I wanted to throat chop his Adam’s apple a few weeks ago after their date. Ariah was sullen for almost a week over his fuckboy behavior. We’ve all given him hell for it since then. He’s supposed to be the most mature of the five of us— Sebastian is acting like an emotionally stunted goofball.
A wry grin lines Sebastian’s stubbled jaw. “Something she mentioned in my office before Christmas break.”
“Were any of them in reference to your extreme case of douchery?” Owen asks, making me snicker.
Seb sighs, “Seriously, how long are you all going to keep this shit up?”
“As long as it takes for you to realize your fuck up. Now, what did she say?” Lev inquires.
I turn back to the window. Vivian’s loading the last of her things in the passenger side of her car. She closes the door before turning back to speak with her parents. “Is the audio on?” I ask when I see her hands moving animatedly.
“Give me a second,” Lev says, and I hear his fingers fly across the keyboard.
“You two didn’t even fight for me to stay,” Vivian yells.
“This is for the best, Vivi. You’ll be better off away from all of this,” Mr. Taylor reasons.
“If you didn’t let all your delusions blind you, you wouldn’t be here now. This falls on you, Vivian.Youslept with Sebastian’s father,youmarried his best friend, andyouthreatened a Selected— one of your own students, no less. What’s there to fight for? Salvage your dignity and move on with your life,” Mrs. Taylor scolds.
That woman never bites her tongue.
“I always liked Mrs. Taylor,” Wes chimes.
“He is coming— Sebastian is going to be mine. I was fucking promised,” Vivian screams. Her next words are mumbled, but the drone’s audio is magnified. “She fucking promised me.”
“Did you catch that? Rewind it,” I demand.
Lev replays her words.
“She knows something. I fucking knew it,” Seb growls, slamming his fist on the armrest.
That comment makes me turn from Lev’s computer screen. “Care to fill the rest of us in?”
Sebastian sighs, “It wasn’t anything concrete— just a gut feeling. The timing of her move— her willingness to take whatever bullshit I slung at her— fuck, the ways she always would claim I’d be hers.”
“I wouldn’t beat yourself up over any of this. We just had her in the crazy ex category as well,” Lev adds. “All of her background checks cleared— even the more extensive one I had Colt run on her.”
Sebastian doesn’t look at all appeased.
Owen turns from the window, “Doesn’t matter either way— now we get to kill her for more than just fucking with our girl.”
I look back to the computer and watch as Vivian gets into her car and pulls off, exiting her driveway. We watch the drone follow her, driving through town and crossing the town line.
“She gets seventy-two hours— that’s it, not a millisecond longer. We need her to be seen, so they don’t suspect foul play once she goes missing,” Lev begins. “Seb, tomorrow you’ll call her and tell her to meet you up at the farm to talk things out. Once she arrives, we’ll question her and decide the rest from there.”
Sebastian nods before he says, “We need to bring Ariah, but I don’t think she needs to be there for the zesty interrogation portion of the evening— just for what comes later.”
My auburn brow arches, “Why exactly does she need to be there?” I question. We’ve all agreed to keep her as far away from this shit as possible.
Sebastian turns, the smirk back on his face. “She told Vivian the next time she messed with her, she’d fuck me in front of her, and I, for one, think that’s an excellent send-off for Vivi— don’t you?”
The cackle that escapes me can only be classified as hysterical. That bitch karma always gets her due.
* * *
“It’stime to wake up, Vivi,” I taunt, pouring the water over her face.
She splutters, fighting for air as awareness settles in.
