“Get off me!” I call out, but he’s too strong. I curse,straining against his hold.
Brad leaps out of bed, sprinting toward us, and the man turns to him, shouting, “He’s mine!” The words send Brad flying back over his bed, and there’s athudas he hits the floor.
“What the fuck do you want?” I ask, and as he turns back to me, his eyes widen. He leans closer, and despite my best efforts, I can’t free my wrists from his hold or buck him off me with my hips, and that face descends upon me until I feel his lips against mine. I call out, my cry stifled by his kiss as I feel a tongue push into my mouth.
The next part is a blur. I’m struggling with the man, but I don’t feel in control of my body. Then he’s gone, I’m convulsing on the bed, and Brad rushes to my side.
“Matteo? Matteo!”
Why does he sound so far away?
11
ALEXEI
Ikneel behinda patch of briars at the edge of the woods, watching the dorm exit.
About twenty minutes ago, I woke up to Luke panicking as he talked to Brad on the phone.
“What?” Luke asked. “Brad, stop talking so fast. I don’t understand.”
I tried to get him to tell me what was up, but he was cryptic in that way he gets when it comes to stuff about the Sinners. But I could tell by what he said, and the worry in his expression, that something was wrong.
Very wrong.
“I’ll get Seth and Cody,” he said before agreeing to meet Brad at his room, and after he left, I tossed on my clothes and hurried out, taking the stairs since they were more likely to take the elevator.
Waiting in my hiding spot, I’m anxious to see if they’ll head into the woods for the church. The Sinners don’t normally meet this late, but it’s been an unusual week. They’ve spent more time at the church. I haven’t been as diligent in my duties since I got what I needed from the Saints, but I still have to keep up appearances because it’sentirely possible this stuff with Matteo won’t work out and I’ll be right back where I started, needing the Saints to help me.
A breeze rushes past me, and I shiver, rubbing my hands against the outside of the hood of my jacket, over my ears to keep them warm. God, it’s fucking cold out tonight.
About ten more minutes go by, and I’m starting to think they aren’t going out tonight, when the dual doors push open. Luke and Cody lead the way, and behind them are Seth, Brad, and…who the fuck is with them?
His arms draped around Brad’s and Seth’s shoulders, head slouched forward, they’re escorting someone along the pavement as they head along their route. I have this horrible feeling even before he raises his head.
Holy fuck. They’ve got Matteo.
I’m freaking out.
Did he accidentally say too much? Did they use some spell to figure out if we were watching them? But if that was the case, why go for Matteo and not me?
Although, if Matteo did say something, he wouldn’t have ratted me out. Even in the short time we’ve known each other, I know that much about him. But couldn’t Seth have pulled that from him against his will?
There are so many thoughts racing through my head as the Sinners haul him off into the woods. They must be taking him to the church.
I don’t have time to speculate. I hurry to the parking lot, hop into my car, drive around to the back road, then run along the path through the cemetery. I have to stop themfrom fucking with Matteo. But how am I gonna manage that?
I’ve got my pocketknife, so I could use that as a weapon, but how effective would that be against their powers?
I’m racking my brain for a solution as I come up behind the church and drop down in my spot, peering through the cracked boards covering the cellar window. Matteo’s now in the middle of the pentagram, his wrists and ankles bound with rope. They’ve got a rag in his mouth and rope bound around it as a gag.
What are you guys up to?
As Matteo struggles on the floor, Brad inspects his restraints.
“I said stop!” Seth shouts.
But Matteo keeps flailing about.
