“Thanks, Cherry. Really.”
“Anytime, babe.”
The call ended, and I set my phone down, staring at Jennifer Albright's inactive Facebook profile.
What had she seen? What had they done to her in those weeks she'd been gone? Would she even be able to tell me? Or had the Dionysus Club broken her so thoroughly that the answers died with her sanity?
I closed my laptop and lay back on the bed, staring at the ceiling. Outside, the rain picked up, drumming against the window in a steady, relentless rhythm.
I still couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was watching. Waiting. Wondering how much I'd figured out… and how far they'd have to go to stop me.
9
Violet
Monday morning arrivedwith the kind of gray, heavy sky that made me want to stay in bed all day. But I had Business Strategy at nine, and I already had enough problems in my life without adding academic failure to the list.
The lecture hall was massive, with tiered seating that could hold hundreds of students. I slipped into a seat near the middle, not too close to the front but not hiding in the back either. Just... anonymous.
Professor Chang was already setting up at the podium, shuffling through notes, when I felt it. That familiar prickling awareness on the back of my neck.
I looked up and around, scanning the rows of seats filling with students, and my breath caught in my throat.
Julian Valcourt sat three rows behind and to the left. His dark hair was slightly disheveled, his profile sharp even from this distance… and he was looking directly at me.
Not glancing. Not accidentally catching my eye.Staring.
My pulse kicked up immediately, that treacherous combination of fear and something else I was ashamed to admit.
I tried to tell myself it was just adrenaline; a survival response to a predator. But if that was true… why did heat curl low in my stomach when Julian’s mouth curved into the faintest hint of a smile?
I looked away, forcing my attention to my laptop, my notebook, anywhere but him. But I could still feel his gaze on me, heavy and deliberate.
Stop it,I told myself.He's dangerous. His brother might’ve killed Cal, and he's part of the Dionysus Club. You should be terrified, not...
Notthis.
I risked another glance over my shoulder. Julian was still watching me, chin propped on his hand, completely ignoring whatever Professor Chang was saying about market segmentation.
Why was he even here? This was Business Strategy 301, a class typically taken by juniors. Although… now that I was thinking about it a little harder, I recalled that seniors could enroll if they needed the credit or wanted the elective.
So maybe Julian was just in the class by coincidence. Maybe it had nothing to do with me.
The lecture dragged on. I tried my best to focus, but every few minutes, I'd feel that magnetic pull and look up to find Julian still staring at me.
Asshole.He was clearly trying to intimidate me. As if he hadn’t done enough of that already, with all the blood he’d splashed across my bed the other night.
When class finally ended, I packed up quickly and headed to my next lecture. Organizational Behavior, in the Hecate building on the northeastern side of campus.
I found a spot near the back this time, telling myself I was being paranoid. There was no way Julian would—
He walked in, and my stomach dropped.What the hell?
He scanned the room, found me immediately, and took a seat two rows ahead. Not directly in front of me, but close enough that when he turned his head slightly to the left, I was in his peripheral vision.
This couldn't be a coincidence. Not two classes in a row.
Then again, this was also a junior-senior level course. He could legitimately be enrolled. So I couldn't accuse him of stalking me when he had every right to be here.
