Page 41 of Switching Graves

But the Viper?Really? They know my real name.

It’s honestly embarrassing.

“Did they say who?” I feign interest, just as I’m expected to do.

Nocturne Valley may know exactly who I am, but everyone within Ravenshurst University limits is forbidden from realizing their very own Dr. Raze Whitlock is the tool they use to keep people in line.

It’s amazing, the horrors people willingly ignore.

Abigail’s brows scrunch together, her thumb swiping across the screen to find the names that I know were mentioned in the first paragraph. I take the moment of distraction to examine her features for any sign that she may know the truth.

Long, painted lashes brush against freckled cheeks. She usually wears more makeup to hide the rust-colored splattering, claiming once that they made her appear too young beside her students. I agree they give her a deceitful innocence that she’s proven time again only runs skin deep.

Still, I can tell she knows nothing about me or the Viper. Just as the Syndicate wants to ensure everyone associated with Ravenshurst remains ignorant of the connection.

“Mitchell and Rebecca Haggarty,” she finally answers.

“My old neighbors,” I comment, shaking my head in mock disgust. “It’s starting to hit too close to home.”

The Haggartys were honest, hardworking, and stubborn. None of those attributes appeals to the Syndicate, especially when they’re used against them.

Which was why they had to go.

A slender hand sweeps across my arm before wrapping around my fingers and giving a tight squeeze. “I’m sorry, Raze. I always forget you grew up here.”

Of course, she forgot. She couldn’t care less about me or my childhood.

I shrug, rolling my lips into a tight line. I’ve played this part so many times, the reaction comes naturally—even though the feelings aren’t genuine.

“I just hope they catch the bastard before he starts going after the university.”

That’s everyone at the university’s biggest concern; the safety of Ravenshurst. Not the students, though. Not necessarily. They know how quickly school attendance rates will plummet if there’s a threat to student’s safety. Less attendance equals less money. Sending me after the school would be the final nail in the coffin for their sick little society. Which is why it’ll never happen. But no one knows that.

The Syndicate would never sacrifice their profit margin. The fear of the town is what feeds them, anyway. It’s why they do it.

Kicking her nose up in confidence, she assures me, “The police will find him before he has the balls to touch Ravenshurst.”

I fight back a smirk, dropping my chin to my chest before she catches it. Ravenshurst places this blind trust in the justice system of Nocturne Valley. In the same police officers who parked their cars on the end of each block to reroute traffic away from the Haggarty’s home. Nocturnians keep their mouths shut about me out of fear of being the next home I visit. It’s pathetic how gullible the masses are.

Somehow, I manage to nod and say, “I hope so,” without exploding.

“Are we still meeting up later?” She changes the subject, ignorant to the monster who is sitting across from her.

“We’re together now.”So, no.

“We had plans,” she whines in that irritating tone that sends all the blood away from my cock.

“I have other plans now. That’s why I invited you to lunch.” It’s a boldfaced lie, but she’ll never know the difference.

I just needed to be in the public eye when the news recorded the police searching the Haggarty’s home, and Abigail happened to stop me in the hall on my way out.

She pulls her hand away and crosses her arms. “You always do this,” she accuses bitterly, her tiny nose scrunching in irritation.

It only grates against my patience even more, which reminds me that I’m already thoroughly irritated with her. “Why did I have a student come to me asking about a work study, claiming thatyouensured you could secure one for her?”

Not just any student. The Ellery girl.

She could have obliterated my plan for revenge before I got a chance to execute it.

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