Page 128 of Teacher's Pet

Call me selfish.

The phone call Elijah barged in on couldn’t have come at a worse time. I should have known my brother would be looking for me. I should have been smart enough to know how easily he could find me… and Ana.

But I gotlazy.

I let my guard down, let myself slip too far into the comfort of temptation.

Jake's voice grated in my ears. His voice heavy with the presence of accusation.

"Hey, big brother,"he quips, voice laced with mock familiarity.

I grit my teeth, already resisting the urge to smash my phone against the wall.

"What the hell do you want?"

"Now, now, no need to be so brash. You’re the one, after all, who ran away and left me to deal with our father’s affairs. Or have you forgotten where your real duty lies? Must be hard to concern yourself with the family business when you’re busy playing teacher and fucking that beautiful redhead I saw sneaking out of your apartment.”

My blood turns to ice.

He knows.

Jakefuckingknows.

"You know, it’s interesting,”he continues, dragging the words out like he’s savoring every syllable.“Initially, I was looking into that little prick’s family, the one who owns the building, but then, when I saw her leave with such a wide grin, it was impossible to get her face out of my mind-”

My grip tightens on the phone, rage curling hot and violent in my gut.

"Turns out, she’s a student at Spokehaven University… one of your students. Now, normally, I’d let you have your fun, let you fuck her, ruin her, and then have my way with her once you were done-”

Keep it together, Noah. He’s baiting you.

"But,”he goes on, voice darkening,“there’s something even more interesting about your little school. Something other than the students.”

Dread twists in my stomach.

What the fuck is he talking about?

Could he possibly know about Ana, Cole, and that night?

Could Cole have told him?

How?

Then Jake’s voice drops into a venomous whisper.

"Eden Briar,"he hisses."A lovely photography teacher… married to one of the Antonov's biggest threats. Roman fucking Christopher Briar. Associate to Echo, that damn thorn in my side.”

I freeze.

"Echo?"I scoff, but my throat is dry.

"Echo,"Jake repeats, his voice sharp."The same person who put the hit on our father. Ring any bells?”

The weight of those words crushes into me like a freight train.

My father’s murder. The fallout. Thebloodshed.

My thoughts spin, piecing together the puzzle in real time.

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