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“Since Christmas.” He shrugs.
Have you ever looked at someone and wanted to punch them in the face? Because that’s how I feel looking at his flippant expression. He’s been trying to get her to move in since last semester and just never said anything about it. He was pissed when Zane showed up with that sick “puppy,” that had turned out to be a malnourished coyote, without making sure everyone was okay with it. Here he is trying to move a whole damn person into the house without discussing it with anyone.
I’m in the mother fucking twilight zone. Thankfully, my time dealing with serial killers gave me the self-control to not punch someone in the face without really thinking it through. My hands fist at my side, but stay there obediently. “Okay. That solves one problem. We need to have a talk with her after she moves in about what we do,” I say in what I hope is a pleasant tone.
Nox nods. “She’s too damn nosey. I don’t think we’d be able to keep it a secret for long anyway. Plus, the sooner we tell her, the sooner she can work with us.”
I roll my head on my shoulders, not liking the idea of not having control over our secrets with a new person moving into the house. I guess this is what would end up happening eventually anyway if Zane gets what he wants. “Okay. Make her sign an NDA before we tell her anything.”
Nox raises a brow. “You know it’s not legally enforceable to keep criminal activity secret, right? Besides, we’ve talked about this. She’s the daughter of a notorious crime boss. She’s not going to blab our secrets.”
I hate it when he uses that dry, you’re-so-stupid tone on me. I roll my eyes. “Well, it’s not like we can threaten to kill her if she tells.”
Nox smirks. “Pretty sure she’d be able to take at least two of us out if we tried.”
Why the fuck does he look so pleased by that prospect? Is heexcited that she could ruin our lives and kill us if she wanted? He’s just as messed up as Zane and Sloane about her. The only reason I came to him about this was because I figured he would have his head on straight when it comes to her. Then again, he’s been sneaking in every morning for months after spending the night in her bed. But I’ve never seen Nox so well rested. Sometimes he even forgoes coffee in the morning, which is usually something unheard of for him. Maybe I should just stop resisting so I can be as happy as the others.
My eyes close in a long blink before I shake my head. I’m still her teacher. I’m also a criminal, so what’s a bit more illegal and taboo activity? Glancing at Nox, I find him studying me and narrow my eyes at him. “Does Zane and Sloane know you’re moving their girlfriend into the house?”
The corner of his lips lift. “Nope.” I share a smile with him because he’s a secret mastermind. Being a fly on the wall when they find out would be perfect. “So…” Nox starts, waiting for me to focus back on him. “When are you planning to stop working Zane ragged just to keep him from Viv?”
My lips roll in. So he figured that out. I may have been sending Zane to do jobs I would normally send Nox or Sloane on. I shrug my shoulders. “No idea what you’re talking about.” I turn on my heel and head out of the room as soon as possible, not wanting to stick around for his comments.
I hear him chuckle behind me, but he doesn’t say anything or call me out on my shit. At least Sloane has the decency to fuck her in her dorm room. Zane brings her back here more often than not, leaving the door cracked just to tease me. I’m going nuts, so, sure, I decided to keep him a bit more busy than usual. It’s been working out anyway. The weeks he’s not bombarded with work, I make myself scarce. Though keeping Zane busy is probably why she’s not over that often. Maybe I shot myself in the foot there.
The worst part of my job is sitting silently while students take their exams for days on end. I haven’t really seen any of the guys, not even Nox, who usually spends a lot of his time trailing after Professor Bowing. I was still a little salty that Nox decided on sociology over criminology. Now I get to lord over Bowing that I have Viv Russo and he does not. It’s only fair, since that’s what he did when Nox declared his major.
During times like this, it’s good to finally be alone after class. I’m still sitting in the classroom behind my desk. Normally, I would have moved to my office by now, but I don’t have the will to get up and go to the other room. A soft knock sounds at the door and I glance up as it’s pushed open. A girl in my Intro to Criminology class this semester pokes her head in.
Their class doesn’t test till Friday, so I’ve been inundated by them at every free moment, even though their syllabuses clearly state to visit me during my office hours. I blink at her, kind of just hoping she’ll disappear. “I’m sorry to bother you, Dr. Price. I know you don’t have office hours until five tonight,” she says, taking a full step into the room anyway. I don’t respond to her words since she’s right. I’m not having office hours right now. “I was hoping you would be able to look over my study guide anyway.” She looks up at me from under her lashes as her teeth clamp down on her bottom lip.
It does nothing for me though. She’s got nothing on the little minx who won’t leave my mind lately. I blink lazily at her, not falling into her ploy at all. She looks all innocent, but something about her makes me think it was all just an act. Finally, I let a slow smile spread across my face and she begins to mirror it, but it quickly fell as I began talking. “Well, as you said, my office hours don’t begin till five. I hope to see you there when there are other students around and not alone in my classroom.” I stand up and head toward the door, holding it open until she gets the hint and walks out. I decide to leave as well, not wanting to find myself in the same predicament with another student.
I end up at the coffee shop and grin when I glance through the window to see two familiar people sitting down at a table. Withoutpausing, I head in and order myself a plain latte. When the barista hands my finished drink to me, I head straight for Nox and Viv. Neither seem to notice my presence, only looking away from each other as I place my cup on the table between them.
Nox’s brows raise when he sees me, knowing I don’t spend much time on campus outside of my office or classroom. “What’s up, Doc?” he asks with a sharp smirk.
He really does love to get under my skin, and it works every time, not that I’ll ever admit it as my eyes narrow on him. My shoulders shrug and I glance around the mostly empty cafe. “Just needed a change of scenery.” Viv looks up at me with her big hazel eyes and blinks at me innocently. “What are you two up to?”
Nox glances over at Viv expectantly and she shrugs, tilting her head to the side at him. Nox’s brow quirks and she gives him one small nod. When the hell did they get close enough for this kind of nonverbal communication? Must be all the nights Nox spends in her bed. Are they all screwing her? I know Zane and Sloane both are, but Nox too? Is he really going along with Zane’s crazy idea?
“Viv got a call from Enzo. Her dad is going on a trip and nobody knows where. Viv’s worried something serious is going on back home,” Nox tells me after he got permission from her.
I tilt my head to the side, considering that, before I finally look at her straight on. “I could reach out to some of my contacts in the FBI to see if they know about anything big going on?”
Viv taps her bottom lip with her finger in that mesmerizing way she always does before firmly shaking her head. “If there isn’t anything going on, I don’t want to draw attention to him. Sometimes he drops everything to go on a trip. Usually, it was to take me somewhere, but it’s not inconceivable that he just needs a bit of a break. I want to wait a bit before I do anything.”
Nox turns to her. “Could you track his phone?”
Viv shakes her head and picks at the cardboard sleeve around her cup. “No. He only uses burner phones and changes the number every week. Whenever he logs into any kind of website, it’s through a VPN.”
Nox’s lips roll in at that. “Is there any way you can contact him?”
Viv shrugs. “I could email him, but I don’t want to reach out just yet. He might think I’ve forgiven him if I contact him first.”
Nox and I both nod at that, since it makes sense. The door opens and Zane saunters in. As usual, there is paint specking his clothes and under his fingernails. He doesn’t even stop off at the counter to order anything before making a beeline for Viv. She looks up at him when his hands press into the table on either side of her. A smile curves her lips as she turns to look at him. He leans down to press a kiss against her mouth. She melts against him and the kiss quickly devolves into something not suitable for public consumption.
Nox smirks at them as he rests his chin on his elbow on the table. When Zane pulls away, his eyes find me. “What are you doing here? You know a student might try to talk to you, right?”
