But this time, this time, I hoped they’d ended it, I hoped my dad was right, and hormones were just doing what hormones did. Fucking.
So when I quietly made my way into the main house and walked down the hall, I prayed I was wrong, when I slowly opened the door to the theater room and saw that the end credits to some horror movie were still rolling, I exhaled in relief.
That is until I heard moaning.
And saw a naked foot.
A leg.
And then I saw them.
Again.
Junior held Serena in his lap as she moved on top of him, her hair drawn to the side.
Shit.
My cousin was with Junior Nicolasi, and it wasn’t a fling. A fling was one night, this was multiple nights.
“Love you,” he whispered.
“You’re everything.” She panted back.
If I didn’t do something asap.
Both of my best friends were going to get caught and die.
“As long as we both shall live.” I heard Junior whisper gruffly.
Serena clung to him and repeated it back.
I almost hurled in the corner of the room, but made it back out into the hall and leaned against the closed door.
The dads would freak.
It wasn’t allowed, but more than that, the Abandonato princess with the Nicolasi prince? It was a death sentence.
They didn’t know what I did.
They didn’t know the bad blood that was swept under the rug, perfumed, and ignored. Shit, they didn’t know anything.
But this? This was the worst possible scenario. The main bosses would have overlooked a one-night stand, not this, shit, not this.
It was beyond infatuation, wasn’t it?
It was real.
Which meant I had to make it appear real.
And I was going to break their hearts, break their love, so I wouldn’t have to point a gun at both of them and say goodbye.
I’d rather them hate each other for the rest of their lives, hate me.
Then lose them.
My hands shook as I walked down the hall and back outside to the pool house. The shower was still on when I reached the stairs.
And when I pulled back the glass door, dropped my clothes, and got in, Claire was there with a warm smile and open arms.
I could almost forget the death sentence on my best friends’ heads if we didn’t do this, so I kissed her hard, and then told her exactly what had to be done while she listened.
Chapter Seven
Claire
“You want me to help you do what?” I asked with shaky hands as I zipped up my Eagle Elite skirt and grabbed my black blazer. It felt so foreign, wearing my uniform like everything was normal, like I couldn’t still smell the blood on Asher. It had magically been dropped off at the house an hour ago, along with all the things I needed to get ready in the morning, like a creepy miracle. Huh, mafia.
I looked up, Asher was staring down at me with something in his eyes, I realized I’d seen ever since the first day we met.
Guilt and want, all tangled together in one tantalizing package that I’d taken, opened, consumed, and damned myself with.
“Claire.” He ran a hand down my shoulder, and then pulled me into his embrace, lowering his dark head, he kissed me softly and then flicked his tongue with mine, I moaned in response, because even though there was blood on his hands, he still had the ability to make me want him, even though every single part of me knew that this man kissing me, would rather kill me than let anyone else do it.
Even though I knew that damning truth.
I still kissed him back.
I never understood the expression of a guy tasting like bad choices, like sin—but in that moment I felt it in my soul as his lips moved across mine, as his tongue massaged and sucked me deeper and deeper, there would be a point in my life where he would ask for more than I could give him.
And the thought was terrifying.
His eyes were dark when he pulled away; they stared right through me, so intense I wanted to shy away; instead, I met his gaze. “Claire, I’m not asking a lot, it will be easy, besides… the alternative isn’t exactly my favorite option.”
“The alternative meaning you get to go on a killing spree?” The words flew out of my mouth, he flinched as each seemed to launch themselves at his impenetrable armor. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.” He licked his lips like he could still taste me there, like he was making a point of it. “Especially when it’s true.”
I sucked in a sharp breath. “School’s not going to be the same, is it?”
His eyes flashed, and then he was looking away. “No.”
That was all I got.
Minutes later, fifteen to be exact, I understood exactly what he was saying.
We had pulled up to Eagle Elite University, and everything had changed, even the way the air felt against my face.
Serena went first; her thigh-high black boots were so tall that I had a hard time thinking about walking in them, she stood in front of the black Maserati and crossed her arms.
Serena wore a leather jacket over her white shirt, her skirt was indecently short, and her cleavage was ready to pop out. Red leather gloves were tight around her hands, sunglasses were perched perfectly on her nose. Her black lipstick against her perfectly white straight teeth looked so intimidating that even though she’d always been nice to me, I was suddenly petrified.
Next was Junior, flanked to her right, arms crossed, looking too bulky, a bit broken, he stood to her right like he was ready to protect her, he locked eyes on her like he would do anything for her. He was all muscle, and for the first time since enrolling, I noticed an Eagle tattoo down the left side of his neck by his ear, his hair was buzzed short to the sides of his head, but on top it was long, luscious like a freaking supermodel’s golden halo. And like slow motion, Asher moved to the right and held out his hand to me.
Me.
Wait.
I looked at his hand.
Then I looked back up at the two of them. Serena nodded slowly while Junior looked away like he wanted nothing to do with it.
His hesitation seemed wrong.
Slow motion, it was all slow motion, just like drinking poison and knowing it’s going to kill you as it slides quickly down your throat, your life flashes before your eyes, you tell yourself you’ll fight, you’ll scream. You tell yourself that you’re different.
And then the poison hits.
And you realize, you’re just like them.
I took Asher’s hand, noticing the cuts on both of us that bonded us together right along with the sickness in my chest that said I couldn’t survive without him.
And just like that, the rest of the cars pulled up.
And one by one, all of the cousins got out.
Serena and Junior in front. Maksim, Breaker, Izzy, Violet, and us in back.
All wearing black.
Maybe because this was like their funeral.
Maybe because it was everyone else’s.
I swallowed the lump of fear in my throat as the most beautiful and lethal people in the known world walked right up behind us, fully armed, and looked down at their kingdom. Evil grins on their faces like they couldn’t wait to bring on suffering and destruction.
And I had to wonder, is this what their parents had in mind when they had kids? To make carbon copies of themselves? Or to create better lives for them?
All I knew was that the devil descended on Eagle Elite that day.
And I held his hand.