Chapter 11
Sadie
The next day, uniformed men crowd the hallway of my dorm when I return from morning classes.
The workmen are drilling holes in my front door, toolboxes open at their feet.
“Can I help you?” I ask over the loud mechanical whining.
A man pauses drilling. “Sadie Marlowe?”
I hug my books closer. “Yes?”
“We’re almost finished installing your new security system,” he says matter-of-factly, as if I know what he’s talking about.
“My new—” Lucan. I sigh. “Right.”
The man nods. “Any questions about your new system?”
“Yeah. Will Darkbloom expel me for this?”
The man’s lined face breaks into a smirk. “I think you’ll find that won’t be an issue.”
“What Hales want, Hales get,” I say.
Last night, a female detective took my statement at my dorm, just as Lucan promised.
“Exactly.” The worker points at the doorbell camera. “Let me give you a tour of what’s new.”
The man explains the hallway and door cameras, which seem straightforward enough.
But then I have to load my fingerprint into the electronic smart lock on my bedroom door before I can get inside. The team also installed window sensors in my bedroom, rigged to set off an alarm if the glass breaks. Lucan basically turned my dorm room into a fortress.
“All good?” asks the worker.
I smile tightly. “Great. Thank you.”
The security measures are more than I expected. Way more.
Being in my bedroom now feels claustrophobic, like I can’t relax.
The regret in my stomach grows heavier. I should’ve let my adrenaline wear off last night before agreeing to Lucan’s help. He’s taken the opportunity to cage me.
As soon as the workers leave, I grab my phone.
I find the tracking app and hold down the icon to delete the whole thing. Lucan can catch Hannah’s and Parker’s killer without taking full control of my life. I need some privacy.
But I can’t delete the app. All I get is a message to contact the account holder.
“Asshole,” I say.
Though I never asked for his number, my contact list now magically includes Lucan’s information.
Shaking my head in annoyance, I dial his cell.
He answers immediately. “Sadie.”
“Lucan.”
“Are you okay?”
“Not really,” I say.
His voice sharpens. “What happened?”
“You broke into my dorm!”
“My team did, yes.” His tone mellows. “And it was easy as fuck, which should concern you.”
“You know what concerns me? You.”
“We agreed to this.”
I rub my forehead. “I think I’d remember agreeing to a camera on my dorm door. You can see everyone who comes to visit me.”
“So?”
“So it’s invasive. Plus I have roommates. It’s not fair on them.”
“I’m sure they don’t want you being killed either,” he says in a reasonable voice.
Flopping on my bed, I eye my room with new suspicion. “You didn’t put cameras inside my bedroom though, right?”
“I did not.”
“I guess that’s something.”
“I do have access to the campus cameras,” he says. “Just so you know.”
“Oh, fantastic. You can watch me wherever I am at Darkbloom? You can find me at all times?”
“If it makes you feel better, I could already do that—” Lucan raises his voice over my furious cry. “But let’s focus on what matters. If you’re attacked again, you need someone to locate and defend you.”
“What makes you think I can’t defend myself?” I demand.
He pauses, and I have the awful feeling he’s holding in laughter. “Just a hunch.”
“What if I can defend myself? Will you back off then?”
“No. But adding self-defense is a good idea. Do you want pepper spray? A stun gun?”
“Are you serious?”
“Always,” says Lucan.
My gaze falls to the fingerprint bruises on my arm. The hooded man’s harsh voice replays in my head.
See you soon, Sadie.
“Maybe I do,” I reply, my anger at Lucan fading.
He did save me last night, as much as my pride hates it.
“O’Connor will pick you up after your last class,” says Lucan. “He’ll bring you to my family armory.”
I frown at the ceiling, unsure if I heard correctly. “Your family what?”
“Armory. I’ll have details about your attacker’s car by the time you get here.”
“Wow, that’s fast. Money really is a magic wand, isn’t it?”
Lucan snickers. “I have a cattle prodder in the armory. That’s a magic wand.”
“My last class finishes at—”
“Four o’clock,” he says. “I know.”
“How do you know that?” I ask.
“I have access to the faculty server.”
“Of course you do.” I chew my lip. “Wait. One other thing.”
“Yes?”
“When you had my phone, you didn’t look at the notes app, did you?”
That’s where all the really embarrassing stuff is. Drafts of unhinged texts I would never actually send. Long-winded descriptions of my dreams. A list of glow-up tips painstakingly collected over months, none of which I’ve implemented.
Picking at a loose thread in the blanket on my bed, I wait for his answer.
“The notes app?” he repeats slowly, and I’m certain this time he’s teasing me. “Now you’ve made me curious.”
“No! It’s nothing. It’s just where I… keep notes,” I finish pathetically.
“I’ll be sure to check it out next time. Thanks.”
The line goes dead. Moaning with frustration, I let my phone fall onto the bed.
God. He’s like a hurricane. A vast, unstoppable, damaging force of nature.
Except a hurricane has the good manners to give you fair warning before steamrolling into your life.
I’m left staring balefully at my rigged windows, wondering what on earth I’ve gotten myself into.
Near four o’clock, I head to Darkbloom’s main entrance.
I barely heard a word during my afternoon classes. My mind was firmly on the fact that I’ll be voluntarily entering Lucan’s armory later today.
Before coming to Darkbloom, I thought I had some idea of the power that rich people wield, but I’m starting to realize I don’t have a clue. They genuinely live in a different world.
As I approach the shiny black sedan, O’Connor opens the back door.
“Miss Marlowe,” he says.
My face grows warm and I feel self-conscious. I’m not used to having doors opened for me, let alone someone driving me.
“Hi, O’Connor.” I pause. “May I use your first name?”
He smiles, his cheeks rosy. “Of course you may. It’s Cormac.”
“That’s a lovely name.”
“I’m glad you think so,” he says with a gracious nod.
“Please call me Sadie. And—” I shrug in a would-be casual way. “Does Lucan really have an armory?”
His smile widens to a grin. “He does. I’m taking you to one of Mr. Hale’s family residences.”
“How many residences do they have?” I ask without thinking.
Oof, I shouldn’t have asked that. Prying is rude.
But then I remember that Lucan stole my phone to install surveillance, and I feel less rude.
“Stateside residences?” asks Cormac.
I shrug. “Er, sure?”
“Seven.” He counts on his fingers. “Eight, including Lucan’s penthouse in Ember Falls. That’s where he stays when he’s at Darkbloom.”
The penthouse makes sense, because I can’t imagine Lucan living in a dorm. There’d be nowhere to keep his shoeshine boys.
A group of freshmen passes by, staring at me and whispering. I hear them say something about me visiting Altar. News really does travel fast at Darkbloom.
Ducking my head, I climb inside the black sedan. The door closes behind me with a soft thud, silencing outside noises. Campus looks muted and distant through the tinted windows as we roll down the driveway.
Despite the luxury, I feel distinctly like cargo. Like Lucan placed an order and now I’m being transported.
My face burns when I think about sitting on that glass table for his viewing pleasure.
How will I look him in the eye today, knowing he saw the most private part of my body? Knowing he stared at it, commented on it? Has probably thought about it since?
Arrgh.
The attempted abduction was good for one thing at least, because it gives us something else to talk about. And if he mentions the glass table, I will simply pass away.
The vehicle accelerates with a purr, taking me straight to him.