Chapter 3
I GOT LUCKY
PATIENCE
When Violet walks into the classroom, I’m surprised to see she’s managed to detach herself from Kole long enough that he’s nowhere to be seen. She catches my gaze from across the room, and when she finds me sitting in the front row, she frowns.
Violet is brilliant, but she hates being called on, so she tends to hide in the back of class. While I prefer to be up front so I don’t miss anything.
She tugs her bag up her shoulder, heading in my direction.
“You had to pick the front.” Violet frowns, dropping into her seat.
“It sets the right impression. The last thing I need is Professor Gray thinking I’m not taking his program seriously.”
Violet shakes her head, and although she doesn’t say it, I can tell she thinks I’m trying too hard.
The truth is, I’m always trying too hard.
One slipup—one mistake—is all it takes. I learned that the hard way more times than I care to recall, so I tug my sleeves down and sink back in my seat.
“You left the apartment early this morning.” Violet pulls out her laptop. “We could have driven here together if you’d waited.”
“I wanted to check out the library before our first session,” I lie so she doesn’t catch the hint that I’m planning to avoid her Sigma Sin boyfriend as much as possible this summer. “Besides, you and Kole don’t need to babysit me. I can take care of myself.”
“No one would ever doubt that.” Violet rolls her eyes.
Her comment is more an insult than a compliment.
I should be used to it by now. There isn’t a soul in Bristal who doesn’t see me as the uptight, overly guarded Lancaster daughter. But something about my friend pointing it out stings.
Not that I blame Violet when I’m not the easiest friend to keep.
My defenses were built and fortified long before I forged friendships with my college roommates, and it’s nearly impossible to break through them.
That used to be a good thing.
“Well, for the record, I was hoping to grab breakfast before class.” Violet sets her phone down after responding to a text. “And before you ask, it would have been without Kole. Just because he’s in LA this summer doesn’t mean he feels the need to hover.”
Probably because he’s embedded a tracking device under her skin so he could find her regardless. I wouldn’t put it past him.
My jaw clenches, and I bite back that particular comment. I promised Mila I would at least try to play nice this summer. And considering Kole is the one who is paying for the apartment we’re renting since my parents cut me off, it’s the least I can do.
Still, I find myself asking, “Do you think Kole would let you go to breakfast without him?”
What is wrong with me?
“Yes.” She narrows her eyes. “He has his own things going on this summer.”
“Like what?”
As far as I knew, Kole tagged along because he didn’t want to miss Violet for two months while she was away at this criminal psychology program. But if he has things going on, that can only mean Sigma Sin has him on some kind of mission, and my stomach sinks at that realization.
No matter how far I think I run, there is always Sigma Sin hiding in some dark corner.
“I didn’t ask what he’s doing.” Violet’s tone sharpens, and I sense her getting defensive. “He has friends in LA. People who know his family.”
“You mean his fraternity.”
She frowns. “Not all Sigma House is evil, Patience.”
“Say it like you believe it next time.”
“I do mean it. Just because he’s meeting up with members while we’re in town doesn’t mean anything terrible is happening. He and Declan are still sorting things out after—”
She cuts herself off, quickly looking around the room. I don’t blame her, because at Briar, you never knew who might be listening.
“No one cares here, Violet,” I remind her, grateful to be on a campus that isn’t controlled by the House. “Sigma House is just any other pointless fraternity as far as the students on this campus are concerned.”
“Still…” She bites her bottom lip, focusing back on me. “You know Kole has a lot on his plate after everything that happened.”
I do. Not that I care.
Declan and Kole staged some giant takeover of the fraternity a few weeks ago, sending both Declan and Teal’s fathers to jail in the process. In my opinion, they should all be locked up. The scale they use to weigh each other is irrelevant when they’re all guilty.
It’s an endless game of power and greed. Declan and Kole might have convinced themselves they had good reason to overthrow the Sigma House Council, but they’re no better than the men they outed.
And to make matters worse, they’ve dragged my brother back into it.
After years of living in a psychiatric ward, not speaking to anyone, he finally left.
He was finally moving forward. And the first thing he did was go straight back to the House.
Never mind that Sigma Sin’s antics nearly killed him when he pledged.
Or that he nearly died during his trial and hasn’t spoken since.
He went back to them.
Just like everyone else in my life.
Flipping my phone over, I check to see if there are any new messages from Mila.
She promised to keep an eye on Alex while I’m in LA this summer.
And since she doesn’t mind being around Sigma House, it works in my favor for once.
But as I stare at an empty screen, I remember that she hasn’t sent me any updates.
“I don’t want to spend the summer fighting about Kole.
” Violet reaches over to take my hand, snapping me out of my thoughts.
“This summer isn’t about him. You and I have been dreaming of getting into this summer internship with Professor Gray since we first started at Briar, and we finally did it.
Don’t shut me out. We’re in this together. ”
Violet’s blue eyes blink in a silent plea, and guilt swells inside me.
I’ve been shutting everyone out lately—especially my roommates. The first real friends I’ve had. But it’s hard to trust my friendship with them now that I don’t know where their loyalties lie. With their men, who run the House that nearly killed my brother, or with me.
It’s not their fault they fell in love with monsters, but it changes things.
“I know,” I lie. “We’re in this together.”
The words burn on the way out because the truth is—I’m alone. I have been since Alex got locked up in Montgomery Psychiatric Ward. He was the last person who understood me. The last person who cared. And even now that he’s out, he’s simply one of them.
“Good.” Violet smiles, believing me.
Whispers kick up around the room as more students find their way in.
There are twenty of us who were accepted into this summer program, and from the schedule we were emailed, it’s going to be a brutal eight weeks.
Morning to night study sessions. Deep dives into material ten times more complex than what we’ve been studying at Briar.
All culminating in one student being chosen to assist Professor Gray in an interview at a local prison.
Considering I’m competing against students like Violet for the spot, I may not have a chance, but I’ll do everything I can to prove myself.
This internship might not mean much at Briar, but it’s something to add to my blank resume after graduation. If I want to escape Bristal—escape Sigma Sin—this is the perfect start. Nothing is more prestigious than mentoring from Professor Gray.
This is my chance.
“That’s him?” A voice squeaks from behind me. “I thought he was old?”
“He’s older than us,” another girl responds. “Although, with him looking like that, I don’t care how old he is.”
“He’s our professor.”
“So?”
I turn my head to see what they’re talking about, following the gazes of the girls behind me to a side door.
The momentary flash of light from the hallway obstructs my view of the man who fills the doorway, so all I can make out is that he’s tall and his shoulders are broad.
With a final stride, he steps into the room, and the door closes behind him.
At that, I finally get a good look at the professor the girls are talking about, just as his eyes meet mine.
Whipping my attention back to the front of the room, I sink down into my seat and shield my face with my hand.
“What is he doing here?”
“Who? Our professor?” Violet smiles, nudging my shoulder. “Why are you hiding? You two didn’t seem to have any qualms getting chatty on the plane.”
My eyes widen. “You knew Jacob was our professor on the plane?”
“He did a lecture at Briar once apparently. Kole pointed him out.” She nudges my shoulder again. “Your cheeks are very red right now.”
“No they aren’t.” I pat them like that’s enough to put the fire out. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me I was sitting next to our professor.”
“I tried, but short of yelling it across the plane, I figured I’d just tell you later.” Her nose scrunches. “Guess I forgot.”
“You forgot? I fell in his lap—” I cut myself off when Professor Gray nears the front of the room, and suddenly, I wish I’d sat in the back like Violet prefers.
“Nineteen out of twenty decided they were up for this challenge.” Professor Gray pauses at his desk, grabbing a stack of papers out of his bag.
“Not bad numbers to start. But we’ll see how many of you are left standing at the end of the eight weeks.
If you wanted a summer off, you’ve come to the wrong place. ”
His eyes find me again, and I wonder if I’m the one he’s issuing the challenge to. Like he saw my weakness on the plane and now he intends to weed me out. Or maybe I annoyed him to the point he thinks I don’t deserve to be here. I didn’t exactly go easy on him.
Why can’t I just be cordial with random strangers?
“Your first case study is going to be the first case I solved.” He holds up the stack of papers.
“Although it’s not documented that I was involved in the final police report, I was.
In these pages, you’ll find all the details I had to work with to catch the killer.
I want you to review this over the next eight weeks and share your thoughts on the unknown subject.
His motives. His demographics. Tell me why I came to my conclusion. ”
“Did it take you eight weeks to figure that out?” The question is out of my mouth before I can think better of it, and my tone is sharp.
Professor Gray pauses, a slow, devious smirk climbing his cheeks. “No. It took me less than twenty-four hours.”
My jaw clenches because that says a lot about his faith in us.
“But let’s just say I got lucky.” His grin widens.
A snort escapes before I can swallow it down. At least my assumptions about his ego were correct.
Professor Gray ignores my outburst and starts passing out the papers.
“Umm…” Violet watches him move through the room. “What exactly happened between the two of you on the plane?”
“Nothing.”
Her eyebrow lifts. “That didn’t seem like nothing.”
“He’s insufferable, that’s all.”
“That’s all?”
When I look over at her, she’s grinning. “What?”
Her smile turns smug. “I think Mila might be right after all.”
“Don’t even say it.”
“A summer away… a hot professor.”
“I’m going to kill Mila for putting those ideas in your head.”
Violet giggles, not the least bit apologetic. Thankfully, she stops talking about it because the next thing I know, the warm scent of Jacob’s apple spice cologne fills my senses, and I realize he smells like a forbidden garden.
I should have known.
He pauses in front of me, handing me a stack of papers. The most lethal smirk ticks up in the corner of his mouth as I grab them from him. But when I try to tug, he tightens his grip.
“Patience Lancaster.” He says my full name, smiling in a way that is more of a taunt than anything. “Good to see you again so soon. Burning hot as ever.”
He releases the papers, and they crash against my chest from how hard I was pulling. My heart hammers as he continues down the row, passing out papers.
This can’t be happening.
It’s one thing to have these thoughts about an older, ridiculously hot stranger from the plane. But my professor?
His gaze finds me as he makes his way back to the front of the room, and I swallow hard.
I’m in so much trouble.