me. He came to finish what he started. To shut me up. Silence me for good.

  But it’s not him.

  Instead, it’s Levi—John’s best friend.

  Not quite as bad as I feared. But not much better, either.

  “I’m leaving,” I snap. I wrench my arm free of his clutches and take a step away from him.

  “Why did you come here tonight?” His breath is thick with the scent of alcohol. So much that I feel a little drunk just smelling it. “Not smart, little Halez. Not smart at all.”

  I ball my hands into fists. “Thought I’d put some money on the Wilson kid.”

  He growls between clenched teeth. “Don’t be a smartass. No one has heard from you in months. If you knew what was good for you, you’d be hiding.”

  I roll my eyes. “You don’t scare me, Levi.”

  That’s a lie.

  I do a quick survey of my surroundings. I’m alone in a parking lot with a drunken asshole who’s best friend with my abusive ex. Fact is that I’m not just scared—I’m fucking terrified.

  Everyone inside is screaming their heads off as Caleb Wilson, the Fighter Prince of Ravenlake Prep, beats another idiot into submission.

  Which means none of them will hear me if I start screaming for help.

  All of which means one thing: I’m fucked.

  Levi stands taller, puffing out his thin chest. I always referred to him as “the rat,” which amazingly he didn’t care for, despite how accurate it was.

  Like a rodent, he scurries around gathering intel on everyone and everything to take back to his nest of Hell Prince scum. And if you give him the chance, he’ll shit all over you. The only person he is loyal to is John.

  Still, rat or not, he is bigger than I am. Stronger, too.

  He reaches out and grabs me again. His hand is an immovable cuff around my forearm.

  He pulls me close, his breath hot in my face. He must see me glance around, hoping for some last minute savior, because he smiles.

  “You aren’t under John’s protection anymore. You know that, right? No one gives a shit what happens to you.”

  “Let me go,” I say evenly. “Even if we aren’t dating, I’m sure John wouldn’t appreciate this.”

  The fluorescent light makes Levi’s skin look yellow and sickly. When he smiles wider, a shiver moves down my back.

  “You’ve been gone almost the whole summer, honey. You don’t know the first fuckin’ thing about what John wants anymore.”

  Before I can really react, Levi yanks me into a small alcove in the alley behind the abandoned building where the underground fight is taking place.

  I try to pull against his hold, but I can’t break free.

  He’s got me.

  Levi flings me against the rough brick wall and pins me there with his hips. My head cracks hard against the bricks. I see stars.

  My heart is a jackhammer in my chest, but I can’t move. Can’t breathe.


  My entire body is frozen in panic.

  Then, suddenly, Levi’s mouth is over mine.

  His lips are dry and thin, and his kiss is crushing and unrelenting. There is nothing warm or sensual or pleasurable about it at all. It feels like my teeth are being ground into dust and the smell of alcohol on his breath is so strong I want to gag.

  I slam my hands into his chest, surprising him enough that he stumbles back a step and breaks the kiss.

  “What the hell?” I curse, wiping at my mouth with the sleeve of my hoodie. “What are you doing?”

  He spits on the ground. “Seeing what the big deal is about. John was pissed when you left, and I didn’t get it. What’s so special about you?”

  He lurches towards me again.

  I try throwing a knee into his balls, but my aim is off and he takes it in the thigh instead. He grunts in pain, but it’s not enough to stop him.

  Especially not when he rears back and slaps me.