3. Pandora
PANDORA
The tunnels are dimly lit, and judging by the supplies along the walls, they’re mostly used for maintenance workers.
“This is pretty neat,” I say, peering into the long corridor. “This takes you all the way to your frat house? What about my dorm?”
Blaze squeezes my shoulder. “Your dorm is connected. For the frat, we’ll have to get out at the closest building. None of the frat or sorority houses are connected.”
I wonder if that’s true, but if he’s lying, I can’t tell. Blaze does know how to be smooth when he wants. “Good to know.”
“Stick close,” Blaze says. “You don’t want to get lost down here.”
Asch smiles at me, though there’s something off about it. “Some of the signs are a little worn, so it can be easy to get off track. But don’t worry. We know all the ways around.”
“Good thing you’re here to guide me,” I say, suppressing the urge to giggle.
It’s all a bit obvious.
If there’s one thing Daddy and Uncle Slayer taught me, it’s to never go down dark alleys without an exit plan .
Papa’s suggestion was to stab people in dark alleys, which is basically the same thing.
I reach into my jeans pocket and clutch my lucky charm. My body temperature warms it up, like it’s a living thing. The butterflies in my stomach settle.
I’m ready for whatever they’re going to throw at me.
Hell, I’m looking forward to it.
We’ve gone about three turns when Blaze suddenly stops.
“What up?” I ask, glazing around. The lighting is especially bad here, with a single lightbulb a few feet away illuminating the hall. I cast around for a light switch, but I don’t see anything.
“You’re really trusting, aren’t you, Pandora?” Blaze says.
I reach up to cover my mouth so I don’t accidentally laugh. “Because I followed you down into a dark tunnel?”
“There is that,” Asch says, and he takes a step behind me so that Blaze is in front of me and Asch is out of my field of vision. “It’s probably a good thing you carry a knife everywhere you go, isn’t it? Otherwise, some sick bastards might get ideas about what they could do to you.”
“Yeah. And since you know that, you should be aware that I will fight back.” I reach for my knife and consider what to do here.
Stabbing them is easy. They helpfully brought me down here into these dark tunnels with no witnesses, and I know I can cover my tracks.
That would make one hell of a headline. Two frat douchebags murdered in university tunnels!
Part of me craves it. The blood, the violence. I could make these two suffer and decorate these walls with red.
A beautiful, vibrant design that will leave people puzzled about the artistic merit and meaning.
The thing inside my chest scratches the undersides of my ribs, urging me to go through with it.
But Rachel’s killer is still out there.
I can’t afford to lose my most credible lead.
Guess that means Blaze gets to live another day.
Blaze reaches out for me. I take a step back, but Asch grabs my upper arms and holds me tight while Blaze wraps his hand around the back of my neck.
I swallow hard, forcing my breath steady.
Unfortunately, even this small hint of violence is doing it for me already.
“You think you can take us?” Blaze growls. “You’re severely overestimating yourself.”
It would take nothing at all to knee him in the groin, his hand around my neck be damned. While he writhes in pain, I’d get my knife out and stab Asch.
I could kiss them while I watch them bleed out.
Focus, Pandora!
I reluctantly release the knife and go slack.
“You’re the one overestimating yourself,” I whisper back with a grin. Maybe not the most docile thing to say, but there’s only so much I’m willing to pretend.
Besides, they both already know I’m not completely meek and helpless.
“Maybe. But neither of us is underestimating you,” Asch says, and his voice is grim. “Where’s the knife, Pandora?”
“I left it in my dorm room,” I lie. “I wasn’t expecting to run into you two today.”
He shakes me hard. “You weren’t planning on running into us the night of the party, either. Blaze, check her pockets,” he says. He lets out a dark laugh. “Unless you want a surprise castration.”
Before he can disarm me—and steal my knife—I awkwardly toss it down the hall, into the darkness. Blaze stares after it, then sighs. “Really?”
“You can go get it,” I suggest sweetly. “Give me some quality time alone with Asch.”
Asch chuckles again. “Pass. Blaze, help me get her on her knees. You can have her first.”
I pretend to struggle, but I’m not about to bruise my knees for them so in the end, I get down in front of them.
Blaze buries his fingers in my hair and pulls. “So, Pandora. Let’s talk about some rules.”
My eyes widen. “Rules?”
“Rules.” Blaze gives me a dark smile. “You do not say a word about this to anyone. You don’t run to the pigs or the school administration.”
“Why shouldn’t I?” I ask breathlessly, and I twist my head to feel him pull harder, giving more of those lovely twinges of pain.
Blaze crouches down in front of me, his voice dropping in volume. “Because all of them answer to me.” He licks a stripe up my cheek. “They would never ruin the reputation of a Bouchard. We own this place.”
As if it’s hard to forget, with the Bouchard School of Business building, or his father’s name listed as a major donor on the school’s website.
Most people would be shaking in fear already.
Most women would give up here.
I’m not other women.
My mouth goes dry, and I resist the urge to lick my lips.
Blaze glances at Asch. “If Asch or I want your mouth or cunt, you open up and spread wide for us. Got it?”
My mouth drops open, and I cough to cover a delighted sound. “Excuse me? All I need to do is talk to the press?—”
Blaze laughs darkly. “Sure, go run to the press. Tell everyone that we raped you. Then get ready to have them laugh you out of the room. Nobody will ever believe you. I will destroy you and everyone you care about if you utter a single word.”
I stare at him in disbelief. “Destroy me?”
“Blaze is always a perfect gentleman,” Asch says. “Everyone knows it. You, on the other hand? You’re a self-proclaimed slut.”
Blaze runs his thumb over my lips. Even in the dim light, I can see the flecks of gold in his green eyes and see all the individual blond hairs of stubble on his chin.
The part of me that’s the most like Papa wants to dismiss this threat. I’m untouchable. I can protect myself and leave a blaze— ha! —of destruction in my wake.
But Daddy and Mama and even Uncle Slayer managed to drill some common sense into me. If I turn this into a war, I’m going to draw more attention to myself than I need.
I’ll never get revenge for Rachel if I have a giant target painted on my back.
“You’re going to pay for what you did to Asch,” Blaze says. “It’s not an eye for an eye, Pandora. Every drop of blood you spilled is worth one thousand of your tears.”
Fuck.
My cunt throbs, and I try desperately to remind myself that Blaze is the enemy, that I need to pump him for information, not cum.
I could do both, right?
I sneer at him. “Asch can’t fight his own battles?”
“Asch is my friend, and what kind of friend would I be if I didn’t look out for him?” Blaze pushes his thumb past my lips and presses it against my tongue.
I swallow hard, doing what I can to keep my breathing steady.
The expression in Blaze’s eyes is raw now, like he’s seeing something he actually wants for the first time. The other night, I was so sure he was only playing along because of Asch.
Does Blaze like it when I fight back?
Does he want me subdued and trembling?
If I can give him what he wants, maybe that will make him more pliable. What was it my aunt says? ‘Men always get stupid after sex.’
“Don’t you have friends who would do anything for you?” Asch asks, squeezing my shoulders. “It’s a nice feeling, Pandora. You could’ve had that with me. With us.”
Anger flares up briefly.
Yes, I used to have a friend like that.
I glare at Blaze and start licking his thumb. I can taste the salt of his sweat and can practically feel the whorls on the pad of his thumb. There’s a hint of callus—I wonder what weapons he uses that give him those calluses.
Blaze strikes me as the kind of guy who prefers a gun.
I imagine him on the shooting range, Glock in hand, expertly wielding the weapon as he gets a target square in the chest.
Although with how Blaze was choking me, he might not be opposed to using his fists directly, either.
Blaze stands up without removing his thumb from my mouth. “She’s a natural with her mouth, Asch. But we already knew she was a slut.”
The urge to bite is strong, just to see his reaction. He’s lucky he managed to get me so hot and bothered first, and that I want to see where this is going.
Can Blaze deliver this good time he’s threatening me with?
“She was pretty clear about that,” Asch agrees. “Which wouldn’t have even been a bad thing if she’d been a nice slut.” His grip tightens on my shoulders, and I wonder if he’s really that butthurt about me mouthing off to him or if it’s really just the cut that has his panties in a twist.
I press my knees closer together and shake my head imperceptibly.
Blaze pulls his thumb out and smears my spit across my chin. “Let’s see how you handle the real thing.” He nods at Asch. “Hold her tight.”
Asch’s hands move so he’s the one holding me by the hair, and he twists so it’s hard for me to move my head. “Stay still, Pandora. This doesn’t need to be so bad. We just want a taste.” He pauses, then there’s another one of those harsh laughs. “Or I guess we want you to get a taste.”
My heart pounds hard in my chest, and I bare my teeth at them. “What happened to being a gentleman? You’re a pig.”
Blaze laughs while Asch digs his fingers into the sides of my cheeks to force my mouth open. I strain away from Blaze as he undoes his fly, but Asch has a tight grip on me.
Blaze’s cock is thick and already half-hard. Blaze strokes himself a few times to bring himself to full erection, the head of his cock glistening and red.