When I reached my car, I slid behind the wheel, exhaling slowly. Another job done.
Roman would call it a success. The Dionysus Council would call it loyalty. But for me? It was really just noise. A distraction. Because now that the blood was off my hands and the work was finished, I could finally get back to doing what I actually wanted.
Watching Violet Calloway.
12
Violet
“Holy fuck, guys.”
Jeremiah’s eyes widened, and he held up his phone. Four sets of eyes turned to stare at him.
Our group had claimed a little island of a table in the dining hall for dinner earlier, and now we were onto dessert; plates half full of crème brûlée and chocolate mousse, spoons clinking and voices low so we didn’t annoy the students still hunched over laptops despite the late hour.
“You know my step-cousin?” Jeremiah went on. “Jessica?”
The other three nodded in unison. “Is she okay?” Cherry asked.
“Physically, yes, but emotionally… she’s freaking the fuck out.” He paused, brows knitting as he looked at his phone again. “She lives in the Arlington building, down in the city. Violet, have you heard of that place?”
I shook my head. “I don’t think so.”
“It’s one of those ultra-exclusive Upper East Side apartment buildings. You know the kind; doormen in uniforms, twenty-four-seven concierge, privateeverything. So basically, it’s the sort of place you’d expect to feel uber-safe,” he said. “But thecraziest thing happened there a few hours ago. Jessica said the whole building is on lockdown while the cops check everything out.”
“What happened?” Ginny asked.
“There was some sort of glitch in the security system. While the staff were rebooting it all, some burglar got in and shot a guy dead in the apartment right across from Jessica’s place. All for a few Rolexes, apparently. And get this: Jessica said the dead guy was the lieutenant governor.”
“Holy shit, that’s insane.” Dylan’s eyes were wide as saucers. “That building is meant to be the ultimate fortress. How the hell did someone get in?”
Jeremiah shrugged. “Jessica says the burglar must’ve noticed the cameras were down and started knocking on doors until someone answered. The guy who died probably thought it was a delivery or maintenance. It’s chaos there right now.”
“Sounds pretty staged to me,” Ginny said, one brow arched. “I mean… the system just happens to stop working right at the exact time an armed robber is walking around the area? And the guy who died just happens to be a political figure?”
“Jessica said she heard the cops talking in the hall, and right now they think it’s just a robbery gone bad. But who knows? Maybe it was planned by some political opponent, or a crime ring that targets the elite. Or maybe even a disgruntled Arlington staff member,” Jeremiah replied in a grim tone. “Either way, Jessica is freaked. She’s worried that next time someone knocks on her door, it’ll be some masked guy with a gun.”
“God, it feels like literallynowhereis safe these days,” Dylan said, head shaking.
An uneasy silence fell over the table, and I felt a chill creep down my spine as I thought about Calista's fall from the clock tower. Another death that looked like one thing but might be something else entirely.
Cherry finally broke the silence a moment later.
“Guys… I don’t mean to sound all woo-woo, but I’m starting to think this might be a warning sign from the universe,” she said.
I tilted my head. “A warning about what?”
“That tunnel thing we were talking about earlier,” she said, eyes bright with anxiety. “Breaking into the Dionysus estate is super dangerous. I mean, no matter how careful we are, we could still end up like that dead guy in the Arlington. Here one minute, shot to death the next.”
“But that happened down in the city, and it’s always been more dangerous down there,” Jeremiah said. “Besides, it wasn’t the burglar who got shot there. It was the apartment owner. Andwe’rethe burglars in this scenario. I mean, not that we’re planning to steal anything or shoot anyone. I just mean… we’re the ones who want to break in.”
“Yes, I know that,” Cherry said in a testy tone. “But just think about it. Think about everything we’ve heard about the Dionysus Club. Do you really think that estate isn’t armed to the teeth? We could step out the other end of that tunnel and have twenty guns pointed at our faces.”
“Good point,” Ginny murmured.
“I doubt they’d guard an old tunnel that intensely,” Jeremiah said, shrugging. “No one knows about the entrance in the ossuary except the members, presumably. And now us, which they don’t know. So why would they expect anyone to find it?”
“Just in case someonedoes, like you did,” Cherry said. She rubbed her forehead and sighed. “I mean… you could be right. There could be nothing at the other end. But I’m not sure it’s worth the risk.”
