Total pages in book: 131
Estimated words: 125121 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 626(@200wpm)___ 500(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 125121 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 626(@200wpm)___ 500(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
But the Royals. With their money and their ties and their nasty little club. They were stronger together too. The first step in bringing them down was snapping those ties.
I’d have Saylor and her crew arguing and suspicious of each other in a week. When all four of them were just as alone and isolated as my sister, then I’d strike.
As for Owen, Wesley, and Levi. I told them the plan without trick or guile. The attacks would never stop. I will ruin them, and by doing so, they’ll turn on each other—afraid the other will rat them out to save their own skin. That’s the thing about monsters banding together. They can never fully relax... because they’re surrounded by monsters.
I rode my high all the way to English class. Yeah, the guys would flip when I told them. Plus, Wesley, Levi, or Owen was likely planning to do something stupid to get back at me, but I wasn’t afraid.
This war was ultimately between me and the Phantom. I made my first move. Now it was their turn.
“Grab your seats. Settle down.”
I pulled my head out of my thoughts, coming to when I stepped inside Professor Anthony’s class. Our eyes met across the room and ping-ponged away. It’s hard to believe I had time to obsess about our afternoon at his beach house in between hurting over my fight with Mom, plotting how to take down the Royals, thrumming on my first time with Cato, and processing the fact that my fiancé was set on seducing me. A lot was going on, but I made time.
“Luna.” Victor waved me over. “Saved you a seat.”
My eyes slitted even as my lips tingled. That ass had been smirking at me nonstop since that kiss. In the name of keeping Victor out of my bed, Rafael gave up his second bedroom which doubled as his music room and the home to his record collection. I knew what a big deal that was for him.
He had it soundproofed to keep life’s jangling, painful noise out. No earplugs or hearing aids. In there, it was just him and his mother’s favorite bands.
I felt so terrible, I tried again to give Victor my room and said I’d sleep on the couch. All the guys said no to that, including Victor. He said he’d sleep on the couch before forcing me on it—which was the kind of considerate bullshit I didn’t have time for. If Victor wanted to start acting like a decent human being, fine by me. It was the fact that he thought he could make me fall so in love with him that I forget about the Rogues that pissed me off. What had to happen to a guy for him to become so convinced he was God’s gift to women?
When you’ve got muscles stacked on muscles, the face of a deity, and more money than one, I bet the cockiness comes easily.
Victor patted the seat beside him, smiling away.
“Behave,” I warned.
“I’m totally behaved. What do you think I’m going to do? Kiss you and make you make that sound again in front of everyone?”
“I didn’t make a sound!”
Chuckling, he draped his arm around the back of my seat, resting his hand on my shoulder. I started as he rubbed slow circles on my skin. “Do you want to lose that hand?”
“Not buying the hostility, sweetie pie. You’re the one who mounted me and begged me to take you back.”
“I’m going to stab you in your sleep.”
Victor laughed out loud, but thankfully, he stopped caressing me. His touch was doing strange things to my body temperature. Took a second to notice he didn’t move his hand.
I glanced up and found Adonis looking right at us. Did he see his brother laughing away while he touched me? Even if he didn’t, he certainly saw his arm around me then.
“Ugh, is this still happening?”
I tensed up tighter than the muscled arm against my back.
“Victor, don’t you know what happened this weekend?” Iris leaned over from her seat behind us and snatched Victor’s hand off. “It’s all over campus. Sinclair and Giovanni walked into an empty room, and only one of them walked out. She’s a killer!”
I whirled around. “I’m not—”
“Miss Dalton,” Professor Anthony barked. “That’s enough. Normally, I wouldn’t let rumors and nasty gossip take up a minute of class time, but I’m going to put an end to this right now.
“The police investigation into the tragic death of Giovanni Natale is ongoing, but the detectives on the case did release a statement to the dean that he passed on to the faculty. Miss Sinclair is not a suspect. Evidence proved she was attacked by the person who was responsible, and is a victim as well.
“Unless a single one of you has proof that contradicts the findings of seasoned detectives and an entire forensic team, there is no reason for you to spread the bald-face lie that Miss Sinclair is guilty. Understood, Miss Dalton?”