Chapter 32
LUCA
I eat up the distance between the Academy and Jenna Sloane’s house of ill repute.
My motorbike is the perfect way to get there and I love the sense of freedom it gives me.
Last time I rode, it was with Summer clutching me fearfully from her position behind me.
It’s a satisfying thought that everything is falling into place concerning her.
She wasn’t aware I watched her interaction with the jocks. I have made it a skill of mine to observe without being seen, and I know what she was doing. She wasn’t interested in those guys. Her body language told me that. She was pissed that I ignored her and sought attention elsewhere.
I was right to warn her because my queen doesn’t show interest in anyone other than me just to prove a point, and what happened back in the cafeteria was to send a message out to all the students.
We are together and mess with that at your peril.
Summer is mine and I am not interested in anyone else.
I think they got the message and so did she.
But before I can claim her and the fun really starts, I have business to attend to and I am sharpening my venom.
I wasn’t kidding when I told Jenna Sloane that snakes fascinate me.
They do. I can’t stand the slippery creatures and my instinct is to remove them from causing harm, which is my intention tonight.
I reach her street in the suburbs of the town, the dim street lighting illuminating the road and not much else.
I pull into her carport and keeping my helmet on, I head around the side to the back porch as instructed.
As I push open the screen door, I check for anything hostile because I wouldn’t put it past the bitch to have prior knowledge of my intentions.
Soft music is playing out from another room and I remove my helmet, noting the tray holding two glasses filled with champagne. She is obviously prepared but then again, so am I and I remove the bottle from my jacket and make quick work of replacing the contents of the glasses with mine.
I dispose of the evidence and head inside the room, noting her lying on the couch like a fucking piece of artwork.
“Luca.” Her eyes are heavy with lust as she reclines naked on the couch, a fur throw draped across her body, disguising what’s underneath.
“Your lesson begins now. The easel is set up across the room. Paint me.”
Her sultry smile is designed to entrap and I nod, not giving her the satisfaction of success.
I sit astride the chair behind the easel and pretend to size her up for art purposes.
“You intrigue me, Luca.”
“That’s irrelevant.” I shrug, pretending to be concentrating on my work.
“I’m guessing you don’t play by the rules and I like that quality in a guy.”
“That’s nice for you.”
I apply a few strokes to the canvas and she shifts, so the throw falls away, exposing her breasts and she whispers, “Sometimes touch is a better way to imprint an image in your mind.”
She cups her breasts in her hands and moans. “Would you like to touch me, Luca? Do you want to know what forbidden feels like?”
“I don’t like to touch, Miss Sloane. I am only interested in learning more about The Serpent Society.”
Now I have her attention and she sits up with a start, her script already forgotten, as she fixes me with a confused smile. “I don’t know what you are talking about.”
“Jerome Michaels told me otherwise.”
“You are friends with Jerome?”
Understanding dawns and she relaxes. “Then he would have told you how difficult it is to gain access to the club. That the only way to get inside is, well, to get inside me first.”
She smiles provocatively, sure she now has the upper hand, and she leans forward.
“I can get you in if that’s what you want, but there are processes in place. Steps you must take to obtain your membership.”
“Like what?” I carry on drawing my picture of their emblem and she shifts off the couch and heads my way, completely naked save for the pout on her full lips.
She heads around to my side of the easel and chuckles softly. “You really have done your homework, darling. Well, let me enlighten you, but first we should drink to our new alliance.”
I say nothing as she heads into the kitchen and returns with the champagne and hands one to me, her eyes sparkling with excitement as she holds it to my lips. “Don’t you just love the decadence of champagne, Luca?”
I pretend to take a sip and shrug. “I’ve had better.”
She smiles as she sips her glass, her fingers brushing against my neck as she regards my work.
“Why don’t you make yourself more comfortable, honey? Take off your clothes. It’s so liberating.”
She eases the jacket from my shoulders and whispers, “As I said, to get inside the society you must get inside me first. Just so you know, I like it rough.”
She presses my hand to her breast and whispers seductively, “I can give you the world if you open your mind and let the darkness in.”
I snatch hold of her wrist and force venom into my smile.
“Lie on the couch, Miss Sloane, and we will begin.”
She nods, her excitement palpable as she arranges herself on the couch and I reach inside my back pocket and pull out a length of rope.
“Fuck Luca, that turns me on.”
Her gaze sharpens as I wrap the rope around her wrists and bind them tightly together. Then I do the same to her ankles and she moans. “I love this creativity.”
I say nothing and when she is immobile, I reach for the glass of champagne and hold it to her lips. “Drink this.”
Her mouth opens and I tip the champagne down her throat, spilling it so it runs down her back and spills onto her flesh.
I notice the lines of coke laid out on the side table and jerk my head toward it.
“You are prepared.”
“It’s my gift to you, honey. Take it, it’s yours.”
I carry the silver tray across to her and smile in a sinister way. “Ladies first.”
I hold the tray to her face and pull her head toward it and she inhales sharply, the white powder covering her nostrils.
She moans as I drop her head back and whispers, “Such a bad boy, but you’re still dressed. Don’t you want to discover the secrets of The Serpent Society?”
“I’m aware of them already.”
I sit beside her and laugh softly. “Jerome told an interesting story when he was prevented from attending the final act.”
Her eyes attempt to focus as the drugs and alcohol mix inside her frazzled mind.
“Jerome. Where is he?”
“Dead.”
I shrug as she gasps and attempts to regain full consciousness.
“What do you mean, dead?”
“I mean, he had an interesting story to tell, and we didn’t like it. We didn’t appreciate his intentions and decided to remove him from the game.”
“Who are you?” For the first time, it dawns on her that she is playing a different game, and fear clouds her eyes as I whisper. “The enemy, and just so you know, I fucking hate snakes.”
“Untie me!” Her voice rises as she struggles against the restraints and I hiss, “What, just when it’s beginning to get interesting?”
“Get out!” She attempts to yell and I smile as the door opens and another person enters.
“Good evening, Miss Sloane.”
Frankie’s voice adds to the chill in the air and her eyes widen as she registers another devil has entered the room.
“What is this?”
He chuckles softly. “It’s the final act. For you, anyway.”
“Untie me!”
She tries to struggle some more but the drugs and alcohol, are affecting her.
She probably believes it’s the drug she placed in the champagne.
Jerome told us that was her first step to control the minds of her students.
It explains what happened to Jesse, who was only interested in a sordid forbidden fuck with a teacher.
She was intent on more than that and now it’s payback.
Frankie stands at the foot of the couch and hisses, “Kidnap, rape, murder. Does that sound familiar to you, Miss Sloane?”
“No!” She struggles, but her efforts are weak.
“I’m talking about the guy who believed he could use my challenge to gain membership to your club by raping Abigail Flowerday. The same guy who attempted to kidnap and murder my girl, Miss Sloane. Does that ring any bells?”
Her eyes fill with fear as she senses retribution heading her way, and I gaze with derision at her pathetic form, naked and wasted before me.
“So, here is the deal. Answer our questions for your freedom.”
“What questions?” Her voice is heavy and I’m aware we don’t have long and I snap, “Who else is involved at Rockwell?”
She giggles, the drugs kicking in. “You want a peek in my little black book? Naughty, naughty, boys.”
“Where is it?” I ask quickly and she giggles.
“Well, you won’t find it in my bedroom drawer if that’s what you think.”
Fuck, I love the truth serum I laced her champagne with.
Frankie wastes no time and as he leaves, I ask, “Christian Duprey. Where is he based?”
“Silly child. Christian will never reveal his location in Redrock Canyon to anyone. It’s a secret.”
She laughs out loud as Frankie returns with her little black book, as she called it. He leafs through it and grins, his eyes finding mine signally triumph.
“It’s all in here, the stupid bitch.”
She giggles, “I love two at the same time. Are you here to party, boys? I can show you a good time.”
I roll my eyes. “Tell me where your next meeting is with Christian. When and where?”
“It’s a secret.” She giggles. “Nobody will ever discover the secret hiding place in Gideon Creek. Nobody will ever learn about the disused house we use for the final act, or that Christian will return on the last Sunday of every month. That secret goes with me to the grave.”
“What is your relationship with Christian Duprey?” Frankie asks, a hard edge to his voice.
“I love him.” She says simply. “We met at college and discovered a shared interest in debauchery. He is so sexy, so dangerous, and so delightfully sinful.”
Her voice is slurred and her eyes drop closed and Frankie huffs. “She’s done.”
He reaches inside his jacket and extracts a syringe, injecting her with a drug that wipes recent memory. When Jenna Sloane wakes up in the morning, she won’t remember a thing and will merely imagine she’s coming down with something.
As she drifts into unconsciousness, we remove the ropes and Frankie carries her into her bed, wrapping her under the sheets as if she was there all along. Meanwhile, I clear away the evidence and when we leave her home, it’s as if we were never there.