Page 22 of Theirs to Ruin

“Of courseyouwould say that because you love trouble. I do not.”

But secretly Ididlove that two very different but equally gorgeous men had thrown down for me. Unlike Dante, Kage hadn’t beaten the guy who’d roofied me, but he’d kicked his ass in his own style – strategic, controlled, meticulous, and yes, in the end, violent when he’d almost choked him out. Kage was a lit fuse, relentless in its methodical destruction, while Dante was a nuclear bomb, waiting to go off.

“You’re thinking of him!”

“Who?”

Bianca smirked. “You tell me. Both? Together even?”

“I—"

Suddenly, a guy darted right in front of our headlights, his arms flailing dramatically. He wore a hospital gown, tattered and stained, his dead eyes staring from a blood-smeared face.

“Shit!” the Uber driver cursed as he slammed on the brakes.

The guy slammed his hands on the hood and stared directly at us, causing Bianca and me to scream.

My heart pounded wildly. Bianca made a sound of disgust as she buzzed down her window and shoved her hand out into the brisk night air, her middle finger up.

"Kevin! Seriously?" she yelled, her voice sharp with irritation. "You really think it's a good idea to play zombie in the middle of the road, in the fuckingdark?"

Ah. Underneath the makeup, I finally recognized him—Kevin Folsom, Tier Two junior, son of a corrupt CIA agent. He grinned and raised his hands defensively. "Relax, baby. Just getting into the season's spirit!"

“It’s only the first week in October,” I muttered.

Suddenly, the Uber driver was cussing Kevin out and Bianca was playing mediator. I wasn’t at all surprised when the driver calmed down as Bianca touched his shoulder and cooed at him. That was the effect she had on mortal men. Kevin ran off. After muttering under his breath, the driver started heading in the direction of the dorms again.

“Whew!” Bianca plopped back down on the seat next to me, rolling her eyes. “Be prepared for more displays of crazy the closer we get to Halloween."

I groaned, thinking back to last year. Sure, there’d been pranks, with everyone trying to freak each other out, but what really stood out was when the Crimson Fight Club, an underground student organization, had hosted its monthly event just a few days before Halloween. On that night, Neil Forbes—the Forbes family ran England’s most lucrative alcohol smuggling industry—had almost killed Miguel Ramos, son of the Ramos drug cartel in Nicaragua. Miguel had eventually recovered but things got tense, with his family vowing vengeance against Neil’s.

Neil was expelled, and his family not only forfeited their million-dollar bond held by the school, something every student’s family had to pay before they started, but they also paid an additional two million dollars to Miguel’s.

That was another reason why I needed to keep my nose clean. God forbid I got myself into a situation where we lostthe million-dollar bond my grandfather’s trust had paid and my dad had to pay even more money. Our financial situation would come out for sure.

“Stop feeling guilty about tonight,” Bianca said, her voice stern.

“Sheesh. Would you stop reading my mind?”

“Cami, that’s impossible. I know you too well. Just don’t think you have to give up on fun because of what happened. Especially when it comes to experimenting with drugs and alcohol. And men,” she added, giving me a wink.

“Itispossible to have fun without alcohol,” I said pointedly. I ignored her mention of drugs. After our mother died of an overdose, Bianca knew how anti-drug I was. She just sometimes forgot to tiptoe around the subject.

She waved off my comment. “That is a myth. But whatever. We’re here.”

The Uber stopped outside my dorm. After we got out of the car, Bianca's phone chimed with a new message. Her eyes widened slightly then a smile curved her lips.

“Well, look at that,” she murmured, flashing the screen at me.

It was a message from theconciliantis.

Bianca, come see me. Now.

"Bit late for a meeting with the matchmaker, isn’t it?

“Seriously, grandma? It’s barely ten o’clock. I wonder what she wants. Maybe I’m being paired with someone. Maybe Silas.”

God, I hoped not. Silas was twice as arrogant as Kage and an even bigger man whore. He had a reputation for collecting girlfriends and cheating on every single one of them.

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