Chapter 3
Xavier
No time.
Gotta run.
Fast.
I hop off the roof and land on the metal railing, groaning as my foot lands wrong.
Ignoring the pain, I immediately roll down to the stairs, where I skip half the slats before I jump down to the ground.
The door to the warehouse has already opened, so I turn toward the other end of the alley and make a run for it.
“Hey!”
Oh fuck. Oh fuck, oh fuck!
She’s gonna kill me.
I bolt as fast as I can around the whole damn building and make a beeline for my car.
I can hear her heels click-clacking on the concrete behind the building, so I turn around the corner and run to my car, opening the door so fast that I nearly lose my grip.
“Dammit!” I growl to myself as I jump behind the wheel, slam the door shut, and drive backward.
Just as she comes into view and marches right to my car.
Fuck, what do I do?
I can’t turn around. She’ll see my plate, look up the ownership details, and then she’ll know it was me. My mask hides my identity, but there’s no telling what she’ll do if she finds out it’s me.
Only one option left.
I keep it in reverse and hit the gas so hard I shoot back farther until she’s out of reach, then I swiftly make a U-turn and race off into the night.
Fuck me, my heart is beating so fast I swear it might give out on me.
I nearly died.
What a thrill.
And fuck me … what a woman.
I take a deep breath and blink a couple of times, then burst out into manic laughter from the fact that I actually survived.
For now.
Sunny
I chuck one of my knives at the car, but of course it’s no use, as it drives faster than I can fucking throw. When it’s out of sight, I pull off my mask.
Dammit. I nearly had him.
I run to my motorcycle, put on my helmet, and hop on, kicking it into gear so I can race after the car.
Whoever it was saw too much. I’m sure of it.
I have to take him down before they tells anyone.
I race down the only road the car could’ve gone down, speeding in the hopes that I can still catch that bastard. It was a Dodge Challenger, a black edition. Not too many of those on the streets, so it’s gotta be recognizable. I’ll spot it in no time.
I dart through the streets, looking for the black vehicle until I finally spot it going up the mountain toward Spine Ridge University. I tail it and pull out my phone when I’m at a traffic light to snap a pic of its license plate.
Traffic is completely jammed. I don’t want to risk my fucking life trying to run a red light, but damn, that asshole is getting away.
When the light turns green, I chase up the mountain to get to the gates, but the car is nowhere to be seen.
I drive along the parking lot, checking each one of them, but still, nothing.
Where could he be?
I drive along the road carefully, pausing at every building with its own private parking lot, but I can’t find it anywhere.
Did he park somewhere out of sight?
I pass some of the Greek houses and stop when I spot the black car in the driveway of the Beta Pi Sorority. I pull out my phone and hold up the image of the license plate I took right in front of it, and a smirk slowly spreads on my face.
Gotcha.
I saunter up to the door, flipping my black-and-green hair back before I ring the doorbell. A cheerful girl opens up and stares at me.
“Hi, can I help you?”
“Yeah, whose car is that in your driveway?”
She pokes her head out the door and tilts it sideways, narrowing her eyes. “Huh … That’s not from one of our girls.”
I just smile at her.
“I think Aspen’s brother just came in. It might be his,” she says.
Aspen’s brother Xavier? The one with the wild brown hair, the cute dimples and button nose, and a sleeper-build physique?
Well, isn’t that fucking interesting.
“Do you want me to go ask her?”
“No, it’s fine, I think I know enough.” I turn around and walk off.
“Wait, that’s it?” she calls after me.
But I’ve already sauntered off.
I’m not going to make a mess of that sorority. Why should I? There’s no need when I already have him cornered. He just doesn’t know it yet.
He’ll know when I want him to know.
And I’m fairly certain Aspen’s brother and I share a class. Just one, the only one I kept failing all these years.
Economics.
Boring.
Appalling.
And so goddamn enticing now that I know my little stalker boy will be there.
Oh Xavier, I’m going to enjoy playing with you.
Xavier
“Want a drink?” Aspen asks as she sips her Coke.
“No thanks,” I reply as I lean on the kitchen counter.
She keeps staring at me. “So why are you here, exactly?”
Sweat droplets roll down the back of my neck while I try not to look spooked by the fact that someone just rang their doorbell. “Uh …”
That someone was definitely Sunny Reed, and I am so fucked.
“Is there a reason you have that?” Aspen asks, glancing at the mask in my hand.
“No, no, no, it’s from a party.” I suck in a breath through my nostrils. “That’s actually why I came here.”
“Really?” She raises a brow. “I thought you hated parties.”
“The Phantom ones, yeah,” I scoff, snorting, maybe too inconspicuously loud. “This is from a Tartarus party.”
“Interesting.” She takes another sip of her Coke. “And you were wearing that while you came into my sorority?”
“Yeah. I mean, why not?” I shrug. “Who doesn’t like dressing up sometimes?”
I’m failing hard here, but what else am I supposed to do? I didn’t have anywhere to go, and I needed to ditch my car, fast.
“Apparently you,” she says, snorting. “You still haven’t answered my question, though.”
“What’s that?”
I’ve completely forgotten what we were talking about.
“Why you’re here.”
“Oh.” I glance down at the mask. “I just thought I’d come here to personally invite you to a party.”
“A party?” She frowns. “You’re throwing a party?”
“No.” I laugh. “That’d be dumb. I mean, one of the Tartarus parties. Yeah. Let’s go together.”
She squints at me. “You’re hiding something.”
“No, I’m not.”
“Yeah, you are.” She snatches the mask from my hands and inspects it up close.
“See? Nothing,” I say, laughing awkwardly.
A black-and-green-haired beauty waltzes down the street behind the kitchen window, away from the building, and a wave of relief washes over me.
Maybe I won’t die today after all.
“What are you looking at?” Aspen follows my gaze.
“Huh? Nothing.” I shrug, scratching the back of my head. “Just distracted by the scenery.”
“Right.” I didn’t think she could narrow her eyes even further, but apparently, she can. “Well, about this party, when is it?”
I clear my throat. “I don’t have the details yet, but I’ll text you once I do. Is that okay?”
“So you just came here to invite me to a party you don’t know exists yet?”
I turn around and slowly back away. “Yeah, that’s about it.”
“I know you’re hiding something, Xav,” she says.
“Nonsense,” I head toward the door. “Bye!”
“I’m onto you!” she growls as I shut the door and quickly run off. “Come back here and tell me who you’re running from, asshole!” Aspen yells across the street, but I don’t care.
I know this is just sisterly love speaking underneath all that vitriol.
Besides, I need to get to my next class. Lunchtime is over.
Atreus
The stench of death permeates the air.
Another body, another day in Crescent Vale City overrun by criminals.
I take a photo of the body lying mutilated on the concrete floor of the warehouse, but the lens doesn’t make the scene any less ghastly.
The man beneath my feet got sliced to bits, and several holes are poked all in his body.
It’s as if the perp kept them alive a little longer just to enjoy torturing him a bit more. Macabre.
I pull out my notepad and write down some of the details. His zip-tied hands. The lack of weapons left at the scene. The location. The way the body is lying face-up, a terrified look still plastered on his face.
“How long do you think he’s been here, Detective?” one of my guys asks as he approaches.
I put on my gloves and lean in closer to inspect his wounds, making sure I don’t tamper with any of the evidence. “The blood is still fresh. Wounds still open. Can’t have been more than a few hours, at most,” I mutter.
We’ve found many bodies since I took office, but I’ve never seen cuts like these before. It’s almost as if the person didn’t just want them to die but wanted them to suffer too.
I tilt his head slightly to inspect his neck and notice a peculiar red mark on the side. I swipe over it with my thumb and bring it to my face. My eyes narrow as I rub my thumbs together, the redness staining both gloved fingers.
Lipstick?
Was he kissed by a lover before he died?
Or is this…
“Anything interesting?” Trent, another one of my men, approaches. “I’ve sealed off the perimeter.”
“Good. I don’t want anyone sniffing around an active crime scene.”
“Do you think it’s drug-related?” he asks, holding his hand in front of his nose because of the corpse’s scent. “Cartels?”
I pull off my gloves. “Perhaps.”
But perhaps, this could be something else entirely.
Something far more devious than a hit.
I place my hand on the officer’s shoulder. “Find out everything you can about his life. Where he worked, where he lived, who he visited, what brand of car he drives, every second of every hour of the day. I want it all on paper. Stat.”
He frowns. “For a kill?”
My eye twitches. “This wasn’t just a kill, Trent. It was a vendetta.” I squeeze his shoulder, a smirk slowly forming on my face. “We’re going on a manhunt.”