22. Milo
22
Milo
I ’d spent years honing my stalking skill set. With a combination of tech gadgets and good old-fashioned lock picking, I rarely had a problem entering a room or building. Kyril often joked I’d missed my calling as a cat burglar, but stealing shit didn’t motivate me in the slightest.
Watching people as they slept was my favorite activity. Specifically, the women who caught my attention. Some would argue my behavior was deeply problematic, and that I needed professional help, but those people could go fuck themselves.
After Kyril told us what happened when he stumbled across Thea standing over a corpse, I was even more invested in finding out who Thea was. The others were curious too, especially Kyril, but none of them could get inside Thea’s private space.
I’d spend the last few days watching her, following her every move. The campus was busy, which made it easy for me to blend in. I enjoyed following her while she moved around, often with her little friend in tow.
Eden Kelly was another anomaly. While she was related to Seamus Kelly, the leader of the Irish Mafia, her father had made sure Eden wasn’t involved in the family business.
Unlike her cousin, Declan, who had a fearsome reputation for violence. Declan’s younger brothers, Conal and Ronan, weren’t much better, either.
I wasn’t sure why Thea and Eden were friends, as they didn’t seem to have much in common, but it was clear Thea had a soft spot for the girl with pink hair. She was the only person besides us who Thea talked to.
My phone buzzed in my pocket as I stood in a small alcove outside West Tower, where Thea’s room was. My breath steamed in the cold air and I wished I’d worn a thicker jacket, but no matter. I wasn’t planning to hang around outside for long.
I pulled my phone from my pocket and glanced at the screen.
Cassian: Where the fuck are you?
Me: Out.
Cassian: Out where? It’s 3 AM!
I couldn’t help but smirk. Nothing riled up Cassian more than being kept out of the loop. But I had no intention of telling him what I was up to. He’d only worry that I was sliding back into my old ways.
He was right, but this time, it was different.
She was different.
I stood outside Thea’s door and listened. Every dorm room had a fire-rated door, but sounds still traveled through. After listening for a few moments, I decided Thea wasn’t awake and used the stolen keycard to let myself in.
She’d left a small lamp on, which cast a warm glow over the room. It didn’t look like she’d added much to the basics provided to all students. I scanned the bland bedding and functional furniture, seeing nothing personal whatsoever. No fairy lights, scented candles, or fluffy throws.
The only personal item in the room was a small framed photograph of a young girl holding a striped cat toy and smiling widely. From her olive skin and dark hair, I guessed she was Thea’s sister or another close relative. Maybe Verity?
Thea lay half under the quilt, one arm thrown outside and the other tucked under her pillow. From her slow, rhythmic breathing, she was deeply asleep, so I padded over to the desk and sat on the chair, content to watch her for a while.
She was so beautiful. During the day, Thea remained closed off, her expression shuttered. I’d witnessed her laughing a few times at something Eden said, but mostly she displayed very little in the way of emotion.
In some ways, she reminded me of Cassian. Years of his father’s indoctrination had taught him never to reveal his true self. I suspected Thea’s father had a similar approach to parenting.
If only I could figure out who her father was.
There were two phones charging on Thea’s desk. One was a generic, cheap model, and the other one a more expensive iPhone. Curious. Why would she need two phones? Perhaps one was a burner phone.
The iPhone lit up with a message while I looked at it.
Torrance: Call me. I have information for you.
Who the fuck was Torrance? He didn’t sound like he was her father. I would run a search on the name later, to see what came up, but with only one name and nothing else to go on, I wasn’t hopeful anything would.
Nothing about Thea made sense. She could fight. Casual murder didn’t phase her in the slightest. Everything pointed to Thea being connected to one of the crime families, yet she was here incognito.
Why?
Lots of mafia families sent their kids here. It was no great secret. At least not among the mafia families. Abernethy College was the most exclusive college in Europe. Anyone leaking information did so at their own risk, which meant it simply wasn’t worth it.
Minutes ticked by as I sat watching Thea. Just as I was about to leave her, albeit reluctantly, she stirred and whimpered in her sleep. Something about the small pained sounds she made called to me.
Knowing that a nightmare had its claws locked deep into her psyche bothered me. I hated seeing her in distress.
She whimpered a little louder and tried to burrow deeper under the covers.
“No,” she whispered, kicking her legs. “No!”
Although there was a risk it might wake her, I crawled onto the bed and brushed her hair away from her cheek. A lone tear slid down and soaked into the pillow. She shuddered but seemed to quieten, so I lay behind her, letting her soak up my body heat.
“Shh, you’re safe,” I whispered in her ear.
After a few moments, she settled and fell silent, relaxed against me. My cock hardened, which was an unfortunate reaction and not one I could help. If she woke now, she’d likely kill me, but it would be worth it.
This was the first time I’d ever lain next to a woman close enough to touch her. In the past, I’d always kept my distance, content to sit and watch the object of my obsession. While I liked to watch them sleep, I never laid a hand on them.
Haley - and the other girls - were pretty dolls. Fantasy figures. Since I couldn’t bear the idea of touching a real woman, watching girls was the next best thing.
So why was Thea different?
Touching her didn’t make my skin crawl. It felt right. Natural.
I closed my eyes and listened to her breathing. Every inhale and exhale soothed me, and before long, my eyes fluttered shut.
It wasn’t until my phone buzzed in my back pocket that I realized I’d fallen asleep. Shit.
Thankfully, Thea hadn’t woken. I carefully eased away from her warm body and moved off the bed. She mumbled in her sleep, but didn’t stir. Outside, the sky had begun to lighten. I needed to get out of here before she woke and caught me.
There was no way I could explain why I was in her room without sounding like a creep. Or ending up dead like the asshole she’d stabbed on the side of the road.
I edged out of the room. The door closed behind me and I paused, waiting for a scream or some kind of noise, but there was nothing. With a sigh of relief, I hurried down the staircase and back to our apartment.
When I walked in, Cassian was on the sofa, his laptop resting on his lap and a coffee cup in his hand.
“Where have you been?” he asked, knowing full well I hadn’t been with a girl.
“Couldn’t sleep, so I went for a wander.” His eyes narrowed with suspicion, but he said nothing else. I guessed with the upcoming dinner his father had arranged for this weekend, followed by the masked ball the following Saturday, he had enough on his plate.
“Is everything… OK?” He watched I made a coffee.
“Yeah, fine.” More than fine. I was practically buzzing despite my lack of sleep.
“Good.” He looked away for a moment, then turned back to face me. “You would tell me if it wasn’t, right?”
“Of course,” I smiled, keeping it casual. “Just a bout of insomnia. Nothing a walk in the cold can’t cure.”
What he didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him.