Shadowface

Chapter 34

CHAPTER

THIRTY-FOUR

SUMMER

“ S ummer…” Dani’s voice cuts me off from my daydream as we walk through the crowd on the quad the next day. People are bustling everywhere, trying to get to their next classes. It’s a dreary day, as it always is this time of year as the seasons turn. The sandstone walls blend into the trees, which merge into the sky. “Are you even listening to me?” I blink a couple of times and shift my attention to her.

Dani and I made up last night after I spoke with Lincoln. I banged on her door until she opened it. She was still fuming mad at me, but understood I was safe. I asked her about Xander, and her face went white. I know something happened between them because I heard about it, but she isn’t giving me anything.

“Yeah, I’m listening,” I tell her. And I was listening until Lincoln appeared in the crowd, wearing a wool jacket and tight pants that should be criminal, and my heart hollowed out. He stopped to talk to a student and has been entirely focused on her for the last five minutes. His eyes meet mine for only a moment when he catches me watching him.

I cried on Dani’s lap for an hour about how wrong it was to be dating our TA and knew I needed to break up with him. I also confessed I’ve never felt this way about anyone. She listened and rubbed my back like a good friend, even though I’ve been a shitty friend to her. I didn’t tell her what I was truly upset about, or the fact my clock was ticking, and Halloween was two weeks away.

I just cried it out.

Dani’s been talking about how on edge everyone is with a potential copycat killer on the loose and how Cali still won’t speak.

It’s because she can’t speak , I want to cry out but keep my mouth shut instead. The news is eating this up, and Cali still isn’t saying a word to anyone about what she went through in that basement.

Trauma can have a profound impact on the human mind, rewiring the brain. Thankfully, Mikael didn’t kill Cali, but it seems she might have been better off if he had.

Mikael and Lincoln ensured her silence. I saw firsthand how scary they are when they are working together. It’s possible, with Mikael’s irrationality and Lincoln’s wits, that they truly think they are a god. I’ve certainly experienced things I can’t explain.

Dani continues, watching me watch Lincoln, “I think it’s for the best if you stop seeing him. Not only could you get in a lot of trouble for sleeping with your class TA, but I’m convinced Xander’s family is behind everything. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was behind Cali’s disappearance, too.”

She’s wrong, but not entirely wrong, I guess. “Why do you think that?” I ask, the lies once again spewing out. Cali never saw me, I remind myself. She heard me, but she never saw me.

Deny. Deny. Deny.

Dani blinks at me with hard eyes and stops walking. I’m not the only one who’s changed this semester. Dani has, too. I can’t put my finger on how, but she’s too caught up in all this. She’s too close to the truth. If she stays focused and doesn’t cause trouble, she will graduate like most people and leave with no issues. But it’s Dani we’re talking about, and she’s the most headstrong person I’ve ever met. And she’s hell-bent on clearing up her father’s name.

“I went digging around the house,” she says, and my stomach tightens. When Dani digs around, she always finds the dirt. She keeps her gaze on the stone ground beneath us. “Xander found me in his room.”

“And what did he do when he found you?”

Her face turns red. “He kissed me.”

I can’t help but smirk, because Dani never gets flustered. But then I remember Xander has a girlfriend who he treats like a dog, and I don’t want Dani anywhere near that situation.

“Then what did you do?”

“I kissed him back, obviously. Then his crazy girlfriend found us, and I fled.”

“Did you find anything in his room?” I ask her to change the subject, keeping my eye on Lincoln, who’s still talking to that girl, who I now realize is a blonde.

Dani shakes her head. “No. But I did see something downstairs when I was looking at all those creepy ass pictures. Did you meet that friend of theirs, that girl, Wendy?”

I stutter out an answer as I continue to watch Lincoln, and he places his hand on the shoulder of the girl he’s talking to. “I met her briefly. Why?”

“Did you know she’s Dr. Garcia’s great-niece and Xander’s cousin? Her grandfather is Remington Vital.”

Vital.

The name on the family plaque.

I shake my head as if I’m supposed to know these deep familial ties within this region. “Who was Remington Vital?” I ask. But more importantly, who was Matteo Vital, who seems to be the overlord of everything?

A dark look crosses her face. “He’s the Supreme Court judge,” she says matter-of-factly. “Wendy’s grandfather put my father in prison, Summer. It was his conviction that put him in for life. And her father is the mayor of Kinsmen. This is all so convenient. If there was ever a family who could make things go away, it’s the Vital family. They’ve kept their family fortune intact for hundreds of years.”

My hand finds her shoulder as the campus starts to clear out, and she looks at me with a swell of emotion in her glistening eyes. “My father didn’t do anything; he didn’t kill anyone. He was innocent, I know he was. They convicted an innocent man to cover something up.”

Jesus.

My mouth goes dry at what this means, at how connected this all is.

Bound by blood.

Dani will eventually find out the connection between my father, my grandparents, and everything that happened, even if I don’t know the exact details. It seems like nobody else does, either, because the Vital family has a knack for making things disappear.

“What does this all mean?” I ask her.

She shakes her head, keeping a careful eye on Lincoln as students press around us, hustling to their next class. “I think everyone is in on it, and I think it all stems from this university, and the Order.” She points toward the looming, castle-like building, its aged stone radiating a palpable sense of misery.

The psychology building.

She continues, “There’s been so many missing people and mysterious deaths. And it’s not just recently, this has been happening for hundreds of years. No bodies are ever found, no one asks questions, no one is ever charged. But that all changed this week…”

My eyes fix on her. “Why? What happened this week?”

She runs her tongue along her top teeth. “They found a victim, and she lived through it. I’m going to find her and make her talk. I’m going to find out what the fuck that girl went through and what she saw.”

I wish her the best of luck with that.

“You have to promise me something, Summer,” she says.

An icy breeze brushes against my cheek as Lincoln’s eyes graze me from across the quad. “What?”

“Promise me you will never step foot in that house again.”

I lay my hand on her arm. I’ve never seen Dani so determined about anything before—she’s too close to the truth, and even though it may involve her, she needs to stay away from it.

“Okay. I promise. I’ll break up with him and I won’t go there again.” If I was smart, I would flee before the ReBirth Ceremony in a week. I would tell my mom I want to come home and transfer to another school far, far away from here. Mikael will lose his grip on me. He’ll have to grapple with his insanity all on his own.

As if he knows I’m thinking about him, Lincoln draws his gaze toward me.

“So,” Dani says, looping my arm, “do you want to keep walking, or are you going to stand there and pine over him all day?”

I frown as we continue walking, and I tie my scarf up, trying to get away from this chilly wind.

“I’m still dying to know what went on in that basement with him,” she says. “You haven’t told me much.”

I shrug. “We talked mainly about my father and the work he did for him before he died. It was nice hearing stories about him. Lincoln connected with him in ways I never could.”

She eyes me wearily. “You just talked… right . You never came out of that basement once; I looked for you everywhere.”

I flash her a deviant smile. “We were too busy drinking each other’s blood.”

She gasps, then narrows her eyes as I squeak out a laugh.

“Okay. You’re joking.”

I’m now not only protecting Lincoln, but Dani, too. I don’t want to give Dani any additional information to continue her witch hunt. I need her to think he’s a normal guy.

We continue walking, and I pointedly walk right past Lincoln. My hairs stand on end as I brush by him.

The girl he’s been talking to for the past ten minutes has blonde hair flowing from a stylish hat. She turns, smiles, and waves at us, and I realize it’s Misty. Suddenly, my veins throb as if about to burst, and an intense urge to tear out her eyes overwhelms me.

I can only interpret the look she gives me as a threat, considering she knows about my crush on him.

Lincoln’s eyes meet mine, and he lingers for a moment, watching me. Misty’s oblivious to the surge of emotion coursing through him as Mikael momentarily fronts at the sight of me. Even from a few feet away, I can see the whirlwind in his eyes.

The process of a psychopath trying to break through.

Dani watches the entire thing but obviously doesn’t register the intense psychological battle warring in his head. Once we are a few feet away, she grabs my arm and pulls me away from him.

“Okay. You have it bad.”

I scoff and pull my arm away. “I don’t have it bad, but why is Misty talking to him?” I watch as the two of them walk together toward the psychology building.

She folds her arms and peers down at me. “You are such a liar. You’re so smitten with him, it’s not even funny. And I’d like to remind you that he’s her TA. If you’re trying to keep this a secret, then you’re not doing a very good job.”

He gets swept away by the crowd, and thankfully Misty heads in the other direction.

Dani taps her toe, staring at me. “Summer. Should I be worried?”

I shake my head and keep my voice low. “Please, keep your mouth shut about it. You can’t say anything to Misty or to anyone. If Dr. Garcia finds out he’s sleeping with me, he could lose his job and I could get kicked out of class for misconduct. And it would be me getting kicked out, Dani; his brain is too valuable to the university. He’s going to be faculty in a matter of months. I’ll never be able to get into another school with that on my record.”

Her jaw drops. “ Summer …you’ve never admitted that you had sex with him. I thought it was just a crush, and you just talked all night.”

I grab her hand before she can say anything more. “I love him, Dani. I’m in love with him. And I’m trying to figure out what that means.”

Silence falls between us, a heaviness in the air.

“Summer…” Dani says, squinting her eyes past me. “Someone’s watching us.”

My stomach twists and I turn my head to look. “Who?”

“Xander,” she says icily, but her face has gone white.

I catch Xander standing under a large oak on the edge of campus. His face is shadowed, a hood is up over his face, and his arms are folded. For once, I don’t see a collared Bianca with him or all his tattoos. He looks like he doesn’t want to be seen.

And he is staring at us—blatantly, if I might add—wearing fucking Prada sunglasses, as if needing to flaunt how rich his family is.

The Vital family. Of course he’d be connected to that empire.

“Just ignore him,” I tell her. “I’ll take care of him.”

Dani frowns and runs her hand over my arm. “Be careful with him, Summer. He’s not a good guy.”

After one final grimace at Xander, she struts toward the main part of campus.

Emphasize the strut.

I wait for her to disappear before I gather myself and walk over to where Xander is waiting for me. He knows everything about me, he must…and now, I’m thinking he knows a lot about Dani, too.

He’s leaning against a tree with his arms crossed when I approach.

“What do you want?” I snap at him. “I don’t appreciate you staring at us.”

He smirks. “I thought you like being watched; I heard it’s your thing.”

I can’t help but notice the flex in his jaw or the way the vein pops out of his neck. His hands are so massive, they could squish me like a bug. The thought of him squishing Dani is even more terrifying.

I cross my arms and keep a steady distance. “Stay away from my friend.”

His jaw ticks as his dark gaze drifts to where Dani just walked off to. “Sure, but I don’t think your friend wants to stay away from me .”

“She does, I assure you.”

His dark eyes flicker. “Is that why I found her hiding in my room with barely any clothes on?”

My mouth slinks open. “She was looking for me, and her choice of clothing doesn’t give you the right to stick your tongue down her throat. Was this before or after you held me down?”

He leans his shoulder on the giant elm and chomps on that damn lip. “Is that what she told you happened? I guess you wouldn’t believe it if I told you that she kissed me, would you?”

I don’t bother answering because absolutely nothing would surprise me anymore. “You know who she is, don’t you?” I ask him carefully. “Your family put an innocent man in prison.”

His jaw ticks. “All I know is he’s a convicted criminal and did very bad things to good people.”

“Bullshit,” I snap at him. “You were protecting someone in your group. Lincoln told me everything; I know exactly what you are. I’m not letting you anywhere near my friend, so go away.”

He tilts his head. “I actually came here to talk to you. I’m trying to help you.”

I place my hand on my hip. “What do you possibly want to talk to me about?”

He sneers. “I don’t like you, Summer.”

I bark out a laugh. “I don’t like you, either, Xander. Is that all?”

He crosses his arms. “But I do care about Lincoln, and I think you do, too.”

I blink at him and shoot him a dead stare as I lean against the tree next to him, mirroring his cocky body language. “Of course I care about Lincoln.”

His eyes darken. “Well, he doesn’t give a fuck about you, and I think you know why.”

I shake my head. “You’re wrong about him. He does care about me, he loves me.”

He has to love me… Xander isn’t with us at night. He doesn’t see how soft Lincoln is. How complex, kind, focused and caring he is. I don’t believe he’s soulless.

Xander’s blue eyes sparkle beneath his hood. “Mikael’s the one who’s obsessed with you. If you let him out, Lincoln will get put in the psych ward. My grandmother won’t let him walk free.” There it is… Mikael. It always comes back to Mikael, doesn’t it?

My breath grows heavy, my body listless at the mention of his name. I pause for a moment before I say, “Mikael’s already here, Xander. He’s always in the background. How do you not see that?”

He shakes his head as if he was looking for my confirmation of what he already knew.

I grind my teeth. “Look, if this has something to do with the fact you don’t want me as part of your secret club, don’t worry, I don’t want any part of it. I won’t take your inheritance.”

The velocity in his voice snaps me senseless. “That is mine by birthright ,” he says through gritted teeth. “But this has nothing to do with that.”

My heart rate upticks a beat as he steps closer, towering over me. I stand on my resolve, knowing he won’t touch me because of Lincoln. “I plan on leaving town,” I tell him. “I’m already looking into schools to transfer to on the West Coast.”

“That will be too fucking late.”

I huff out a breath, leaning my head against the bark of the giant tree, trying to distance myself from him. I stare up at his blue eyes. “You’re wrong about Mikael; he has good inside of him, even if you can’t see it. I don’t think you know your brother at all. I don’t believe he will kill me.”

Part of me wants to stay to prove these people wrong. To prove to Lincoln that he is stronger than he knows.

He takes a menacing step toward me as if he could get any closer. “Be really fucking careful what you’re involving yourself in, sweetheart. If I were you, I’d run far away from this town. Nothing good will come from you being here. You don’t bring out the best in him, trust me on that.”

There’s an audible snap in my patience as I curl my fist. “What is your fucking problem?”

He snaps his arm next to my ear, and I back up into the trunk of another oak tree. “I have no problem, but I do have a question.” His hulking body pins me into the tree. “What one do you like fucking the best?”

“Get away from me, or I’ll scream,” I threaten.

He licks his lips. “I can’t wait for the day he actually makes you scream. Then maybe you’ll get the fucking hint and run. Because congratulations, you dumb bitch, you let him out of his cage.”

I don’t give him time to react. I duck from under his arm and walk hurriedly through the quad and try to contain the burning need consuming me. When I look back, Xander is gone.