Page 19 of Desperate Valentine

“What the fuck did you just say?”

“Jude didn’t tell you?” she smiles, seemingly impressed about the fact that she got to tell me the dirty little secret herself.

“For Christ sake, I’m an accomplice now! It all makes sense! The alley, the cleanup—everything!”

“Babe, calm the fuck down. We have two of the most experienced men on our side, doesn’t that count for something?” she chuckles. “Besides—he’s an accomplice to your crime too.”

I shake my head and slam my hand into the steering wheel. “Fuck!”

“Veronica, nobody knows what any of us did. Charlie is long gone, and so is Blaise. Why are you so worried?”

“You’re joking, right? If they go down for any of this, what makes you think they won’t mention our involvement?”

“They won’t. Trust me. Gunner and Jude have been at this for a while. The police already know what they do.”

I sit in silence for a moment, staring out the window to avoid eye contact with Mila. After a few seconds, I put the car back in drive and turn back onto the road.

“We’ll be fine, V. Come on, live a little!” Mila says, reaching for my hand that’s resting on the gear shifter.

I glance over at her and shake my head, letting out a heavy sigh. “I sure hope so. If we end up going down for this, our lives are over. You know that, right?”

“You’re overthinking it.”

“We’ll see.” I let out a nervous chuckle as we pull into the dorm parking lot.

Chapter 6

“I’ll catch up withyou later,” Mila says as she gets out of the car.

“Sounds good. Be safe, girl.”

“Gunner has my back. I’m not worried.”

I watch her saunter off toward the main building and disappear through the doors before I exit the parking lot.

St. Valentines University freaks me out. I’ve attended for a couple of years now and I still get chills whenever I enter the campus. It’s dark and eerie with an even darker history.

Word is, there was some freaky shit happening behind the scenes involving a secret society and a bunch of the professors. People vanished and nobody seemed to know where they went.

If you mention any of this to the faculty, you’ll be told to shut up about it.

***

I’m definitely not in the mood to be shopping for a bed.

A couple hours later, I find myself the proud owner of a pillow top mattress and a new set of Egyptian cotton sheets. They waived the delivery fee and said they’d have it delivered by five at the latest.

Just as I’m pulling into the dorms, my phone starts to ring.

It’s Jude.

“Hello,” I answer, trying to stay as calm and collected as possible.

“Hey. How did the shopping go?” he asks.

“They’ll be here by five to deliver my bed,” I reply, the chill in my tone enough to sink the Titanic.

“You sound upset. Everything okay?”

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