Page 66 of Forbidden Obsession

“Ugh! You guys!”

“Well, you could give it up to Barry; he’s been giving you the googly-eyes all semester.”

“But I want Ethaaaaaan.”

“Oh God, here we go again.”

“It’s not fair!”

“Go on and fuck him then.” We all glanced at Alice.

“What?”

A look of hope crossed Sofia’s face, and I grimaced. There was no way I could be a part of this train wreck.

“Why would you tell her that?” I asked.

Alice shrugged and flicked an auburn strand of hair behind her ear.

“She wants to get laid and doesn’t want to lay with just anyone. It’s understandable. Who are we to stop her from going after who she wants?”

“Her friends,” Emma pointed out.

“Yes, yes, but we’ve told her the consequences about giving Ethan sex, so now it’s up to her. And if he breaks her heart?—”

“When,” I said. “Fixed it for you.”

They glanced at each other, and Sofia pouted.

“Oh, for God’s sake,” I murmured. “Finish, Alice.”

“When…” she cleared her throat. “He breaks or if…” she decided, “…cause who knows, he could surprise us all?—”

Emma and I groaned, and she hurried to convey her point. “Then we’ll deal with it.”

“And what will we do?” I asked.

Alice shrugged. “Find her someone new to get under. That’s the quickest way to get over a man, right?”

The bell rang, and I was happy to rise from my seat. The conversation had taken an undesirable turn.

“Hey, we still have topics to cover!”

I paused mid-lift. “Yes, but we have to go to class. Let’s talk after.”

We grabbed our bags and belongings and went in opposite directions.

18

Dominic

One month later

11:36 PM

Vito Cappalli went untouchable for the sixty-one years of his reign because of the high-tech security he kept installed and upgraded year-round. Over the last two years, I’d watched him come and go, but every entrance and exit required codes, retina scans, fingerprint scans, and cameras were installed that covered every inch of his compound.

It could be argued that he was paranoid. But that paranoia had kept him alive because even I hadn’t been able to breach his compound – until now.

---