4. Malic #2
From the moment I lurked and saw him save her from the fire and send her far, far away, I knew she’d return to me.
My fingers curl into fists. What will happen when they sit down like adults and realize the past was bullshit? Then what? Do I lose my crumpet to the three goons she was attached to?
No.
I can’t let that fucking happen. I need to bind her to me before they can sink their filthy claws into her again.
Olivia Viotto is mine. Always has been. Always will be.
Now, I have to figure out why she’s hiding in the baggy clothes of a man and parading around campus as Oliver. I eye her dorm building again, humming to myself from the shadows. A plan formulates in my mind. Oh, yes. I will get my way. My girl. My everything.
One tiny step at a time.
Well, eventually. It appears my time is up, though. As my phone vibrates in my pocket, alerting me to Keeper finally opening his eyes and discovering his worst nightmare.
Me. Gone again.
I can hear his threats now.
Wilder: That’s it, asshole. I’m chaining you to your bed every night when I go to sleep.
Malic: Aw, Keeper. Do you miss me already?
Wilder: Miss you? Fuck!
Malic: Miss you, too, handsome.
Wilder: Your phone says you’re on campus. You’re not kidnapping people, are you?
I recoil and wrinkle my nose with a huff.
Malic: How offensive. Am I not allowed to mingle on campus? I have classes outside of you, you know.
Wilder: No. You never do. Unless…
Malic: I’m keeping an eye on some very important people…
Wilder: Yeah… I’m coming to find you, fucker. If you get us into some major brawl on campus…we’re dead.
I shrug, putting my phone back into my pocket.
Seems my keeper has gotten creative with his babysitting tactics, using some sort of tracker.
How sweet. He really loves me and wants to keep me safe.
Oh, well. It’ll take him some time to find me.
Unless he truly knows my exact location.
Traitorous phone. Maybe I should leave it at home next time.
That means I only have so much time to keep my eyes on the prize. AKA Jasper Jeremiah Jones.
I lean against the tree I’m hiding behind and wait. For Wilder? For JJ? I guess it depends on who makes it out first. I’m still aching to know why JJ ran through campus so quickly. He’s usually the calm and calculated one. It’s odd.
If only I could be a fly on the wall, following him inside to see what he’s up to.
Hmm. What if Oli somehow made it into their stupid frat initiation?
She did put her name into the little jar along with her roommate, Simon.
Although the fuckwits don’t usually work this quickly to bring people into their frat.
If they do at all. Maybe I should swoop in and invite Oli to join us instead.
Yes. That sounds like a fantastic idea.
Then, she could live in the room next to mine, and I could sneak in during the middle of the night and slip between her sheets. And legs. What a wake-up call that’d be. For her and me. I ache to have my tongue in her pussy and her cum on my tongue. One more time for old times’ sake.
Since having her in the bathroom of X Marks the Spot, she’s been on my mind every second of every day. And my dick? Well, the big fella has wanted a round two, three, four, and five. Greedy bastard.
I tilt my head, watching a group of mourners stand in front of a large picture of the dead guy. Dane, was it? Poor bastard. Never met him. Seen him around, though. Oddly enough, he was my little ghost’s roommate. Hmmm. Has my little ghost returned to be a mass murderer?
Nah.
This isn’t the first time this has happened, and probably won’t be the last. It’s why I have to find my fucking sister before someone rips out her goddamn heart and sells it to the highest bidder.
I move behind a tree again and further into the shadows, using the thick trunk to hide my massive frame.
No one seems to notice I’m watching them from afar.
And then, I settle in for the long haul.
My keeper, be damned. He can find me right here, if he wants.
But I won’t take my eyes off the entertainment.
The need to know what JJ is doing and what he knows fills my being with curiosity.
And you know what they say? Curiosity killed the cat, but the satisfaction brought it back.
From a young age, after I was rescued from the hell my mother put me through, my boss taught me to become the best boy I could be—a nothing in society. Sure, I have a name, and some people know me. But they never see me coming through the darkness I surround myself with.
“Now, Malic,” he says patiently, stepping out of the shadows with a grin.
“Are you ready to become somebody else?” He looks around the hotel room with disgust, then back at me, hunched in the cage I call home.
“Something other than someone else’s punching bag who lives in a tiny cage.
I can give you the world, Malic. I can take you from this to someone who holds great power.
” He holds out his hand for the taking, looking down at me expectantly. “All I ask for is all of your loyalty.”
I eagerly nod, staying silent like I have for so long. There’s only so much a boy can take before he stops begging for mercy when no mercy has ever been shown. So, what’s the catch with him? Why is he standing here as my savior after running my mother and her lover off?
But now? I’m ready to emerge as the boy my mom would never see coming. One day, I’ll finish her off like she tried to do to me when I’m bigger and stronger.
Her life will be mine.
Perhaps I’ll confine her to a cage and force her to watch me for days on end without food and listen to her beg for a scrap of bread. Then, I throw a water bottle at her cage and laugh when she can’t get through the tiny metal bars.
I shake with the rage that has been consuming me for years now.
This is my opportunity. I’m not dumb enough to pass on this even if I’ve never met this man before.
He stands tall. Brown hair. Beady brown eyes.
With something lurking behind them. Something sinister, but it doesn’t scare me away.
For so long, I’ve watched the men come and go from my mother’s room, observing them.
Everyone. I’ve guarded myself while taking in their faces and names.
Now I know who to hunt in town when I get my strength.
“We have a lot of work to do.” He grins, keeping his hand still as I stare at it.
With slight hesitation, I take it and firmly grip his hand.
“But for tonight, you’re coming with me to my home for a nice dinner.
I’ll introduce you to my family. Then, I’ll teach you the most important lesson of all. Invisibility.”
There’s something in his tone that I can’t identify. An emotion I can’t quite put my finger on. But questioning my savior? The man who helps to pull me from a rusting dog cage in the corner of a musty hotel room? Absolutely Not.
He steadies me as I stand on wobbly legs. My breath heaves as I take it all in.
My freedom.
I tilt my head, forcing myself from the confines of my past. Since my little ghost has emerged from the ether, so have my memories, sifting through my mind. Even the ones I locked away and swore to never think of again. But I attribute everything about my past to her.
Everything leads back to Olivia Viotto—even where my loyalties lie.
The noise of Dane’s mourners picks up. Their whispers, cries, and sniffles carry through the air just as JJ emerges from Oli’s dorm building.
Interesting. There’s a hitch in JJ’s giddy-up that needs to be snuffed out.
Determination. Horror. Rage. They all twist his little face into a mess of emotions he can’t seem to hide.
No matter how hard he tries to wipe it off his face.
Strange. When JJ made his way to the same dorm building my little ghost resides in, he was nervous and sweating, seemingly in a hurry.
I would have followed him into the building, but then I would have been found out.
Even stranger? Huxley and Mack were nowhere to be seen.
They’re always on each other’s tails, following one another like little pathetic puppy dogs.
Of course, Mack took off for his jog some time ago, taking their easily manipulated dog with him.
And Huxley? Well, he’s probably sleeping and recovering from his kidnapping—poor sod.
JJ momentarily stops outside her dorm building, attempting to avoid the mourners, crying their eyes out at the loss of Dane.
Poor murdered chap.
I’ll find the people responsible for everything happening around town. The organ-stealing. My sister’s disappearance. Everything and everyone will fall to their knees and bleed until life leaves their eyes.
My focus swings back to JJ as he weaves through the mourners, now throwing accusations at him.
I grin. They always think they’re responsible for every horrible thing happening in town.
Franco has quite the reputation. But the student body also worships the ground they walk on, trying to kiss their feet for a glimpse into their lives.
The moment something fishy pops up. Bam!
They’re the ones who organized it. Rude.
Wilder and I could get some credit around here for our contributions.
Or hell, the other Mafia heirs wandering through the crowds, too.
This is a college full of potential future criminals. Only some students have no idea. I guess they’re the fishies we get to try our tricks on. Or murder them. Or kidnap them. Or…do what we please.
I narrow my eyes again, looking through the faces of boohooers. Wade, the dean’s son, stands among them with tears lining his cheeks and glistening in the sun. His red-rimmed eyes don’t stray from Dane’s photograph displayed on an easel.
I wonder how he doesn’t suffocate beneath all those collared shirts. Hello? 2003? They want their outfits back. I cringe when he leans in and chats with Simon, who joined their festivities.