Dark Little Game (Crimson College #1)

Chapter 1

Rayne

I know I’m being followed as I run across campus.

My feet hit the cobblestone path that curves toward the meticulously cut grass of the quad.

A place that should feel like home.

A place that doesn’t feel like fucking home at all right now.

When things feel too perfect, I get a feeling deep in my bones, like a certainty that the other shoe will drop, or that I’m in the calm before a devastating storm.

Too perfect is bad.

Dangerous.

And I’m letting myself dwell and dwell and fucking dwell on the one thing I shouldn’t, a person who has clawed his way back into my psyche like a fever I can’t shake.

The way Hunter Knox absolutely fucking loves to do.

A twig snaps under my shoes on the path.

My vision darts all around me as I run beneath the canopy of trees.

Look behind.

Look in front.

Glance right, glance left.

When a psychopath is around, you feel crazier, too.

I’m out on a jog with Weston, but I’ve been gaining on him for a few minutes now. I pull in a lungful of air and hang back a little, waiting for Wes to catch up.

My best friend isn’t a slow runner.

He’s just a lot more chill about the whole Hunter situation than I am.

“Think he’s here yet?” I mutter to Weston as I match his jog.

Weston is silent for a moment.

“Quit thinking about him.”

“He’s your brother,” I say. “If he’s going to be on this campus, I’m going to talk about him, especially if I have to be his fucking roommate.”

The sound of Weston’s footsteps falls in line with mine.

For a moment, I listen to the sound of his breath. We cut off onto a small gravel path that curves onto the main quad, jogging at a steady pace.

“You’ve asked me about Hunter three times today. Pretend not to be obsessed, Rayne. I don’t know when he’s getting here, and I don’t care.”

Look behind.

Left.

Right.

“Wasn’t a single day of high school that your brother didn’t fucking piss me off,” I mutter.

The words spill out of my mouth before I can filter them. I wish I could shove them back in.

“Well, we’re not in high school anymore.”

“Damn right.”

Back then, Hunter was stronger than me.

That’s not the case anymore.

Look left.

Look right.

Behind me, then back in front.

“No more all-nighters for me,” I tell him. “Think I’m starting to lose it.”

“Stone and Flame party is tomorrow, so you better get sleep tonight.”

“All I ask is that it’s better than last night’s party.”

Wes makes a mock cooing sound. “Poor little Rayne didn't have his boyfriend around to get his cock wet? Aww, is that your pwoblem?”

“Shut the fuck up. Also yes, it is.”

Weston puffs out a heavy breath. “Mikael is such a fucking prick.”

“Talking shit about my boyfriend now?”

“I tell Mikael he’s a prick to his face all the time. Double Daggers fuckface.”

“Same, honestly,” I say. “His phone is turned off again today, I guess. Haven’t heard from him.”

He hums, casting me a glance. “Red flags just make your cock hard, I guess.”

Red flags make my cock hard.

Massive understatement.

It may as well be the title of my goddamn biography.

I slip out my phone and jot off another couple of texts to Mikael that he’ll probably never respond to.

You around?

Want to see you tonight. xx

Channeling a polite tone into my texts feels like trying to put a bandage on a broken femur.

I’m shocked when he responds right away, ignoring the messages I sent yesterday asking where he was.

Mikael: Maybe. Kiss kiss

Can you come over in an hour?

He doesn’t respond.

I know he probably won’t send another message at all.

He hates anything that isn’t vague.

I probably won’t even hear from my boyfriend again until he decides to show up one night in Onyx House, drunk, on his own terms.

“You okay?” Weston asks.

I clench my jaw, shoving my phone back in my pocket.

“I’m too nice. And I’m sick of it.”

Weston groans with pleasure. “Fuck yeah. Do you know how long I’ve been waiting for you to realize that? Enter your villain arc, Rayne. I’m begging you.”

I snort at him, giving him a little shove.

But I want this year to be good, too.

A steady rage is pooling in my veins, like I’m ready for a fight right now.

I almost wish Hunter was here now.

I’d take him to the ground first.

Hunter and Wes have always despised each other, too.

Every time they’d get into physical fights back in high school, I would watch closely as my anger built up like a pressure cooker threatening to blow.

Sometimes I’d try to pull Hunter away while he was trading punches with Wes.

He would shrug me off like a fly.

I managed to split his lip once, and he just smiled. He threatened me with a butterfly knife, but his blade never touched my skin.

“At least I’ve been hitting the gym like a fucking fiend,” I tell Weston. “Hunter’s in for a treat.”

Weston furrows his brow, turning to give me a hard glance.

“Rayne. You’re not actually thinking of still trying to fight him, are you?”

I set my jaw, breathing in through my nostrils. “I won’t let him fuck with you. Or me. Or anyone in Onyx Society.”

“Do not engage with my brother,” Wes says. “We both know that’s the best option.”

“Can’t ignore him when he puts knives to our throats.”

“Yes we can. And we will.”

Weston’s jog quickens, and I match his pace.

Suddenly we’re surrounded by the bustle of students in the main part of campus.

Crimson College is in full swing, gearing up for another school year.

I was ready to rule this campus like a goddamn king this year before I got the bad news about Hunter coming.

Wes heads forward along the path through the quad, running away from me and my questions.

I’m in my second year of college.

I’m finally someone.

I’m in a prestigious secret society, I’m on the football team, and people on campus actually know who I am.

And it feels good to have all eyes on me.

Weston and I slow down the pace as we make it onto our street, Red Row. The street is home to each of the three big society houses, side by side.

Luros Sorority, Double Daggers, and us at Onyx Society.

We’re both breathing heavy as we pass by the houses. Each one has their symbol: roses for Luros house, a stone surrounded by flame for Onyx, and Double Daggers with their twin daggers.

Can I relax, now?

Please?

But like before, something’s off.

Too perfect, all over again.

The whole street smells like fresh-cut grass, and the sound of a riding lawn mower comes from somewhere far off.

And I’m blissfully unaware of what’s unfolding right now.

As I run home, it’s beginning.

One of the Onyx Society founders is being attacked.

A black rope is currently wrapped around his neck.

Someone’s attempting to strangle him.

He’ll be hospitalized in around six minutes.

Five minutes, now, probably.

I just haven’t found out yet.

The Crimson College clock tower bell rings out, reverberating across campus and echoing through the trees.

We head inside the house, pushing through the heavy wooden double doors.

Onyx House looks like something out of an English castle, and I love every detail of it. Tall diamond-paned windows, dark red sofas, and a shiny black grand piano in one corner of the front room.

More than a few empty champagne bottles dot the ledge above the fireplace this afternoon, remnants of last night’s party.

If Hunter is going to be here, I’m not letting him ruin this.

Onyx will always be my home.

Not his.

A few of the guys are in the back sunroom when Wes and I walk in.

Noah is facing us, picture-perfect in a dark red Crimson College jersey.

“Rayne. Wes. Where have you been? Did you hear what happened?”

“Hear what?”

“There’s bad news,” Noah continues, his brow furrowed. “James is in the hospital. Badly hurt.”

Something in my chest goes cold.

I step into the room and lean against the edge of the sofa. “What?”

James is one of the three filthy-rich founding members of Onyx Society.

“James was leaving his house,” Noah explains. “The driver that picked him up strangled him in the black car, but James is… James. He can fend for himself. He broke free.”

“No one fucks with him,” I mutter.

But clearly someone did.

“James managed to knock him out, but in the process, the driver pulled a gun. James was grazed by a shot on his skull.”

“Holy shit.”

“Neighbors called an ambulance. He’s already at the hospital, his family is there, and he will be fine.”

I nod. “Right. He will be fine. I know that. James is indestructible.”

“I agree.”

“But who attacked him?”

Weston is still looking out into the yard, his expression unreadable. The shadows cast by the leaves outside dance over his face.

Weston knows James a little better than I do, and I can’t imagine how he must be feeling.

James, Ezra, and Ethan.

All of us know their names.

James, Ezra, and Ethan are like living legends in Onyx, all three of them like the godfathers of this society despite still being in their mid-twenties.

They were juniors when they founded Onyx Society.

Unlike Crimson College, Onyx is new blood. The society is just four years old.

They wanted something like a fraternity that didn’t have to play by any school rules, and when Double Daggers rejected them, they started Onyx.

Noah shakes his head. “Nobody knows, but if anyone can find out, it’s going to be those three guys.”

I set my jaw.

No.

It’s going to be me.

I care about Onyx Society more than I care about my own life.

I need this community.

I need to be the first person in my family to graduate college and succeed. For my mom, but more selfishly, for me.

“If Hunter has anything to do with this attack, I’m going to end him,” I say.

“It’s not him,” Weston interjects.

He’s still looking out the window, but there’s a finality to his voice.

“How do you know that?”

Weston’s tone is brittle. “Because my father just texted me, five minutes ago. Hunter’s at his house for dinner. He isn’t on campus yet.”

A hot pool of shame eats away at every nerve in my body.

“Whatever,” I mutter.

Weston finally looks up at me, holding his chin high. “You talk about my brother so much I swear you want to fuck him, Rayne.”

“Stop.”

“He’s on a loop in your head. Rent free. Call me when I have my best friend back, ok?”

Wes heads upstairs and slams his bedroom door shut, the sound reverberating through the whole house.