Read Everlasting Bond for Free Online Page A

tried not to cringe as he eyed her up and down. Feeling the hotness of his breath against her cheek made her skin crawl, but she had to do something so Jake could survive the school year without being bullied.
    “You know what I want, Kat,” he whispered in her ear.
    “When hell freezes, you ass!”
    “Ah come on, play nice. You asked, I answered,” Brody grinned, as he lightly stroked her hair.
    She smacked h is hand away. “Don’t touch me!”
    “You’re such a tease!”
    As Brody grabbed for Katrina’s wrist, she felt a cold grip of ice spin her out of the way. It was very firm and chilly, which sent every hair on her arm stand on end. When she spun back around, a very familiar face was standing between her and Brody.
    “Why don’t you guys leave them alone and go outside?” Cole demanded.
    “Why don’t you make me, city boy?” Brody fired back gettin g into Cole’s face.
    At that moment everything in the cafeteria froze. Then , in a matter of seconds, a good sized crowd started to form and watch. It was obvious by their faces most of them weren’t sure who would win.
    “Gladly!” Andrew eagerly appeared from behind Cole.
    Motioning a hand for Andrew to hold off, Cole stepped towards Brody and both boys squared off. Neither one was giving an inch. It was like watching two bulls ready to pounce on each other and it was clear neither would back down.
    “Let’s settle down,” Principal Weber’s voice made Katrina jump. “Do we have a problem here, Mr. Miller?” His voice growled, as he shoved his way through the swarm of students.
    The short, stocky man stared them all down through the edge of his square black-rimmed glasses. His slick bald head glistened under the cafeteria lighting. Underneath his brown polyester suit, Katrina could see small streaks of sweat start to appear.
    “No, sir. We’re fine,” Brody replied. The deceitful look on his face insinuated everything was far from being fine.
    “Then let’s disperse and enjoy what’s left of our lunch please.” Principal Weber turned to face the crowd that had gathered. They started to dissipate with sighs of disappointment. Apparently, Katrina wasn’t the only student wishing that Brody would have gotten what was coming to him.
    Brody and Mason gave them a smug smile and then made their way outside. This left just Katrina, Jake, and the two Aldrich boys.
    “You okay?” Cole asked, turning to face Katrina.
    “Yeah. Thanks.”
    “How about you—Jake?” Andrew asked, stumbling over his name.
    “Yeah. I’m good.” Jake tried to avoid eye contact.
    The four of them stood in awkward silence for a few agonizing minutes, before Cole’s voice broke through. “Mind if we join you for lunch?”
    “Sure,” Katrina nodded. Why did I just say that?
    This frustr ated Katrina more than ever. How was she supposed to talk to Stacy with Cole and Andrew at their table? Stacy would be too busy drooling over them to focus on anything else. And having lunch inches away from what could be vicious killers didn’t exactly help her appetite.
    Cole smiled and motioned for Katrina to lead the way. Katrina noticed even his mannerisms were very elegant and polite—too polite for someone from New York. The way his eyes lit up as he smiled was enough to do her in. She felt the warm tingle all the way down to her toes. Sucking in a deep breath, she tried to ignore her body’s reaction and headed for the lunch table.
    Stacy was already seated with enough food to share with the entire cafeteria. She always did have a larger than normal appetite c ompared to most girls her size.
    It took a while before Stacy looked in their direction, but Katrina could tell the exact moment she realized that Cole and Andrew were joining them. Her eyes glistened in excitement like it was Christmas morning.
    “This is Stacy,” Katrina introduced her, as Stacy gave them a huge grin.
    “Hi.” Both Cole and Andrew nodde d their heads in her direction.
    “You told me you