Page 44 of Snitches and Serpents

She wiggles against the desk again and repeats, “Let me go.”

“Answer me,” I demand. “When you stormed into my room like this, how did you think it was going to end?” I give her a little shove down into the hard surface to really drive the point home. “Huh?”

“I don’t know,” she growls, frustration clear in her voice.

“Really? You thought you could just come in here, shove me in the chest and get me to confess to something? Maybe threaten me a little too?” I tighten my grip on the back of her neck. “Did you really think I would let you walk out of here alive if you did that?”

“You almost got me expelled!” she yells at me, her cheek still pressed against the desk. “Do you know how hard it was for me to convince them that the knife wasn’t mine? Especially after that thing with the drugs?”

I snort.

“That guy Davidson hates me,” she continues. “He wants me expelled even though I haven’t done anything!”

“Poor you.”

“Yes! Because it’s all your fault.” She stomps her foot on the floor in anger. “And now, I’m one more mishap away from getting expelled. Two strikes, they said. The third one, and I’m out. Permanently.”

“Good. Then you’ll be gone before the end of the week.”

She goes suddenly dead silent and still beneath me. For a few seconds, I swear she’s not even breathing.

A vicious smile curls my lips.

Once I’m sure that she has finished processing my words, and understands the power I now hold over her life, I release my grip on her and take a couple of steps back. She remains bent over the desk for another few seconds. Then she slowly pushes herself off the wooden tabletop and straightens.

I wait for her to try to get to her phone, but she doesn’t even look towards it. Instead, she keeps staring at the pale green wallpaper visible behind the desk. Her shirt is rumpled and her hair is slightly mussed, but she doesn’t even bother with it. I watch her as she draws in an unsteady breath. Then she at last turns around to face me.

“You wouldn’t,” she finally says. But it’s soft. More like a whisper. And her big brown eyes are wide as she stares at me.

I stare back at her with a merciless expression on my face. “I lost my scholarship because of you.”

She swallows, and then shakes her head desperately. “I didn’t know that would happen.”

“I don’t care.”

Panic flits across her face, and she throws her arms out. “Isn’t it enough? You’ve already gotten me kicked out of my sorority and ruined my chances at making new friends by writing ‘rat’ across my door. Isn’t that enough?”

“No.”

Anger surges up in her eyes, pushing out the panic. Dropping her arms back down to her sides, she clenches her jaw while locking furious eyes on me. “You won’t succeed. I know what you’re doing now. I’ll see it coming before you can set me up again.”

“Really?” I let out a mocking laugh and flick a dismissive glance up and down her body. “I’ve done it twice already without you noticing it. You really think I can’t do it a third time?” Scoffing, I shake my head at her. “You forget, I have the odds in my favor. You need to stop my every attempt. But I only need to succeed once.”

The color drains from her face.

My mouth twists into a cruel smile as I add, “And then it’s bye-bye Bercester U.”

She draws in an unsteady breath. Then she swallows. And when she speaks, her voice is hoarse. “What do you want?”

I say nothing. Only stand there on the wooden floorboards, staring her down with hard eyes.

Her breathing changes. Becoming faster, and shallower. She licks her lips.

The sight of it sends an involuntary ripple of heat through me. I ignore it.

“What do you want?” she repeats, taking a step closer. Pure desperation shines in her eyes now. “Do you want me to beg?”

She gets down on her knees. Right before my feet. Tilting her head back, she stares up at me with pleading eyes.

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