I bolt away from the building as fast as I can to get away from those fuckers. Not only have I found the guy who danced with me at the party, who crept into my room and kissed me … but all three of the guys were there the night I killed that pervert.
And now they know it was me who thwarted their plans.
Squeals and laughter from farther down the street put me on edge. Any sound, any movement makes me skittish, like a stray cat ready to dart and hide.
I’m never this uneasy, this unsettled. But I can feel in my bones that nothing will ever be the same again after tonight.
Adrenaline forces my feet to keep moving, avoiding the streetlights where I can so no one can see me. Their sticky cum is still in my hair and all over my clothes, and wiping does me no good.
Fuck, I can’t believe I let them do that to me.
All because of one fucking kiss.
But a part of me wanted to find out so badly which one of those fuckers invaded my home that I couldn’t say no.
The price was high to get an answer to the question burning in the back of my mind.
The boy who tormented me, threatened me, stole my ribbon, snuck into my room to kiss me …
Kai Torres.
I’ll never get that shimmery green eye out of my mind, so vibrant and filled with duplicity.
I swallow down the nerves before I head into my sorority and seal the door behind me, putting on all the locks as if that will keep them out.
I run up the stairs and storm into my room.
Suddenly, another door opens halfway down the hall. “Lana? That you?” It’s Irina.
“Yeah, sorry, went for a run,” I mutter before I close the door.
I’m still breathing wildly when a knock on my door follows.
“You all right?”
It takes me a while to respond. “Yeah … I’m fine.”
I don’t enjoy lying, but for the sake of her safety, I will. I cannot involve my friends in this.
“Just a little tired from all the running, that’s all,” I add.
“Okay, well, if you’re still hungry, I put some leftover pizza in the fridge downstairs.”
“Thank you,” I reply. “I appreciate it.”
“Night,” she says, yawning loudly.
“Sleep tight,” I reply as she shuffles away.
When her door finally closes, I can breathe again.
My eyes float through my room, wondering if anyone is here. If Kai will come creeping up to me at any moment. I rush to the window and shut it tightly, making sure it’s locked. Then I check my laptop and fill in my password to check no one logged in while I was gone. Luckily, everything still seems the same.
The exception being me.
Nothing I do calms my racing heart.
Those boys …
They don’t just have a grip on my biggest secret but now also on my body, and I fucking hate it.
I scoot my chair back and rip off all my clothes, chucking them into the bin before I put on my bathrobe and head to the shower. I turn it on the highest heat, throw off my bathrobe, and jump under, basking in the scalding water to rinse myself of their filth.
But with each wash and each lathering of more and more soap, the dirty memories of them toying with me, kissing me, licking me, making me come become clearer and clearer until my clit thumps again, and my legs quiver against my will.
Stop it, Lana. Just fucking stop it.
They’re just three fucking boys trying to bully you into submission, that’s all.
But they’re not just three boys.
They’re all on my brother’s no-go list.
Fuck. Now I understand why.
I should’ve listened to that fucking list, but now it’s too late. If my brother finds out what they’ve done to me, he’ll go after them … And then they’ll tell him what I did.
After which my life as I know it will be over.
I was supposed to be the golden child. The perfect daughter my father raised so she could one day take over his business empire and continue the family legacy.
But now all that dangles on a single red thread.
Nathan
I clutch the red ribbon and stare at it while sitting on the couch in the chapter room.
“This girl …” I mutter. “This is the one you’ve been visiting?”
I look up at Kai, who’s sitting on a chair at the table so Milo can clean his wound.
His eyes narrow in a suspicious manner. “How do you know I’ve been in her room?”
My jaw tenses. “You first.”
“I kissed her, yes, if that’s what you want to know,” he replies.
My nostrils flare as the ribbon curls around in the air.
This fucking girl … she’s the girl we’ve been looking for all this time, and he found her.
I slam my fist onto the table. “You knew it was her, didn’t you?”
Even Milo stops bandaging him now.
Kai doesn’t respond.
“Tell me the truth,” I growl.
Kai’s stoic face says it all, and I stand and throw the ribbon at him. “Why the fuck didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I knew you’d want to hurt her,” he replies after a while.
“Hurt her …” I look away for a second and run my fingers through my hair. “She literally knows what we do. She’s a threat, and you knew that. You have a crush on her or something? Is that why you went to her room?”
He frowns. “How did you even find out about me visiting her?”
“I’ve seen your videos.”
The one pupil he still has dilates. “How the fuck—” His gaze darts to Milo, and the anger on his face is fitting, considering it’s exactly the kind of betrayal I feel in my bones. Pot meet fucking kettle.
“You watched the camera I put up there?”
Milo pauses his work on Kai’s leg and looks up at him. “We talked about it.”
“I didn’t give you permission to go through my fucking laptop and watch my stuff,” he growls back.
“Well, technically, I didn’t watch it on your laptop.” Milo rubs his lips together. “I just hacked into the IP and stole the feed, then watched it on my laptop.”
“That’s the same fucking thing,” Kai retorts.
“Does it even matter? You agreed we’d share her.”
What the …
“You were in on it?” I roar.
Now, I really can’t contain the fury anymore.
“Oh boy,” Milo muses.
I’m fuming, completely out of my mind enraged. “Since when?”
“He saw her walk around campus with that ribbon,” Milo fills in, wrapping the bandage around Kai’s wound and sealing it tightly. Kai throws him a fierce look, but all Milo does is shrug. “What? He already knows we fucked up.”
“Damn right, I do. You both knew that girl was the one, and you never once came to me to tell me about it. Instead, you lied and went to her on your own, to do what? Grope and kiss her?”
“Hey, I didn’t fucking lie,” Kai responds.
I snort. “Oh, because that makes it any better.”
“I don’t recall needing permission from you to fuck any girl I wanted,” he replies.
“Wanted?” I repeat.
“Yes.” When Milo finishes, Kai jumps off the table and points his finger at me. “I want her. And judging from the way you just fucking jizzed all over her, so do you.”
I scoff. “I was making a point.”
His brow rises in a taunting way. “By eagerly kissing her?”
“She begged for it,” I retort, stepping forward.
He’s right up in my face now. “She wasn’t begging you. She was begging me.”
“Guys, guys,” Milo says as he pushes between us. “No need to fight over some pussy.”
“She’s not some pussy,” Kai says.
“What, you’ve got the hots for her now?” I scoff. “Ridiculous. You know who the fuck she is.”
“I know damn well—”
“Felix fucking Rivera’s sister.” I point my finger at his chest. “Don’t you fucking forget what he and his friends did to us. That family and the Skull & Serpent Society deserve the worst of our revenge.”
“Like I don’t fucking know that,” he responds, swatting my finger aside.
“Sounds like you’re in way over your head,” I say.
He makes a tsk sound. “It’s none of your business what I do.”
“You made it my business the second you decided to hook up with the only girl who could destroy us and our whole fucking society in a heartbeat,” he replies. “Do you have any idea how dangerous this is?”
His fist tightens as he pushes Milo out of the way to get closer again. “Do not talk to me like that.”
“Like what? Like I’m the only one making any sense around here?”
Suddenly, he pulls out a knife and points it right at my chest. “Too far, Nathan. My patience has a limit.”
“Kai,” Milo says. “Please …”
“No, Milo, this is between me and Nathan,” Kai tells him, still focused on me.
My eyes narrow. “You’re making a mistake. She’s the one you should be knifing down, not me.”
I gulp as the knife pushes farther into my chest.
“I trust you as a friend. But don’t mistake my kindness for weakness.”
Finally, he retracts the knife and tucks it back into his pocket.
I take in a deep breath. “You owe me your help. After what my family did for years to keep this society up and running—”
“Haven’t I given you all my loyalty? My friendship? My blood?” he retorts, pointing his finger at his missing eye. “Haven’t I given you enough?”
Kai
Last year
The girl we cornered and swore at runs off, crying her heart out, and I fight the guilt flooding my veins.
When she’s gone, I turn to Nathan. “Do we really have to do this?”
“If there were another way, I would’ve taken it,” he replies. “Trust me. This is the only choice I have.”
“What about the rest of your family? Can’t they do something?”
He shakes his head. “They’ve already ignored us. All we’ve got left is my poor aunt.”
“We’ve already pushed Eve beyond her limit,” I say.
“We can’t stop,” he says, sucking in a breath. “We have to continue. No matter the cost.”
“Why? What could be so important that you can’t say no to him?”
“Because …” Nathan hisses, looking around to make sure no one’s listening. “My family will be reported to the police if I don’t cooperate.”
Shit. I didn’t think he was in this deep.
“I don’t want to lose my family, okay?” he adds. “So, help me out. Please.”
I sigh out loud. “Fine.” I tap his chest. “But after this is over, you owe me. Big time.”
Nathan
I swallow down the guilt. “Yes.”
“You know I’ve sacrificed enough to defend your honor. Your place at this society. Even your goddamn life as you know it.”
Even though I hate it more than anything, he’s right.
When I needed him, he defended me, and it cost him his sight. On top of that, I never could’ve stayed at this university, this society he’s the leader of, if it wasn’t for him and his wealth. All my parents’ money is gone, and with it, my life of luxury. I depend on him.
“So let me have this one taste of sin,” he responds, placing a hand on my shoulder. “As my friend.”
My body grows rigid under his grip. “Fine. But if she tells the world what we do, it’s over for us and our society.”
“She won’t,” Milo says, and we both turn to look at him. “You said you had evidence she was there. Use it to make her do what we want.” A lopsided smile forms on his face.
I think about it for a moment, but then something clicks in my head. I grab my phone and open my gallery. The picture I took of her is so fucking dirty that it makes me grin, even after the fact. My dick swells again just from the mere memory of watching her squirm on one of my toys.
“Hmm …” That girl might just prove to be the one thing I needed after all. “You know … that might not be such a bad idea. In fact, I’m pretty sure a girl with her stature and beauty would do anything to keep her violent little secret hidden from the world.”
“What are you thinking?” Kai asks, cracking his knuckles.
Opportunities.
Ripe. Rich. Decadent. Wish-fulfilling opportunities.
I throw my arm around his shoulder. “You know, a girl who’s desperate is a girl hungry to please.”
There’s a glimmer in his eyes. “I’ve already been using her secret against her to make her mine. And now that she knows who I am, I don’t intend to stop.”
A wicked smile forms on my face. “Then, as your friends … let us join in on the fun.”
“Oh, fuck yes, I’m in,” Milo muses.
At first, a hint of jealousy and anger bursts through Kai’s eye, but then his tongue darts out to wet his lips.
“Think about all the filthy things we could do with that girl,” I say.
“She’s mine,” he rasps.
“Of course she is,” I reply, not wanting to step on his toes. He’s never been this possessive over a girl, but I guess there’s a first for everything, and I definitely get it with this one. She’s violent as hell. Just the type to drive him mad. “But on your own, it’s hard to keep her in check.”
“That’s where we come in,” Milo adds, raising a brow. “Or come in her …”
“Hmm …” Kai eyes us both, his body tensing up. “As long as you two remember who she belongs to, maybe we can work together and bring her to her knees.”
My grip on his shoulder tightens, and I pull him closer. “Now you’re talking.”
