Chapter 10
Atreus
Ten minutes later
I slam my office door open and peer around.
“I could’ve sworn I heard someone running in here,” my assistant says. “I was just looking for some paperwork I’d left behind when I noticed the cameras.”
I glance at the camera in the hallway, which has a broken lens. It wasn’t broken yesterday.
Narrowing my eyes, I head into my office and leave everything untouched, searching for leftover clues of the person who came into the building. Someone came to snoop. I just have to find out who and what they were looking for.
“That camera was running, right?” I ask.
“Uh-huh, I’m pretty sure.” She nods.
“Get me the footage.”
“Yes, sir.” She nods and walks off, leaving me to do my thing.
I pull a pair of gloves from my pocket and put them on while I search through the stack of papers. I memorized each of them so I’d know if one was missing, but they’re all here.
I suck in a breath and open my drawers, but everything is still inside, including the most important documents I keep here about several convicted criminals.
But as I close the drawer, my eyes rise to settle on the board in the back that I use to pin my targets.
One of the pins is missing.
My nostrils flare as I approach the board and check all the images, which are all still there, except for one tiny detail.
The handwritten note.
A sudden knock on the door makes me turn my head. “Sir, I have the video. I sent it through via secured email.”
“Thanks.”
She walks off again as I sit behind my desk and pull my laptop from my bag, then open it up. I immediately check my email, download the file, and open it.
The video covers the entire day, and I have to fast-forward through most of it, since nothing seems out of the ordinary. Until all lights are turned off and an hour later, the door is opened from inside my office.
So they came through the window. Interesting.
I continue watching until a weapon appears into view.
Not a person, just a hand wielding a gun.
One second. Then the screen goes blank.
A devilish smirk forms on my face.
Found you, little killer.
Sunny
I ring the Beta Pi doorbell and wait until someone finally opens the door.
A girl stares at me. “Yeah?”
“Hi, is Aspen here?” I ask, wearing a huge, fake smile. “I need to talk to her.”
“I don’t know.” The girl yawns. “Why do you need her right now? Do you even know what time it is?”
Very late.
I plant my hand on the door. “Just get her. It’s important.”
I’m not entirely convinced Orion Navarro was speaking the truth. He could’ve just given me a name to satisfy me, but it’s worth finding out.
She grimaces and slowly backs away, probably intimidated by my presence.
So I add, “Please.”
She rolls her eyes. “Fine.”
She walks off and closes the door just a smidge while she goes to yell up the stairs for Aspen.
After a while, Aspen finally comes to the door. “Hey, Sunny. I was getting ready for bed. What’s up?”
“Do you happen to know where your brother lives?”
She clutches the door. “Why do you want to know?”
“Because he and I need to talk.” She attempts to close the door, so I stick my foot inside. “You really think that’s a smart idea?”
My eyes connect with hers, and a flurry of potential violent scenarios zip through my mind, straight into hers. I know she knows what I’m capable of … even against my own damn friends and family.
“I heard he recently got accepted into the Tartarus House,” she says.
A delightful grin spreads on my face. “Thanks.”
As I turn around, she grabs my arm. “If you hurt him, you know I’ll come for you.”
My brows furrow as she glares at me. I don’t take threats like that lightly, but I understand where it’s coming from.
“Something tells me he likes being hunted,” I say with a wink, before I jerk free and run off.
“You’re lucky you’re Levi’s sister, or I would’ve called you a bitch,” Aspen mutters under her breath, but I heard.
It only makes me laugh.
I’m not just a bitch.
I’m that bitch.
And I’m going to get my man.
Xavier
I pull down my horned mask from one of the first Tartarus parties I attended and seal it around my face so no one will ever know it was me.
I check my surroundings before I bolt toward the wall of Sunny’s sorority and make a jump.
I barely reach the ladder of the fire escape, fingers holding on for dear life.
Adrenaline filters through my veins as I pull myself up and put my foot on the ladder, then make my way farther up until I’m on the small plateau.
I dart up each staircase, making sure no one’s watching through their window.
Everyone should be sleeping by now, so I should have more than ample time.
When I get to her room, I peer inside, my heart beating in my throat while my eyes scan the room.
But Sunny Reed is nowhere to be found.
What the fuck?
I peel open the window using a card until it’s far enough that I can push my fingers underneath to open it. I definitely should not be doing this. I know breaking and entering is wrong, but I need to know what she’s up to.
I sneak inside and glance around, then close her bedroom door so no one will catch me snooping through her things. It smells like her perfume in here, the scent exhilarating my senses as I try to focus on the most important thing, but fuck me, that is her bed and her clothes right on top of them.
With fingers splayed out, I approach the bed and touch her outfit, already worn for the day.
A pair of black jeggings and a ruffled white top, along with a red thong.
My mouth waters as I sink to my knees in front of the clothes and bring my face forward so I can smell her scent still lingering all over these clothes …
and kiss the goddamn fabric that was on her pussy.
Fuck.
Her scent alone makes my cock harden in my pants, and I groan out loud from the sheer pleasure of being so close to her even though she isn’t even in this goddamn room.
I’ll remember this.
I get up from the floor and search her room, opening every drawer, her closet, and every box, turning everything inside out, until I finally find a locked drawer.
I pull out my wallet and take out the pick I always carry with me.
Courtesy of Ivy—Max, Silas, and Heath’s girlfriend—who gave it to me as a birthday gift, because she no longer needed it.
She didn’t tell me why she had one to begin with, but judging from the stories Aspen tells, I’m pretty sure Ivy was once a certified thief.
Not that it’s any of my business.
I push the pick into the drawer and mess about with it as sweat drops down my neck.
CLICK!
That was easier than I imagined it would be.
I pull open the drawer and discover an old phone from the early 2010s.
That’s odd.
I take it out of the drawer and open it up, but of course there’s a lock on it. Facial recognition. Goddammit.
I pull out my own phone and scroll through my images until I find one of the photos I took of Sunny when she didn’t notice me, like a true stalker. I hold it in front of the phone.
ERROR.
My adrenaline spikes as I search for another image. There’s gotta be a way to get into this phone. I hold it up again.
ERROR.
I look around her room. Doesn’t she have a photo of herself somewhere that could work?
There’s a printer on her desk, though, and it’s giving me the craziest idea.
What if…
I connect my phone to the printer via Bluetooth, send the image, and wait for it to print. I hold the image up to her phone.
The screen opens, and a massive smile forms on my face.
It worked. It actually worked.
I immediately open the phone’s contact directory, send the records to my own phone, then erase the message.
I do the same with her notes and all the images she took until I have a vast collection of everything.
But the one thing that makes me pause is the list I find hidden deep within her phone … and each person she intends to kill.
A hit list.
Several names have already been crossed off.
This must be the two men she targeted in the warehouse and the shop.
So many people are on this list. Why does she want them dead?
THWACK!
A door was just slammed shut somewhere in the Delta Nu house, and my ears fixate on the sound.
No time. Gotta run.
I stuff everything back into my pocket, then shove the phone back into the drawer. There’s no time to close it, so I have no choice but to bolt toward the window and pray she forgot she closed it in the first place.
The second I crawl out the window and jump onto the fire escape, her door bursts open.
“Fuck!” she yells.
Sweat drops roll down my back as I crawl down the steps while trying to make as little noise as possible.
“Why is that goddamn scaredy-cat not in his room?” she yells. “Where the fuck else would he be?”
Is she … talking about me?
I swallow away the lump in my throat as I keep climbing down without trying to alert her. One wrong move and I’m a goner.
I take another step, then a drawer is yanked open.
Shit.
“What the…?”
No time left.
I zip down the remaining steps without caring about the noise I make, then bolt off.
Right then, she sticks her head out the window. “Who’s there? I’ll fucking kill you!”
Fuck, she’s so damn spicy.
I love it.
I don’t sleep at all that night.
My mind still reels with all the possibilities, all the ways that little reconnaissance could’ve gone wrong, and all the things I wished I could’ve done if I had the goddamn balls to stay.
But God, just being near her makes my heart nearly beat out of my chest.
It’s a good thing I’m used to high-energy life with my crazy family.
I get up, yawn, and put on some clothes, then waltz down the eerily lit staircase.
The party yesterday left quite a mess, as the main hall where we normally eat is littered with bottles of liquor, spilled drinks on the purple walls, pills, and raunchy underwear scattered on the wooden floors.
Even the erotic paintings and statues lining the walls have been defiled, as usual. The maids will clean it up.
The Tartarus parties surely live up to their reputation alright.
That stuff looks like it came right out of a porno.
That’s why I rarely, if ever, attend them.
It’s just not for me, all that fucking in public.
The only reason I joined them recently is because of the protection they offer.
That, and the amazing living quarters. Every member gets a huge room all to themselves, and the giant rose maze in the backyard is the perfect place to study, with plenty of benches.
I make my way into the lavish kitchen and settle my eyes on the group of guys munching away at leftover pizza still on the counter.
“Morning, sleepyhead,” Atlas says. “Want some?”
I nearly forgot he was here too.
“Sure, why not?” I say, yawning as I sit down beside him.
He hands me a slice with pepperoni. “It’s cold, but it’s still good.”
“Thanks,” I reply, taking a bite. “Sounds like you guys had some fun last night.”
“I wouldn’t know, I wasn’t there,” Atlas muses.
“You missed out,” Kevin says, glancing at me.
“Yeah, I double-fucked two girls from the Beta Pi Sorority last night,” Davy says, making a weird sound.
“How’s that even possible? You’ve only got one dick,” I say, still half asleep.
“Dude, did you check the drawers? We’ve got dildos for days,” Davy replies.
Kevin laughs. “Every time I think I’ve already used all the toys, I open another drawer and bam, a whole treasure chest full of unexplored possibilities pops up.”
“Ahhh, the joys of an orgy. I’ll never forget my first one,” Orion muses, taking a small bite of his slice. “Pity I had to miss out last night. Hope you guys had fun on my behalf.”
“What were you even doing up there?” I ask him while I take a bite of my pizza. “Jerking off?”
“Writing poetry, if you must know.”
The two other guys laugh.
“And having the most amazing sex of my entire life, of course.”
Everyone shuts up and glares at him.
“With the most fabulous woman you could ever imagine.” Orion winks.
“Who was it?” Atlas asks.
He taps his fingers together like the most amazing story is right on the tip of his tongue. “You’ll never believe me.”
Everyone’s stopped eating. “Well, c’mon, tell us then,” Davy says.
The smug smile on his face makes me glare. “Sunny Reed.”
And my whole world suddenly comes crashing down.