Total pages in book: 164
Estimated words: 157308 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 787(@200wpm)___ 629(@250wpm)___ 524(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 157308 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 787(@200wpm)___ 629(@250wpm)___ 524(@300wpm)
I did not let Mom see mine, or tell her I received a letter. My decision to kill Owen and the others was instantaneous—decided before I reached the final word. When they all turned up dead, I didn’t want the first person my mother looked at to be me. Bearing the weight of one daughter’s death and the other’s fractured soul was too much for the woman I found in the bathroom with a razor only the day before.
Mom can’t know what I’m about to do. She can’t know that Giovanni just signed the check that’ll lead to the loss of his girlfriends, friends, status, freedom, and ultimately, his life. They all have.
I left the building behind, setting down the sidewalk that curved around campus, came up behind Greek Row, and then led the way back to the Gallery. With Rafael wrapping it up with the Royal Bastards, I’d be the first one back to whip up the midnight snack. He deserved one after that performance. I’d replay Giovanni shoving Levi—the guy who had the situation right from the beginning—over and over in my head.
I can whip up something simple, sweet, and delicious for us. Caramel sundaes or brownies in a—
A branch snapped, heralding a curse from the depths of the trees. I spun as someone stumbled out.
Saylor swatted a twig out of her hair—annoyed at the thing for daring to mess with her style, then she landed on me.
“What are you doing here?” we said in unison.
Saylor stormed across the lawn, gossamer skirt swishing. “You’re pathetic. Are you following me?”
I scoffed. “Don’t flatter yourself. How was I supposed to know you spend your nights skulking around the woods like a skunk?”
Her eyes narrowed to slits. “And what are you doing here? Did you just leave your latest hookup? Some poor girl who hasn’t figured out she can do better than the Pussy Muncher.”
“Got it in one,” I said brightly. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got better things to do than waste my time with you. Like literally anything. Sticking my head in a beehive ranks higher than dealing with you, no matter what your little scroll says— Oops.” My smile widened as hers melted away. “What it said.”
Her glare burned me where I stood. “You think you’re clever, Sinclair. That you’re tough and brave for standing up to me. All that makes you is stupid.”
I walked away. “Tell your threats to someone who’s afraid of you.”
“Just because I haven’t gotten you back yet”—something in her tone slowed me—“doesn’t mean you’ll get away with disrespecting me, my family, or our position. Rafael and I have unfinished business.” She brushed against me, whispering in my ear. “I have to wait until he’s shaken you loose and you’re alone.
“When my opportunity presents itself, you’ll find out what happens to people who fuck with Saylor Burkhardt. Sorry, I mean you’ll find out again. The broken wrist and busted lip didn’t get the message in.”
I left without another word, ignoring her high, tinkling laugh following me into the night. Saylor could make all the threats she wanted. I was finally on the edge of taking my sister’s killers down. She was done distracting me from my true purpose.
I thought that, but Saylor’s threat hung over my head through the night and into the next day. She was clever about getting me alone the first time. Saylor was smart enough not to pull the same trick twice, so if her intent was to arrange another beating, pulling me out of class isn’t it.
Then how exactly does she think she’ll get another opportunity? I sat on the rim of the fountain, chewing my lip and distractedly enjoying Wilder making students veer away from the fountain with a single look. I’m not accepting another invitation to her palace. Ambushing me in my dorm room won’t go over so well now, and at least one of the guys is with me whenever I’m outside. From that tally, her threat is as empty as her chest cavity.
“What the fuck are you looking at?” Wilder jumped up, fists balled and ready to go at two confused guys in glasses who came too close. “Look at her again. I dare you!”
They bumped into each other rushing away.
I flashed him a wry grin. “You enjoy scaring people, don’t you?”
He shrugged. “It brings me a certain amount of pleasure. I won’t lie.” Wilder dropped next to me, propping his leg on the rim and slinging an arm over. “What’s the update with your folks? Are they still pulling you out of school?”
Slumping, I blew out a breath. “The last I heard, Mom was making calls to the dean that haven’t been returned. As soon as they can get a meeting, they’re going to get his approval for me to transfer to the community college up the coast in the middle of the semester. I tried to remind Jack about our deal and that the Wilsons intend for us to hold up our end. All he said is he won’t go against my mother’s wishes.”