Total pages in book: 164
Estimated words: 157308 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 787(@200wpm)___ 629(@250wpm)___ 524(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 157308 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 787(@200wpm)___ 629(@250wpm)___ 524(@300wpm)
“I’ll see you tonight, Rafa.” I slipped into his nickname so easily.
He winked. “But I won’t see you.”
THERE’S ONE PLACE YOU never want to be. An empty school building in the middle of the night.
The halls hold the echo of the bustle, hustle, and noise of the day, and emit a moan or creak to call it back. Darkness pressed in on me as I slipped inside, recalling the building map in my mind’s eye.
First floor. Class 156.
Tiptoeing through the hall, I jumped when the air-conditioning rattled on, blasting a wave of cold air on me. I shivered for the chill in my bones and up my spine. It was creepy here at night.
Class 156 loomed at the end of the hall. I tried the knob and cursed. Locked.
Lucien said it depended on who cleaned the classrooms that day. Some janitors locked up behind them. Some didn’t.
I pulled out the lock-picking case he gifted me, dropping on my knees and getting to work. Lucien and I were focusing more on the self-defense than the breaking-in skills lately, and it showed.
I kneeled there cursing, dropping my tools, and rattling the knob for fifteen minutes.
Hurry up! It’s after midnight. You’re missing everything.
Taking a deep breath, I stilled my shaky hands. Relax. Feel for the tumblers.
I inserted the pin, gently eased it up, and turned.
Click.
The door swung in, creaking on rusty hinges that echoed through the lonely building. Slipping inside, I hugged the wall, making my way around to the window Rafael cracked open earlier that day. Voices filtered inside.
“—under attack. Every cent I put in my account vanishes, my car was blown up, and the police brought me in for questioning yesterday, asking if I’d like to rethink my statement about the night Annika fell!”
Rafael needn’t have cracked the window. Giovanni could be heard loud and clear.
Though he told me not to, I edged closer, peeking through the window. Five figures gathered in the stairs in Rafael’s preferred blind spot. No cameras. No guards. No chance of anyone sneaking up on them unseen.
Unless, of course, you snuck into the empty classroom building in the middle of the night and listened in.
“Shit’s been happening to me.” Wesley’s bruised, swollen nose was obvious from my shadowed hiding spot. “The day peanuts accidentally get into my food is the same day my EpiPen goes missing. Then, I was locked in my room all night—music blasting me awake whenever I shut my eyes. My money’s gone—”
“I can’t believe you idiots!” The angry pacing figure that was Levi jabbed a finger at my silent, headphones-clad Rafael. “It’s obvious who’s behind it! It’s him and his band of freaks. Who else is that stupid!”
Rafael’s reply was light—almost amused. “If you believe that, why are you here?”
Levi got in his face. “To join in when they kick your ass.”
“You’re going to want to step three paces to the right, then one back. It’ll be funny to fuck up that other leg and watch you penguin-waddle around campus.”
“Oh, yeah? I’d like to—?”
“Levi, back off!” Wesley yanked him away. “Whatever problem the Rogues have with you, they don’t have them with me. I told you not to come if you were going to start shit.”
“He doesn’t need a problem with you, dumbass. All he needs is cash.” Levi whirled on Rafael. “I bet whoever’s doing this is paying him.”
Rafael leaned against the rail, stuffing his hands in his pockets. “You’d have to be a Royal to afford my rates. Is there a Royal that’s got reason to hate the four of you and Luna Sinclair?”
Levi’s puffed-up chest deflated. The four of them shared a look. Why did they just share a look?
“That’s what we need you to find out,” Wesley said. His voice dropped two octaves. “But if you are behind this, Dumont, I will—”
“I will have a personal problem with the next shit who threatens me. You dragged me out of bed in the middle of the fucking night. Have some respect!”
Flinching, I ducked out of sight. This was the first I’d seen the fixer in action. The night he blew Giovanni’s car didn’t count. Rafael was having fun then. He wasn’t playing around now.
“Now,” Rafael continued in their silence. “I assume you’re looking at us because I’ve got a hacker in my crew. Not too big a leap for your small brains, but I read the secrets on those lists. If I knew you killed Grandpa or that you brain your ex-girlfriends, you can believe I’d use that information to my own advantage. I for damn sure wouldn’t sprinkle prime blackmail material on the quad for a client. One or two secrets would’ve done the job of humiliating you just fine.”
“I didn’t kill my grandfather,” Levi gritted. “Those secrets were bullshit.”
“All lies,” Giovanni echoed, though I noticed no one was accusing the Rogues of being behind it anymore.