Chapter 37
THIRTY-SEVEN
FRANKIE
Jesse looks fucked. Really fucked. He attempted to hide it with his usual shit-eating grin but I saw it in his eyes. They are bright—too bright and the shadows under them tell me he didn’t sleep much last night.
I’m guessing Miss Sloane had a lot to do with that and catching up with him is now my number one priority.
My thoughts are spiraling as I try to unravel the mystery of the ninth centurion. It must be somebody with access to our house and also to our conversation. They must have known the details of the challenge, but I can’t guess for a second who it could be. I have never seen a serpent tattoo on any of the guys, even though it could be another student in the academy.
I don’t like mysteries, especially ones that involve me, and if there is a sick predator among us, it’s only a matter of time before I make them pay—the Majerio way.
* * *
Conversation shifts when breakfast arrives and I zone out as Cassie and Siri chat shit about the party. Who was there, what they were wearing and who they were seen with. Jack is silent too and I wonder what is running through his mind? It’s obvious he’s brooding about something and I wonder if it has a lot to do with the woman I have made crystal clear is mine now.
I made sure he registered my arm resting possessively on her shoulders and the way I shared my menu with her, our heads close together as we selected our food. It was all done for his benefit because whatever feelings he has for my girl must be pushed aside and forgotten about until I am either bored with the situation, or he is.
However, after last night, my interest is merely growing and now Cassie lives in The Elusive house, our relationship will be easier.
My attention shifts onto my cousin and I note her happy smile and the soft looks she directs like love darts toward the man sitting beside her and I wonder about their relationship. Does he feel the same way? I’m curious about that because it could be a problem if he does. I’m aware that Siri is not the ordinary mafia princess she was brought up to be. She’s adventurous, determined and no pushover. Her softer side is her usual one, but if pushed, she can be a force to avoid at all costs.
I wonder if Jack will ever see that side of her.
I already made the decision it’s her life and I’ll not interfere in that unless she is threatened. She can make her own mistakes and I’m not her father. We don’t live by the old rules. Our sinister family re-wrote them and Uncle Ivan would be a hypocrite if he changed his mind now.
Family is everything and despite not being blood relatives, I’m aware that when our parents attended Rockwell, they dealt with that. They had their own ceremony while they were here and it involved a dagger and the mixing of blood, bonding them tighter than nature intended. They are a family by blood and firm resolve, and what happened when they left this place is the stuff of family legend.
Now Rockwell is throwing up a new challenge and I kind of like to rise to a challenge, so as soon as we finish up and head outside, I say with a steely gleam in my eye.
“It’s time to head back and tear that fucking dungeon apart. If there is a way into the tunnel, we are going to find it today.”
The guys agree and the girls nod with the same determination. Whoever is hiding behind a centurion mask uninvited, is about to learn he’s messed with the wrong guy.
* * *
As soon as we returned to Rockwell, Cassie and Siri went back to their dorm to collect the rest of their stuff and Jack said he’d help them carry it back. Before I join them, there is something I must deal with first and as we return to the house, I pull Jesse aside.
“What’s going on?”
He avoids my eyes.
“Do you want all the details?”
He smirks and I shrug. “Only the one that explains why you’re off your head on drugs.”
He pales as I hiss, “It’s fucking obvious, Jesse. You’re still tripping, so I’ll ask you again, what the fuck is going on?”
He rakes his fingers through his hair and sighs heavily. Then he glances around before leaning in closer.
“It’s Jenna, man.”
“Miss Sloane?” I raise my eyes and he nods, a small smile creeping over his face.
“She’s something else. I’ve never met anyone like her before. The woman we see in the classroom is nothing compared to the one she is inside.”
“I’m listening.” I make out I’m interested in the gory details and I am. But not for the reason he thinks, and he smirks. “Man, she is so cool. She has moves I never knew were moves until I’m losing control of my body.”
He whispers, “She has some powerful shit that she rolls up from a tin while she sits astride me. Then she lights it and takes a drag before offering it to me and it’s sexy as hell.”
I say nothing and he grins. “Sex with Jenna is fucking wild, and it’s not just sharing a spliff. She’s into all kinds of shit and I am ruined for any other woman because what she doesn’t know isn’t worth bothering with.”
“I wish I could say I am happy for you, Jesse, but this is going to end badly and you know it.”
He shakes his head. “Don’t worry, bro. Jenna has it all worked out. She told me she does it all the time. I’m not the first and won’t be her last.”
“And you’re happy about that?” I raise my eyes and he shrugs.
“It’s not happily ever after, for fuck’s sake. I’m using her just as much as she’s using me. I realize that. It’s sure making this semester a memorable one.”
“Then you should consider her position in this.”
He shrugs. “Why? She knows the score.”
“Listen, I’m no stickler for the rules, but she’s facing a jail term if she’s caught. Sex with a student and supplying him with drugs is illegal and all it takes is for one fucker to find out and you’re both in serious shit.”
“But they won’t find out.” Jesse’s eyes flash. “Because only we know about it and you’re no grass, Frankie. Are you?”
I react quickly and before he knows what’s happening, I have him pinned up against the wall, my eyes burning with anger as I hiss, “Don’t question my loyalty, Jesse because I am the only one who has your back right now. I don’t use others to solve my problems. I do it myself and it’s not pretty. Question me again and you’ll discover what that involves. Do I make myself clear?”
He nods, defeat bitter in his eyes as I relax my hold.
“Clean up and meet me back here in thirty minutes. We have a mystery to solve and I want your mind sharp and your appetite for revenge sharper because the fucker who is masquerading as one of my centurions, will wish he had never been born when I discover who he is.”
Jesse nods and heads off without another word and my anger merely grows when my thoughts return to Jenna Sloane. Jesse is old enough to make his own decisions and I’m not about to interfere with that, but if she’s dealing in drugs, that’s another matter entirely.
It’s ironic when drugs is a by-product of our family organization but I have learned enough about them to know they are never going to trap anyone I care deeply about and Jesse, for all his flaws, is as close to a brother as my real ones. Jenna Sloane had better watch out because I would kill for my family and her sex won’t save her fate if she steps over the line.