Page 93 of Vexatious Queen

“Tell me something, Trent…do you know who I am?”

He swallowed before nodding ever so slightly.

“Then, do you honestly think I haven’t removed more than one student from the school who thought they were above the rules?”

I popped more of the candy into my mouth and locked eyes with him. He was the type who had gotten away with whatever he wanted for too long without consequence. That lack of discipline made him think he was invincible. The stupidity that bred, got you killed.

“Miller, my dad is Mark Miller,” Trent finally blurted out.

“Liam?”

“I know the name. He’s in real estate, but also diversifies with hedge fund opportunities. A real risk taker and investor in the robotics and AI community.”

“Great, someone who has never watched a sci-fi movie and seen the consequences of trusting machines to run the world,” I mumbled, rolling my eyes. “Trent, does your daddy know that you’re selling drugs?”

Myles let go of Trent’s head and moved the knife, but stayed close enough to jump into action should the need arise.

“No.”

“I assume you want to keep it that way?”

“Yes,” he said.

“Where are you getting the product? Trust me, it is far better to tell me than to protect whoever’s got you selling.”

Trent licked his lips and looked down.

“I’m not selling for anyone.”

My brow arched.

“What I mean is, I’ve been taking a little from the stash that my father’s friend has at one of our houses.” He lifted a shoulder and let it drop. “I figured he wouldn’t miss it and I could make a little extra cash for things that my father didn’t need to know about.”

“So, you’re skimming drugs to sell when your family has enough money for multiple homes and Wayward? You do see how odd that is, right? What is it? Are you an adrenaline junky? Do you like the danger of it, or do you want to feel like a badass?”

“Naw, my dad is stingy.”

Trent all but stopped breathing as I stood and grabbed the arms of the chair, along with his wrists.

“Well, Trent, we have a few problems. Drugs are not allowed to be sold on school grounds. That’s not just a Wayward rule. That is my fucking rule. And a year ago, I would’ve cut your balls off and let you spend the rest of your pathetic life reliving your mistakes every time your dick failed to stand up.”

Trent whimpered.

“But I’m older, wiser and it’s a lot of work to clean the blood up, so I won’t do that…at least, not yet.”

“Please…I swear I’ll never sell inside the school again.”

My smile was wicked, full of fake enthusiasm.

“That’s good to hear, and a wise life choice, but our next issue is that you’re in my territory. That means that even selling outside of the school is my fucking concern,” I growled, my hands tightening.

Trent tried to lean away as terror filled his eyes.

“Our third issue hits close to home for me and simply pisses me the fuck off. You go after easy marks, kids who had problems before coming here. That’s a dick move for anyone. I don’t know how you got that information, but it stops now. You feel me?”

He nodded furiously.

“I require a conversation with whoever is storing product with your family. As I said, this is my area. Mine. So, Trent, who the fuck is your father’s friend? And this is not the time to clam up.”