Chapter 11
SOMEONE I USED TO KNOW
Killian
My fists trembled by my sides as I paced in front of a wrought iron bench near one of Stonewall University’s extravagant fountains.
Coins from students’ wishes settled at the bottom, glinting in the afternoon sun.
I never bothered with that type of bullshit, but if there was any time I needed a wish, it was now.
Lexi Vega.
How was she here? Why was she here?
My boots halted on the cement as her blue eyes materialized in my mind, staring at me like she’d seen a ghost. That made two of us. Lexi was a ghost, and she should have stayed dead and buried.
“Fuck!” It had been hours since I stormed out of class, and I still couldn’t get her out of my mind.
As I whipped around, Lorelei—who’d obviously been cutting a path toward me—froze at my outburst. Something in my expression frightened her because she turned tail and scurried out of my sight.
Thank fuck.
I must have looked scary as hell to send Lorelei Battenberg running. The monster inside of me wouldn’t stay quiet. He rammed against his cage, craving chaos and destruction. He wanted to find Lexi and rip her to pieces like she’d done to my heart.
“You okay, Kill?” Gage appeared out of nowhere, like he often did, his all-black attire, tattoos, piercings, and purple hair out of place among the preppy elite.
“I’m fine.” The words burst between my gritted teeth. “Never better.”
He arched an eyebrow but didn’t call me on my bullshit. “What do you think this meeting is about?”
Bass called an emergency meeting at four o’clock, and I assumed it involved the incident last night, but the Sigma Delts in my Econ class received the same text. “Your guess is as good as mine.”
I didn’t feel like sitting at the house alone, stewing in my anger over Lexi’s sudden appearance, so I loitered around campus to wait for my friends.
“With Satan in charge this year, it could be anything.” Gage plucked a cigarette from his pocket and lit it, the huge skull ring on his finger catching the sun. “But since the entire frat got a text, we can rule out it being any Lord business.”
“Give me one of those,” I demanded, jerking my chin toward his cigarette.
“You don’t smoke.” The cherry burned brighter and crackled as he took a drag. “I’m not contributing to your ruin.”
Stan would hate it if I started smoking. So would my mother. So would Lexi.
When we were kids, I stole a pack from the store and tried a few, thinking I was cool. Lexi flipped out and made me promise never to do it again.
I wanted to break that and every single other promise I’d ever made to her. “Give me a fucking cigarette before I take one.” The tips of my boots smacked into his as I glared.
Gage scrutinized me with a blank expression, his exterior too calm. “You don’t want to go there, Kill. Not with me.”
A dark grin twisted my lips. “Maybe I do.”
“Are you two about to fight?” Axel strolled up, his football bag thrown over his shoulder. “Do I need to separate you?”
Gage blew smoke over my head and took a measured step back. “All good, right, Kill?” He flicked the cherry off his cigarette and tossed the butt into a trash can. “Killian is just having a moment.”
“Does this have anything to do with that hot chick you were arguing with in Geology?”
My head jerked in Axel’s direction, catching his smirk. “What are you talking about?” Even though I knew. Lexi had always been gorgeous, but now she was smoking hot with curves and a mouth that had me thinking wicked, corrupt things.
“What hot chick?” Gage asked.
“She’s no one. I don’t even know her.” Heat crawled up my neck as the lie dropped from my mouth.
Axel scoffed as he dug in his bag and pulled out a protein bar. “Didn’t look that way to me. I was there, bro, on the other side of the room.”
Lexi had thrown me off so badly that I’d forgotten Axel was in that class.
I rubbed the center of my forehead as I tried to remain calm, but a rush of anxiety and anger battered my walls. “She’s just someone I used to know. A lifetime ago.”
Axel tore into the protein bar like a savage. “Is she the chick your tattoo is about?” He motioned to my chest.
Son of a bitch.
Axel was a lot smarter than people gave him credit for. He might pretend to be a dumb jock, but he was more observant than most.
“That tattoo isn’t about anyone,” I snapped as fiery rage pumped through my veins. If I weren’t careful, I’d end up in a fight with both my friends.
Gage silently studied me, probably connecting a hundred dots within seconds to form a picture I wanted to conceal.
“We'd better get to the house before we’re late,” he said, tossing his arm around my shoulders and forcing my stiff legs to move away from my roommate and best friend. “Come on, Vanderhart. I’ll let you eat my leftover pizza from Giovanna’s.”
The football player easily caught up to us, inhaling the rest of his protein bar. “Meat lovers?”
“Of course.” Gage tilted his head at the football player. “But only if you’re quiet.”
Axel cracked after only five minutes, so he didn’t get Gage’s pizza.
Once we made it inside, we headed for the gathering room on the first floor where we held informal frat meetings.
Brothers lounged on leather couches and chairs spanning the dark hardwoods.
A painting of the monstrous gothic house hung above the marble fireplace while pictures of each year’s graduating class decorated the walls.
Small hints of the secret organization were hidden everywhere, like the snakes and knives carved into the mantel.
A ram’s head sat between leather-bound tomes on a bookshelf, and a goat skull grinned ominously from a table in the corner.
Fratres Super Omnia, brother’s above all, was painted on a wall.
The same words were scrawled above the altar downstairs.
Not everyone in the frat knew what was hiding in the catacombs below the house.
Rumors were whispered around Stonewall and Copper Cove, but only a select few Sigma Delta members were given the honor of joining the Serpents & Daggers.
You didn’t get access to the underground until you finished initiation and pledged your life.
Your life.
Once you were in the Serpents & Daggers, your brothers came first. Not your mother, not your girl, and not even your life. All were forfeit and could be sacrificed for the good of the sect.
“You three. Over here.” Sebastian stood in a shadowy corner with a guilty-looking Slate.
I cursed under my breath wondering what kind of trouble Wentworth had gotten into now.
My stepbrother folded his arms over his chest as a tight smile stretched his lips. “Slate has informed me that a girl overheard our conversation last night.”
Invisible chains fastened around my chest, stealing the air from my lungs. Lexi’s unexpected appearance made me forget all about that little lamb and my mission to find her. “She didn’t hear or see anything.”
His lips thinned. “Why don’t I believe you, Killian?”
“I don’t know, Sebastian. Maybe you’re paranoid after what you did.”
Bass’s jaw ticked, and barely contained rage simmered around him. If we weren’t in a room full of people, he’d probably grab that dagger off the altar to the left and chuck it at me. “Some important alumni will be here soon, and you don’t want anything to ruin their visit, right, Killian?”
“I’ll take care of it.” My fingers curled into fists, and it took every ounce of control not to hit him. Deep fissures penetrated my barriers, and I couldn’t hold onto my perfect facade for much longer.
“You better, little brother.” Ice crystallized in his blue eyes, freezing my blood. “Or I will find this girl and deal with her myself.”
After he sauntered to the front of the room in front of the fireplace to start the meeting, Slate shuffled over, wincing.
“I didn’t mean to tell him anything, Kill.” He jammed his fingers through his black hair. “It just slipped out when he asked about last night.”
I gave a dismissive wave of my hand. “Don’t worry about it.” My stepbrother was a master manipulator, so I wasn’t surprised he’d gotten Slate to spill.
My stepbrother lifted his hand to silence the room. “As you all know, some important alumni will be visiting soon,” Bass said as he casually stood before the fireplace, the light catching on his perfectly styled blonde locks. “Unfortunately, we’ve had a little hiccup with one of the pledges.”
The four of us traded glances while surprised murmurs circled the room. Once selected, a pledge rarely dropped out. Most would kill to be in this fraternity.
Did Bass push one of them too far with his hazing? He got off on making them suffer.
“Riley Ellsworth has withdrawn. He’s not Sigma Delta material.” Bass gave a casual shrug. “But don’t worry. I’ve already found a replacement who will be a perfect addition to our organization.” He nodded at Greg Buckner, one of his officers, to open a large wooden door on the right.
Two seniors ushered in a familiar guy with clean-cut blonde hair and glasses.
The new pledge blinked as his hazel eyes adjusted to the light, taking in his surroundings like he was trying to memorize every detail. I had a class with him last year, so he wasn’t a freshman.
He must have impressed my stepbrother.
Axel leaned toward me to whisper in my ear. “I saw him hanging with Cordi Chesson earlier today.” He hesitated. “And the hot chick you don’t know in Geology.”
My eyes narrowed. “Like I give a shit.”
But I did, in fact, give a shit.
Bass pushed away from the fireplace and strolled toward the new pledge. “Are you ready for this?”
“Yes.” He swallowed hard, probably knowing the next few weeks of his life would be hell.
Vaughn Radcliffe, the pledge director, slapped the guy’s shoulder so hard he lurched forward. “Everyone, this is Micah Preston.”
The dark twist of Bass’s lips had my flesh prickling. “So glad you could join us, Micah. Since you’re late to the game, you’ll need to catch up to the rest of the pledges.”
Meaning he was going to haze the fuck out of him.
Micah Preston was in for a brutal introduction to our world. And since he was a friend of Lexi’s, I wouldn’t lift a finger to help him out.
Hell, I might even join in on the sadistic fun just to piss her off.