Chapter 26
26
KILLIAN
T his fucking night out is the best I’ve ever had. It’s the kind of time we should’ve had a year ago at the St. Seb’s homecoming. I was gonna take her to a hotel room and fuck her after the dance. And I would’ve owned her from then on.
Fucking Peter and his fucking colleague. Her dad was always trying to put obstacles in my way. I thought about killing him for it, but Raine would’ve guessed I’d done it, and there would’ve been no coming back from that. Her hatred would’ve been permanent and ironclad.
I had to wait, playing the long game as the bosses would say. And it worked. I’ve got her now. And Peter’s not around to interfere.
Raine murmurs, “I’ll get my purse, so we can go.”
I nod, my gaze following her as she walks away.
So damned innocent. Raine’s deluded about the snow globe being a romantic gift. Sure, I like when she’s happy. That’s her natural personality. But improving her mood wasn’t the driving force for me. She was trying to freeze me out of her life and my countermove was to systematically prevent it .
Because she didn’t know I was behind the gift, she put it in the center of her dresser, replacing the cheap souvenir one she’d had for years. Late at night, before she went to bed, I heard the globe’s tinkling music, and it gave me a sense of satisfaction. I’d taken over part of her nightly routine.
Of course, it wasn’t enough. Within days, I started going in in the middle of the night. I’d flip the new globe the same way I’d done with the old one, letting the iridescent plastic snowflakes fall before I walked over to her bed.
Things are changing between us again, this time for the better, but some things never change. Even when I was banished from the house for getting in too much trouble, I broke back in to see her.
When she turns, the snags on the back of the dress and a small scrape on the back of her shoulder are obvious.
Yeah, I handled her roughly. No, I don’t regret it. But will I be grinding her against another brick wall like a piece of sand paper? Nah. Her skin is too soft for that kind of treatment. I don’t want to feel scabs when I touch her.
Across the room, a girl who looks familiar tracks Raine’s movements. The girl must be someone from Raine’s classes that I’ve seen around. The girl’s dress though is pretty cheap and trashy for GU.
My head cocks as I study the brassy blond hair that tapers down to shredded ends. Who is she?
When she turns her head, it hits me. Alicia. From high school. She looks different now, but it’s her.
Alicia Zenker left St. Sebastian’s the year after I killed her father. Not sure where she went. I’m curious how she ended up here. Academics were never Alicia’s strong suit, so I doubt she’s a GU student.
There’s a hardness to her now. She’s lost weight and looks brittle, with shallow lines bracketing her mouth like she’s a decade or two older than we are.
Alicia watches Raine as one of the Beta guys hands Raine the scarf she had wrapped around her shoulders for the ride here. Once Raine’s alone again as she collects her purse from an end table, Alicia approaches her .
Raine’s eyes widen when she recognizes our old classmate. Then her brows furrow as Alicia says something to her. Alicia’s leaning in, but her expression isn’t angry or aggressive. She seems to be speaking quickly and then looks around. I lean back against the wall, watching. When Alicia’s gaze lands on me, we lock eyes.
Neither of us smiles or feigns friendliness. We were never friends. Back in high school, she pretended we were. A lot of people did. Pointless and stupid.
A guy walks over to Alicia and puts a hand on the back of her arm. She holds up a hand in a goodbye gesture to Raine and walks away.
Raine stares after them for a moment before looking around for me.
When she spots me, she crosses the room slowly with a strange expression… concerned maybe.
One of the Beta guys opens the front door for us and tells us to have a good night.
“We will,” I say, walking down the front steps.
Raine rubs her arms like she’s cold, so I take off my jacket and put it around her shoulders.
“Did you see that Alicia Zenker was here?”
“Yeah.”
Raine’s quiet as we walk to the car, and I wait for her to say more. When she’s buckled into the passenger seat of the Vette, I pull away from the curb.
“Let’s go to the Lambda after party.”
“Why?”
“I want to see what’s going on there after hours. Background research for the film project.”
“Is it?”
Her gaze shifts to me. “Alicia’s working as an escort. She goes to a lot of parties as arm candy, but where she makes her real money is when she does special events. The kind you were talking about… where the girl will allow wilder things?” Raine’s head tilts to study me. “She’s not one of the women you slept with, is she?”
“No. I haven’t seen her since high school. ”
“You haven’t?” Her voice is light but skeptical. Raine’s fingers pluck absently at the fabric of her dress, then she looks at me. “Don’t lie to me, okay?”
My muscles tighten. “I’m not. Why would I?”
As I pull out onto the street, Raine says, “She asked if I was a new girl you’re training.”
“To be a prostitute?” There’s no way to keep the surprise out of my voice.
“Yes. She implied before the girls our age are allowed to be with real clients, they get tested, both medically and for their… tolerance. I guess for pain?”
“And she claimed I trained her?” What the fuck is Zenker playing at?
“No, she said you were at a club where girls get trained. I guess she assumed you were working. The people are on that app. WildSide.”
“For only talking to you for a minute, she managed to spew a lot of shit.” After I run my tongue over my lower lip, I shrug. “I’ve been to some sex clubs. Didn’t realize any of the girls in them were planning to go pro. Definitely have not trained anyone to do specialized sex work.”
With an audible exhalation, her shoulders relax. “Did you have sex in the clubs while people watched? Or did you just go to meet people to hookup later?”
“I had sex.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I see her grimace.
The Vette slides into a parking spot a couple houses down from the Lambda frat. Lights are on inside the house, but it looks quiet. Not much of an after party.
“You must have liked it if you went more than once?” Raine’s voice is soft, and she sounds troubled.
I turn my shoulders so I can look at her as we talk. “I went because it was better than anything else at the time. Random hookups weren’t intense enough. I wanted to see if I could get what I wanted by adding in wilder elements. For the record, it didn’t work. ”
She glances over, her eyes like liquid chocolate in the low light. “Right. Because you would rather have had me. I’m glad. But people are saying things about you that don’t match what you’re telling me. I’d like to know why.” Her tongue pushes out and licks her lips, which is a total distraction.
Why the fuck do I suddenly crave a kiss?
“Believe me or don’t,” I say coolly. Fuck Alicia and whatever other liars are trying to drive a wedge between Raine and me. It won’t work. I’ll kill them first.
“I know I’m asking a lot of questions, Killian. I’m trying to understand you.” Raine rests her temple against the headrest as she watches me. “Do you eventually want to take me to a sex club?”
“Haven’t thought about it.”
She rubs her hands together. Now that the engine’s off, so is the heat.
Her voice is soft as she speaks. “I don’t want you to be with anyone else while we’re together. Okay?”
As if I’d waste my time fucking anyone else while she’s living with me. “Yeah, agreed.”
“Right, okay.” Raine blows out a breath. “We’re good.”
I’m not sure if she’s trying to convince me or herself. If me, it’s a waste of time. I already know we’re good.
We get out, and as we walk up the sidewalk, I put an arm around her shoulders and kiss the top of her head. It feels more natural than I expect.
One of her hands reaches up to clasp my fingers. The sleeve of my jacket is way too long on her so the cuff hides her fingers, even with her arm raised.
“Let’s go around to the back of the house, Killian. Someone said they won’t admit people through the front because they don’t want it known they’re having a party.”
Glancing up at the place, I want to roll my eyes. There are only three or four guys left living in the house. It’s not like it’s gonna be a rager that neighbors will notice even if we do go through the front door.
We circle the property, and the walk is long enough that Raine’s shivering by the time we get to the back. My lips are probably fucking blue, too. It’s low forties out, and I’ve got nothing but a shirt and trousers on since I gave her my suit jacket .
At the back door, she turns to face me. “Will you help me with something?”
“What?”
“They won’t speak openly to me about their exploits. But if they learn you’ve done wild things at sex clubs, they might open up to you. Or invite you into areas that would be off-limits.”
“If they invite me, they’ll expect me to participate.”
“You could pretend you will and then back out at the last minute.” She tilts her head. “If there’s something sinister going on beneath the surface here, I’d like to uncover it.”
“Hmm.”
“You’re not comfortable with the idea?”
“I don’t give a fuck about the Lambda Deltas.” My thumb strokes her jaw. “But I need to be sure playing games in there won’t interfere with my main objective.”
“Your main objective?”
I rap my knuckles on the backdoor’s glass. “Keeping you out of trouble. Lately, you’re going places that aren’t safe for you.”
“I am? Oh, right. Your house.” She nods. “Having to choose between me and your work puts you in a difficult position.”
“The choice isn’t difficult. It’s that certain rescues would be tough to pull off. Killing one person to protect you is easy. Killing a lot of dangerous men who know I’m coming? That’s hard. So far, I haven’t come up with a strategy that would make it anything but a suicide mission.”
She stares up at me. “You’ve thought about that?”
“Of course.” Our gazes lock. “Any threat to you becomes a target. You know that.”
“Even last week when I wasn’t in your life? You would’ve sided with me instead of your friends and bosses? Because when we were chained, I asked if you would’ve taken me from the house while they slept if you could’ve. You said no.”
I exhale a small derisive laugh. “Yeah, because I’m not gonna run like a fucking rabbit. I don’t scurry away and hide. Fuck that. Kill me where I fucking stand or die trying. Those are the only options I’ll allow. ”
“You wouldn’t run even to protect me?”
“No. I’d die to protect you, though. And with my last breath, I’d tell them to bury us in the same grave.”
“God,” she whispers. “That’s disturbing.”
“Is it?” I shrug. “Us together forever works for me.”