Page 6 of Brutal Prince

I expected him to laugh, instead, he pondered on my words, while sipping his beer. “That’s the feeling I got too. Glad I’m not sleeping under that roof anymore and I’d watch your back if I was you and…the wiring. It’s an old house, one of the originals built at the same time as the university.”

I pointed my finger at him. “You’re not planning on doing something stupid?” I asked him because I believe Cody Harrington was capable of anything.

“Nah, I’m done with that place. Besides, the problem doesn’t reside in the Vault; it resides underneath the Athenaeum or maybe above the Athenaeum.”

“Above?”

“Yeh, like who’s really pulling the strings? Dickwad Vanderbilt or is it someone we never see because they’re not a student at KVU anymore. How much digging have you done on the president of the Snake and Chalice Thomas Buchanan?”

“Buchanan’s name has never come up once in all the sniffing Darryn and I have done.”

He cracked his jaw with his hand. “Is that because he’s protected by the members or because he’s not involved?”

“Yeh, well, I can’t exactly go and ask him as that’ll screw everything up.”

“Seems strange to have all that filth going on under his nose without him actually knowing about it.”

“I agree.” I finished off my beer and collapsed the can in my hand.

“You want another?”

“Nah, I gotta head off,” wiping a dribble from my chin, “warm beer on a warm day is a little rank. No offense.”

“None taken.”

Stepping out to the car, I glanced back to find that Luca made an appearance that tall, curvy frame was unmistakable as she wrapped her arms around Cody.

Without a doubt, they were hiding something and if it was her that Cameron and Shawn were attacking outside the science labs then good riddance to them. I’m sure as hell not going to snitch and I’m not the police. I just wanted to see an end to all the violence and maybe, just maybe, I could get close to Gretta Nelson while I’m at it.

THREE

Gretta

I took my place between my boys, Ollie and Darryn, my protectors when I step into the dungeon. Det. Mathias looked weary and pale and I suspected this case had taken a toll on her health. What started out as hazing rituals by a bunch of bonehead jocks turned into murder, historical violence and who knew what else.

“I’m not happy about this,” the detective informed me. “I strongly recommend that you do not do this.”

“You’ve got no choice. In fact, the only reason we’re telling you is because arrests need to be made once I discover who the ringleader and his cohorts are.”

“Detective,” Darryn started, “with all due respect, this has been going on for far too long and you’ve made no arrests that we know of, unless you’re keeping quiet about it.”

She turned back to her sergeant standing by the interview room door in the heart of the KVPD station, and asked him to stand outside. She took a deep breath before saying quietly, “I shouldn’t be telling you this, but articles have gone missing from the evidence room.”

“I’m sorry?” I asked. I needed clarification.

“DNA samples taken at the rape scenes were contaminated shortly after harvesting the photographs of alleged Bloodz rituals provided to us by Annalise Fontaine have gone missing-”

“-Wait. All the DNA samples of all the rapes have been contaminated?”

“Since the Fall attempted rape last year.”

“Are you serious?” Darryn asked baffled. “That sounds like sabotage.”

“It is sabotage,” Mathias concurred.

“Who…? Why…?” I stuttered.

“Why do you think?” she said. “That’s why you’ve seen little progress from my side because every damn time I get somewhere the rug is pulled from under my feet. Stating the obvious, we can’t make an arrest without solid evidence. No one has ever been arrested or made accountable for the rapes that occurred in previous years either.”

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