“Call me if she goes out again.” Why the fuck had I said that? Why was I offering her protection? I could BS myself into believing it was so I passed biology, but I wasn’t sure that was entirely the reason. I mean, I hadn’t nearly slept with her to get an A. I was attracted to her, that much I was certain of. The rest…
At the bottom of the stairs, Hales turned toward me, her back to the hallway leading to the kitchen. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, a nervous gesture, fingers lingering against her temple for a second longer than necessary. “So,” she said, a weirdness hovering between us.
“So,” I echoed, shoving my hands into the pockets of my sweatpants because I didn’t know what else to do with them.
Another pause.
“Didn’t you have a shirt?” she asked, realizing I was still half naked.
I grinned. “Keep it.”
She shifted from one foot to the other, suddenly looking a little unsure of herself. “We still need to actually work on our project.”
“Probably,” I agreed, fighting the urge to reach out and touch her, to pull her against me the way I had last night. I opened the front door instead, needing the distraction and something to do with my hands. The cool morning air rushed in, crisp and clean, carrying the smell of dew-wet grass and the distant promise of fall. “I’ll see you in class,” I said, stepping toward the threshold.
She blinked, her eyes widening as realization dawned across her features. “Holy shit.” She sighed, one hand coming up to press against her forehead. “I forgot we have to go to school.”
I laughed under my breath. “Yeah. That’s usually how weekdays work.”
She groaned. “I need caffeine. Like…an IV of it.”
I stepped out onto the porch. “See you later, Hales.”
She leaned against the door frame, watching me. “Later,” she said softly.
I stepped off the porch and immediately spotted the car parked across the street. Two houses down, tucked against the curb in almost the exact spot as the other night sat a car.
My whole body went rigid, every muscle locking as recognition slammed into me. It was the same make and model that I’d clocked the other night and chased through the streets.
Same asshole.
“Motherfucker,” I hissed between clenched teeth, moving, but, of course, the second I came into full view, stepping off the porch, the brake lights flared as he shifted the car into drive. He pulled away from the curb, lurching forward and blowing a stop sign.
I froze as the vehicle sped past the house, glaring at the silhouette of the driver, making note of his broad shoulders, baseball cap pulled low, and face turned deliberately away, but it was his plates I paid attention to, burning the letters and numbers into my memory before I hopped into my Jeep.
Had he been here all night, waiting, watching while I slept upstairs?
I quickly pulled out my phone and sent Kreed a text. All it said was the plate number. I’d explain the rest when I saw him.
I didn’t bother going home,and I was definitely going to miss my first few classes.
As soon as the car peeled away from Hales’s street, I jumped in my Jeep and headed to Kingsley University. To Kreed’s place.
I needed to talk to my brother.
He and Kaylor had an apartment on campus, not something incoming freshmen were allowed to have, but as always, Corvos didn’t follow rules, and my father was the king of bending them to his will. A phone call and a sizable donation, and Kreed had his apartment. As much as my brother wanted to be away from our father’s reach, away from the constant pressure of being Corvos, it wasn’t easily escaped.
And I needed information fast. Raine was over two hours away at Dalton, so that left Kreed. Besides, if I needed someone who could make things happen without asking too many questions, there wasn’t anyone better to go to than Kreed. He might not love being part of a crew, but he lived the life too damn well.
I pulled up outside his building, my Jeep sliding into a spot near the entrance. The complex was newer, all steel, glass, and brick facade. I slipped inside as two girls were leaving the main entrance, presumably off to their first class, which was where I should have been right about now.
I took the elevator to the top floor because nothing but the best for the son of Donovan Corvo. I’d only been inside once, theday Mason and I helped Kreed and Kaylor move in, and that was weeks ago now.
I found his door and knocked once and knocked again when there was no immediate response. I was about to rap a third time when something thumped inside. A lock clicked, and the door swung open, revealing my brother, one hand braced on the frame, the other rubbing sleep from his eyes.
I’d definitely woken him up, which meant he was going to be grumpier than his usually grumpy self.
He hadn’t bothered to toss on a shirt, and I should be grateful he wore a pair of sweatpants. His dark hair stuck out in a dozen directions like he’d lost a fight with his pillow…or with Kaylor, more likely, given the faint marks I saw on his neck.
