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An exasperated sigh escapes my chest.
Just as I suspected, I find Rico standing there on the other side. The two Hunter brothers are there with him too.
I briefly debate going to the kitchen and grabbing a knife so that I can just butcher them all right there in the corridor, but that would certainly draw attention, so I dismiss the idea quickly. Instead, I adopt a worried and slightly terrified expression as I unlock the door and then open it.
The moment it starts to swing open, Jace grabs the edge of the door and yanks it up fully. I stumble a step back as if in shock while I sweep my gaze over the three of them.
Heat flickers to life inside me as I take in the sight of Rico standing there in the middle. He’s tall and muscular. In fact, all three of them are. But it’s his face and the way he carries himself that sets him apart.
Objectively, they’re all attractive. Jace in an effortless just-rolled-out-of-bed way with his messy brown curls and his glittering brown eyes. And Kaden in a sharp and severe way, like an ice sculpture, with his cold dark eyes and straight black hair. But Rico… Rico is something else.
He was already gorgeous when I saw him back when he was sixteen years old. But now, when his body has filled out completely and his features have sharpened from the transformation of going from teenager to man, he’s fuckingdevastating.
His dark brown hair, which curls a little, lies perfectly styled as if not a single strand dares to disobey by being out of place. And he is standing in a way that makes effortless power roll off his lethal muscles and pulse through the air. So intense that I can almost feel it. Everything about him exudes dominance. As if there has never been a question that the world should bow at his feet.
“Isabella,” he says.
A ripple rolls down my spine. Fuck, I like the way he says my name. He rolls the last two syllables over his tongue as if he can taste them.
I almost slap myself. Gods damn it, I need to focus. How would a normal person react?
“Y-yes?” I managed to reply in an appropriately scared voice.
“I will give you one chance to willingly return what you stole from me.”
“I… what?” I frown at him. And this time, I don’t even have to fake the confusion.
He holds out an expectant hand, palm up. “Hand it over, and beg for forgiveness.” He nods towards the apartment over my shoulder. “Or we’re going to come in and take it back ourselves. The first option will be a lot more pleasant than the second.”
At last, my mind catches up. I almost laugh out loud. Damn, he’s clever, I’ll give him that. Accusing me of stealing so that he has an excuse to search through my apartment. It’s a good plan. And it might have worked. If not for the fact that there is absolutely nothing for him to find.
All of my equipment, anything that would’ve proved that I’m not who I pretend to be, is safely stashed away in my go-bag downtown. And everything in this apartment, from the clothes in my closet to the shampoo in the bathroom, has been bought specifically to fit the persona of Isabella Johnson. He can look through it all with a fine-tooth comb and a magnifying glass if he wants to, but he won’t find anything incriminating here.
While carefully hiding the smug victory that pulses through me, I shake my head and stare back at him with wide eyes. “Wait. No. I haven’t stolen anything.”
A satisfied grin curls his lips. “Option two it is.”
Before I can reply, he strides across the threshold. I’m forced to scramble backwards lest I be mowed down by his muscular body. Jace and Kaden follow him.
I back across the floor as the three of them move into my apartment as if they own the place. Though, given how everyone talks about the Hunter brothers, I suppose they do more or less own this entire university. Or at least, they believe that they do.
“Wait,” I continue while Jace pulls the door shut behind him. “Please. I haven’t stolen anything.”
Rico only gives me a knowing smile before jerking his chin at the other two. “Search it.”
Kaden and Jace give him a nod. Since I know that I’m supposed to be acting worried right now, I run after Rico while Jace starts going through my living room and Kaden starts on the kitchen. Pots and skillets clank against the floor as the psycho unceremoniously pulls them out of the cabinets. I flick a glance towards the couch where Jace is tossing all the cushions on the floor.
They won’t find anything, but cleaning up this mess is going to be a real fucking drag.
“Wait,” I call again, because that seems the right thing to say, as I hurry after Rico. “Please.”
He ignores me as he simply stalks right into my bedroom. Light floods the space as he turns on the lamp in the ceiling. I skid into the room right before he reaches my bed.
“I haven’t—” I begin but then break off abruptly as he yanks the cover off my bed. Blowing out a sigh, I finish with, “Stolen anything.”
With his back to me, he just tosses the pillows to the floor and then lifts up the mattress to check underneath it.
Leaning my back against the wall next to the door, I just stand there and watch him search through my bed. I think I have protested enough to make me seem normal at this point, so I remain silent as I study him.
