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When I hear the deep rumbling of the engine, he lets down the passenger window. I can almost taste the smell of new leather, and its combination with the chilly air makes me think of a pair of fancy shoes I'd seen in a shop but could never afford.
"Come on," he says.
I bend down and place my hands on my thighs, not wanting to put finger prints on his nice car. "You go ahead. I'm sorry, but I just remembered I have an assignment to turn in for my next class," I lie.
I watch his expression turn to disappointment when I back away, but I know turning him down is the right thing to do.
“Jess–“
I hear him call out, but I don’t turn around, so he can't see the tears welling up in my eyes. I'm no good for him. He doesn't need a woman in his life with my kind of baggage, and besides, I would never be accepted. Maybe, deep down, I don't want to go because Reid will be there. I don't know how I would act around him after what happened. He hasn't reached out. He is probably disgusted with me.
On Sunday, the effects of the drugs wore off and I was practically back to my old self, except for the red marks on my wrists, currently hidden under my sweater, and my ankles. Mentally, is another matter. As for Reid, I'm still trying to figure him and his mood swings out.
There are times that I think he cares and then there are times when I think he hates that he shows me any type of attention. When I sat at the bar with his cousin Alaric, he was jealous for whatever reason. I wasn't going to jump and have sex with the guy. Reid was talking to his ex-flame, or whatever, and I was just standing there. He didn't introduce me, which made me feel unimportant.
I mean, I let him fuck me in the elevator because that is what my subconscious needed and after he was finished, the guilt set in. Calling me a whore cut me deep, filling me with guilt mixed with my jealousy when seeing him with that woman. I blamed it on clouded judgment, but I knew that was all a lie. I wanted him more than I thought I did.
It hurt when the words spilled out of his mouth, but I can't help if that is what he thinks of me. With what I’ve become, I’m sure that’s what they all think.
And letting someone like Valen, one of Kenyan's sons, treat me differently would make the fall when it is all over hurt even worse. When he realizes his time is up playing the college student and he has to fulfill the Order's rule when he graduates. Then, what? Where would that leave me? Alone.
CHAPTER8
Valen
Islam my hand on the leather steering wheel. "Fuck."
I have never been turned down before, but the sadness in her eyes gets to me every time I look at her. A protective instinct overwhelms me, mixed with the nagging feeling of needing to save her, but what gets to me is what I am protecting her from. She doesn't let me in. Sex is transactional for her, and most girls would be expecting more. An invitation. A phone call. A date. But not Jess.
She has my number, and she doesn't use it. No phone call begging for me to come over. If we cross paths, then it's on. Wherever we are at. Something happened when she was drugged, and it wasn't a sex fetish she was into, and none of us know with who, but she told Reid it wasn't forced. But I'm positive she didn't agree to be drugged. It can only mean she knows whoever did it and doesn't want to say it. I wonder why she would protect a piece of shit like that. Whoever it is knows the rules and is pulling the strings like a puppet master, but he’s playing a dangerous game.
It shouldn't matter. I know the rules with girls that are Prey on campus. Use them and move on. A good time and nothing more, but with Jess, it's different. I care. I should have gone after her and pushed her to accompany me to practice. I wanted her to be there so I could keep an eye on her. I found it weird that she came out of a hallway where there was a vacant classroom. What was she doing there? Her eyes were full of dread, but when I looked over her shoulder, no one was there, except a closed door leading to a dark classroom.
I pull into the sports complex where practices are held in the indoor pool, finding a spot next to Reid's Aston Martin. Reid and I have shared girls in the past, but the fact that he goes all ape-shit over Jess says a lot. He's interested. More than I thought from how he stormed in and took her from the pool party that night. Makes me wonder what his motive is. The way he looks at her can start a fire in a room, but he claims she is just another girl. Another Prey.
"What's up, Vikiar? Are you ready to receive the torch from Dravin?" Geo says, when I walk into the locker room to change. He loves to call me by my last name because he is a prick that loves to get under my skin.
"Yup, it has to go to the best. And I'm what is left."
I sound like a cocky asshole, but, after Dravin and Reid graduate, I am the best. I love to swim. Garret is always a second behind my lap time, and I'm third behind Reid. I would have been fourth, but that particular twin prefers other types of business and thinks school’s a waste of time, but it's his loss.
"Cocky, asshole," he mutters.
I pull my shirt over my head, playing it off like I'm not looking for a particular asshole named Warren. I'm sure Dravin is somewhere in the back thinking the same thing. Maybe they are playing dumb and really have him holed up somewhere. Warren must be stupid to think we wouldn't retaliate for what he did to Gia. Motherfucker thinks he could outsmart us using the barista to cover it up and to throw us off.
He thought that Gia was just Prey and she didn't matter or that the Order would not allow us to kill him, but he didn't know the Consortium existed. Members like Warren are kept in the dark.
My phone vibrates, and I check the unknown text.
Unknown: Order meeting. 8pm.
I look around and see all the members looking down at their phones, reading the same message. I pull up the Consortium's thread to ensure no one can see me type on my phone.
V:What is this about?
C:Member attending last semester before graduating on campus.
V:Who?
