Chapter 29
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Eve
After class, I grab a prepackaged sandwich at the coffee shop with Diaz trailing behind me like a very clingy rottweiler. Having a bodyguard following me everywhere is beyond awkward, but it’s Christian’s non-negotiable condition for letting me out of his sight, so I just try to pretend Diaz isn’t there, which is next to impossible when everyone’s staring.
Back at Rush House, the living room is buzzing with the usual crowd, except for the Sacred Sons, who are noticeably absent. I usually head straight up to the bedroom after class, but I’m looking for Skye. I spot her by the pool table, working her charm on a couple of guys who are hanging on her every word.
Walking across the living room, I’m reminded why I don’t hang out downstairs. The stares. I get them wherever I go now. Inside the house. On campus. Doesn’t matter where I am, people are always watching me, and that kind of thing can get in your head.
As I approach the pool table, my cheeks start to burn as images of last night flick by in my head like a View-Master of shame—Christian throwing me against the table and fucking me in full view of everyone . But the absolute worst part was the orgasm slamming into me, full force, making me scream out. Again, in full view of everyone.
RIP to any sense of pride I had left.
But, seriously, I can’t think about that now, so I shove the thoughts out of my head and slide up to the pool table. I lean one hip against the polished edge, directly in Skye’s line of sight. She’s laughing, her head turned toward one of the guys. It’s not until she turns back to make her shot that she sees me.
“Oh, shit,” she says, jumping back. Once she gets a good look at my face, she pulls me into a tight hug. “Eve. Holy shit, are you okay? I wanted to visit you in the hospital, but the Sacred Sons weren’t letting anyone leave the house.”
“I’m fine. Just a few hives. Nothing to worry about,” I say, blowing off her concern. Then I steal a sidelong glance at the guys, smiling at her. “Having fun?”
She flashes me a smile, leans forward, and whispers, “There’s a reason why every girl on campus wants to join the Burning Crown.”
Not every girl. Not me. I’d like to say I’m smarter than that, but to be fair, I know a lot more about the Burning Crown than the average girl. It’s a secret society, after all, so unless the initiates have amazing Google-fu, they’d have no idea how corrupt the Burning Crown is until it was too late.
“Can you take a break from dick hunting for a second?” I ask. “I need your help.”
She glances at the guys, then back at me, blowing out a breath. “Fine. But you owe me one. The second I leave this table, another Deb is going to see it as an opening and swoop in. She’s going to benefit from all my hard work.”
I make a face. “Your hard work doing what exactly?”
“Flirting,” she says, like duh . “I’ve got Russell and Dorian primed. I was hoping to get some duel action.”
I blink at her. How does she not know how pretty she is? We were roomies for several months, so I know she owns a mirror.
“Okay, I hate to break it to you, but you could blink in their direction and they’d both come running. No work or flirting required.”
She makes a face like she doesn’t believe me. “So, what’s up?”
“Let’s go to the study,” I say, flicking my chin in that direction.
“Suspicious, but okay,” she laughs, following me.
In the study, the large window overlooking the front lawn is boarded up, but there’s no one in here. People don’t generally hang out in this room, unless a Sacred Son is with them. I get the sense that it’s some kind of unspoken rule. But me? I don’t care about their rules. The Sacred Sons can fuck themselves.
“Have you heard from my brother?” I ask. “Does he know I ended up in the hospital?”
Sin has a way of knowing everything. I wouldn’t be surprised if he has someone watching Rush House, noting all the comings and goings. And if that’s the case, they would have seen the ambulance arrive yesterday.
“He texts me about once a day, asking about you,” she says with a shrug. “You told me to tell him you’re fine, so that’s what I do.”
I breathe a sigh of relief. Sin clearly believes her, otherwise, he would have stormed this place by now. If he had even an inkling that I was in trouble, a brick through the window and a fire on the front lawn would feel like child’s play. “Okay, good. Thanks.”
“Are you really okay, though? How are you feeling?”
Swallowing back the memory of what happened, I nod stiffly. “Yeah, it was pretty scary, but I’m okay.” Actually, my throat spontaneously closing up was downright terrifying, but I’m hardwired to downplay my discomfort. That particular trait is a gift from my aunt. She hated it when I complained about literally anything, accusing me of being dramatic. “It was definitely intentional, though. Is there any talk about who could have done it? Any rumors?”
“Not really,” Skye says. “But there is some hot as fuck guy wandering around, asking questions. I’ve never seen him before, so I don’t think he’s a member.”
That’s weird. The Burning Crown thrives on secrecy, so it’s strange that they’d invite some random person in to ask questions. “Do you know his name?”
“Um, yeah, it’s something weird…” She pauses, thinking. “Cash, that’s it.”
Cash , my mind repeats, latching on to the familiar name.
“Last name?” I ask.
She shrugs and leans against the flat backrest of the leather sofa. “They didn’t tell us his last name. Jackson just said he’d be around for a few days, and for us to give him our full cooperation.”
Nodding slowly, I push out a breath and try to figure out what this means. All I can come up with is that the secret society world is much, much smaller than I thought it was. “Okay, thanks.” I pause. “Hey, um, can you do me a favor?”
“Yeah, of course. What is it?”
“You can’t tell anyone,” I warn.
She laughs at the implication that she would. “Why would I tell anyone? We’re in this together, remember? I’ve got you.”
Glancing over my shoulder to make sure no one is in the doorway, I pull the keys out of my pocket and dangle them in front of Skye.
“What are those for?” she asks.
“Not sure. I found them hidden in Christian’s room,” I say, palming them before anyone walks in. “I hear someone say the Sacred Sons keep all their records in some office on campus. Pretty sure these keys open it.”
“What building?”
“I don’t know. I was hoping you could swing by the Key Office and find out for me?” I ask with a pretty-please-with-a-cherry-on-top smile.
Skye’s eyebrows pinch together. “They won’t tell me.”
“Yes, they will. Use your feminine appeal,” I say, throwing her own advice right back at her.
Pushing out a breath, she holds her hand out. “I can try. But I’m not promising anything.”
I drop the keys into her hand. “You’re the best.”
“So, let’s say by some miracle, we do find out what building they open. What then?”
“Then I find a chance to slip away and go get what I need.”
Easy-breezy, right?
“You make it sound so simple,” she says. “But you forget, the Sacred Sons have eyes everywhere. What if you’re caught? It’s not worth the risk.”
“Skye, someone here is actively trying to kill me, but I can’t leave Rush House until I find something blackmail-worthy. So, I’m doing this. I don’t really have a choice.”
Her throat bobs, and she nods. I can tell she thinks this is suicide, but I know she’ll help me anyway. “Okay, when?”
“Provided you get what you need from the key office, then tomorrow morning. Let’s say…seven, on the dot? I’ll tell Christian I need to come downstairs to study or something.”
“Wait, no, tonight is the Vernal Awakening Ceremony,” she says. “They do it down at the beach. Someone said it kicks off at midnight and doesn’t end until sunrise.”
“Vernal what? ” I shake my head. “Christian hasn’t mentioned anything about a ceremony.”
Skye shrugs one delicate shoulder. “It’s some kind of renewal thing. Someone said it’s mandatory...”
“ Ugh, this complicates everything.” I bite my bottom lip, thinking. “I guess I could wait until the following morning, but I really need to handle this before my brother comes bursting through the walls or someone actually manages to kill me…”
“Wait,” Skye says, like something has just occurred to her. “Maybe the ceremony is a good thing. Everyone will be distracted, right?”
I open my mouth to argue, but…yeah, she’s right.
“Good point.” I purse my lips, running through the options in my head. “Is this Vernal thing an official Burning Crown event?”
Skye shrugs one shoulder. “Yeah, I think so. Why?”
I flash her a mischievous smile. “Only Burning Crown members are allowed to attend official events, right?”
She smiles. “Oh, right! You’re not a member, so you’ll be in the house alone.” She pauses. “What about the security guys, though? They’ll still be here.”
“Yeah.” I scrape my teeth across my bottom lip. “I don’t know, I’ll figure something out. In the meantime, let’s just pray Christian doesn’t sniff out my plan…”
Because, if he does, I’m as good as dead.
Christian will make sure of it.