Ruthless Valentine (St. Valentines)

3. Chapter Two

Chapter Two

King

T eagan.

The girl I’ve had an unhealthy obsession with since the beginning of the school year when I first noticed her. The girl I’ve watched from afar, forcing myself to remain patient, knowing that my time would eventually come. Now it has.

If it weren’t for my persistence in getting my father to take notice of her mother, it probably never would have happened. I was sure he had his own agenda when it came to marrying the bitch, but it didn’t concern me.

Phoenix’s hands were tight around the steering wheel, his gaze pinned to the road before us. “This is your fault,” he commented when he caught me looking at him. “The marriage.”

I rolled my eyes, settling back against the seat. He was an idiot if he thought our father intended on staying single forever.

“He needs to stay focused. You know how he gets when—”

“When what?” I challenged, raising an eyebrow. “When he finds a girl he’s interested in?” I snorted a laugh, turning to glance out the window. This wasn’t the first woman he’s dated since our mother’s passing, and despite the ring on his new bride’s finger, it probably wouldn’t be the last. Father never could keep a woman for long—not since Mom’s tragic departure.

Phoenix blew out a frustrated breath. “Yeah, and you practically handed this bitch to him on a stick.”

“So? Valentine’s Day is over, which means that we get to chill out for the next eleven months.”

He whipped his head over in my direction, narrowing his eyes. “It’s February, jackass. Every day is practically Valentine’s Day.”

He did have a point. The university had a twisted obsession with this particular holiday. Instead of celebrating it one day a year, we celebrated it all month.

“Not to mention we just lost one of our own. This was the worst time for Father to get married.” He shook his head in disbelief. “Why did you choose her, anyway?”

Because of Teagan. But I wasn’t about to tell him that. The last thing I needed was for my brother to get any weird ideas about pursuing her. This one was mine.

I glanced out the window, watching as the trees zipped by in a blur. “She seemed like a decent enough fit.” I shrugged.

A perfect fit.

A single woman, all alone in her house, while her only daughter attended the university alongside us. Teagan was practically at our mercy. At least, she’d be at mine soon enough. Phoenix could find his own bitch to fuck with.

When we got to campus, he parked near the back like he usually did. He was always a paranoid fucker and enjoyed having an escape route available at all times. I stepped out first, ready to be done with the day altogether.

My brother bitched the majority of it, and Father droned on and on about the dinner, drilling into us that we better arrive on time. We pulled into the drive right behind him—all three of us late. Hypocritical fuck.

The university sat on acres and acres of land with a wooded area that stretched out behind it. The monstrosity of a building looming overhead had a nice appeal to it—gothic and ominous. It was unlike any school we’ve encountered; in more ways than one. Not that we’d been to another college before this one, but I highly doubted this was the norm.

Phoenix stuffed his hands in the pockets of his jeans as he rounded the vehicle to stand beside me, his blue eyes flickering over to the university. He’s been more uptight than usual. More on edge.

It had everything to do with what happened on Valentine’s Day. He’d been close with Maddox for reasons I didn’t entirely understand. The guy was an arrogant fool, and in the end, it had cost him.

My brother led the way toward the dorms, and I followed him up to the second floor, slipping into our room at the end of the hall. Our room was nothing special, but we barely spent any time here as it was. We each had a bed occupying either side of the room, paired with a bedside table and closet. Phoenix kept his things much neater than I did, making his bed every morning, organizing everything he owned, and making sure to keep things tidy. I, on the other hand, couldn’t care less.

My comforter was crumpled on top of the full-size bed with an assortment of miscellaneous items decorating the side table. I didn’t see a point in keeping things all neat and clean when the only time I was here was to sleep.

Phoenix blew out a breath, shrugging out of his black hoodie and folding it neatly before draping it over the back of his computer chair. I rolled my eyes at his consistency. Even when he was under obvious duress, everything still had to be perfect for him.

“Did you even bother to research Inaya?” he asked, taking a seat on the edge of his bed. “Or her daughter?”

“Yes,” I admitted. Not for the reasons he thought, though. “When Inaya’s husband died, she and Teagan inherited everything. They’re not hurting for money, so you don’t have to worry about that being a factor.” I crossed the room, sinking down onto my own mattress. “Teagan is a journalism major with a pretty impressive GPA, she’s part of the Xi Phi Delta sorority on campus.”

Phoenix’s eyes clashed with mine, a spark of surprise flashing within them. “She is?” he asked. “You know this for sure?”

I rolled my eyes. “No. I’m making it up.” Sarcasm dripped from my tone, revealing just how little I wanted to be having this conversation. He knew that I’d never set Father up with some gold-digging skank with ulterior motives. At least, he should know that.

A crease formed between his brows. “I don’t recall seeing her at any of the parties.”

That’s because you weren’t paying attention.

Teagan was good at blending in. I’ve been observing her for weeks, taking note of her mannerisms, and how she interacts with people. She seemed to be more introverted than anything, and if you did happen to notice her at one of the parties, it would become blatantly apparent. She always strayed from larger groups in social settings, not wanting to draw too much attention to herself.

She was so out of place, and once I first noticed her, I continued to notice her. It was like a zap of electricity shooting through my veins anytime she was near from that point forward. I didn’t understand my sudden interest in a girl who wasn’t even remotely my type, but one thing was for sure… one taste couldn’t hurt.

Clearing my throat, I lifted a shoulder in a shrug. Sometimes I forgot how observant Phoenix was—it was a trait we both inherited. “She keeps a low profile.”

He grunted in response. “Either way. Something feels off about all of this.”

“If something bad happens, we’ll kill them,” I surmised, kicking off my shoes. “It’s not that big of a deal.” And I meant that. From what I’ve found on Inaya and Teagan so far, they seemed harmless enough. But I knew better than anyone how deceiving looks could be, which was why I followed Teagan around for the first several weeks after seeing her.

Her routine was monotonous and always the same. She’d go straight to class in the morning, sit with the other sorority girls at lunch and would usually go right home after school ended for the day.

She was at the maze party on Valentine’s Day—a tradition that allowed us all to get together, party, and act out some of our wildest fantasies. As much as I’d wanted to go after her that night, I knew it was best to wait. My plan was already in motion, and I didn’t want anything ruining it.

“We will,” he agreed. “And if something happens because of your idiocy, I’ll beat you to a bloody pulp.”

I snorted a laugh, tugging my own hoodie from my body before tossing it to the floor. Phoenix’s gaze tracked the movement, his jaw feathering with annoyance. While I’d like to say Phoenix couldn’t beat me in a fight if it came down to it, I wasn’t sure.

He thrived off of inflicting pain. He enjoyed the rush, the blood, the adrenaline. I was the opposite. I enjoyed inflicting pain, too, but I liked receiving it even more. Because of that, I could take one hell of a punch, and my rebound rate was insane.

Phoenix released a loaded sigh, seemingly done with this conversation. “We should probably get some sleep.” He started unbuttoning his jeans, pushing them down his thighs.

I averted my gaze, opting to give him some privacy. He was right. We had classes tomorrow, and we were both drained from attending societal meetings. Luckily, they were less frequent these days, now that they’d gotten what they wanted—and at the hand of fucking Maddox of all people. Annoyance prickled along my spine. He was always a manipulative little bastard.

Stripping out of my own jeans, I burrowed my way beneath my comforter and peered up at the ceiling. I wasn’t sure where we went wrong. We’d chosen a virgin and everything, but per usual, Maddox beat us to it. He’d always gotten preferential treatment due to being a Valentine, but I hoped this would be the one time the founders wouldn’t go as easy on him. Clearly, I was wrong.

I bit into my lower lip thoughtfully, not willing to let this go. It didn’t matter that he’d been killed and would no longer be an issue.

“You know,” I began, glancing over at my brother who was in the midst of crossing the average-sized bedroom. “Teagan was friends with Vivian Valentine—the girl who killed Mads.” I raised an eyebrow, allowing that to seep into his skull.

I’d been debating on feeding him this information, just because I knew it would pique his interest and make him blood thirsty. I wanted to be selfish with Teagan, but this also seemed like a good opportunity to get what I wanted, and it might help him heal simultaneously.

His shoulders tensed and a dark expression took hold of his features as he met my eye again. “What?” he growled, venom threading throughout his tone.

A small smile tugged at the corners of my mouth. “Good friends from what I hear,” I added, driving my point home. “You interested in a little revenge?”

Something flashed across his face, but it was gone before I could decipher it. “What did you have in mind?”

My grin widened at the knowledge that I had him right where I wanted him. “Let’s have our own little sacrifice.”