Page 27 of Dig Your Grave

I studied him, my heart thumping.My rational side wanted to say staying hidden might be safer.But my stomach growled, and a surge of rebelliousness flared.

“Alright,” I said quietly.“Let’s do it.”

We made our way down the dorm staircase in near silence, hearts pounding whenever we heard footsteps from an upper floor.By sheer luck or by the hush money’s grace, we spotted only a bored student worker at the front desk who didn’t even glance up.

Outside, the fall air bit at my cheeks with a chill.Anubis wore a dark hoodie and tugged me gently by the hand to the side parking lot, where the gates to a small service road stood open.Parked along the edge was his Porsche 911, looking as sleek and out-of-place among the rusted staff cars as a peacock in a chicken coop.

He opened the passenger door for me.I slid in, anxiously scanning for any sign of campus police.Then he eased into the driver’s seat, pressed the ignition, and the engine purred to life, a deep, throaty rumble that sent a shiver through me.

Soon we were rolling down the campus perimeter road, passing the wrought-iron gates with hardly a glance from the security booth.The guard seemed half-asleep, or else uninterested in a black sports car leaving mid-morning.

My tension ebbed bit by bit as the sprawling campus gave way to a local main street dotted with coffee shops, boutiques, and small restaurants.We ended up pulling into a half-empty parking lot behind a modest diner.

“This place used to be the crew’s secret hideout,” Anubis explained.“Good coffee, decent eggs.Best of all, no one from Edenvane typically slums it here.”

He parked, and we headed inside.It was a standard diner with sticky laminated menus, cracked leather booths, and waitresses with tired smiles.The overhead fluorescent lights buzzed.To me, it felt wonderfully normal.

A waitress led us to a booth in the back.We slid in, facing each other, and she poured us water.I tried not to gawk at how normal it felt to have a quiet breakfast with him,Anubis Edenvane, the so-called heir to a twisted empire.

He must have felt my scrutiny because he glanced up, arching a brow.“What?”

I shrugged, toying with the corner of my menu.“Just…didn’t imagine us grabbing diner food together at eight in the morning,” I said softly.“It’s a side of you I haven’t seen.”

His lips curved.“We all have to eat, Suede, rich or poor.I’m not always the guy you see on campus, you know.That’s a performance, half the time.The Edenvane swagger.”

“Yeah, well, the diner you is better,” I muttered, just loud enough for him to hear.

He studied me with a fond glimmer in his eyes, but then the waitress returned to take our orders, omelets, hash browns, black coffee.

The moment she walked away, it was like the unspoken tension returned.So much had happened in a few short weeks, Toccara’s death, the grave, the Boat House fiasco, secret society revelations.We hadn’t had a single moment to just…breathe.

He cleared his throat, leaning closer.“Listen, about Sophie.She wants your acceptance, right?She wants you to sign an NDA and join her little circle, which is a feeder into the Skulls.The question is, do you actually want to do it?”

I swirled my water glass, staring at the condensation.“I don’t know.Part of me hates everything she stands for, but if I’m inside, maybe I’ll learn enough to truly expose them.Maybe figure out if Toccara was…” I paused, swallowing.“If Toccara was forced.I can’t just let her death be another suicide.”

His expression darkened.“I get that.But don’t forget, you’re being initiated with me.If you fail, I fail and vice versa.And infiltration into the upper circles can be risky, especially if you plan to undermine them.The Skulls punish betrayal severely.”

“You mean those suspicious suicides, right?”I said bitterly.

He reached across the table, covering my hand with his.The rough pad of his thumb brushed my knuckles, and it sent a jolt of warmth through me and a zap of desire.“I’ll protect you,” he promised.“I’m in deep, but I have influence.We can find a way to flip this.”

I met his gaze.He looked determined, a far cry from the mocking tormentor I’d known in high school.I wanted to believe him, needed to, maybe.And then part of me was wondering when the bad guy in him planned to return.

Just then, the waitress returned with plates of steaming food, cutting through our tension.We released each other’s hands, and conversation drifted to safer ground: classes, row team obligations, upcoming midterms.Even if it was small talk, it felt unexpectedly comforting to share mundane details.

Halfway through my omelet, I felt the weight of his stare again.When I looked up, he spoke in a hushed tone.“After breakfast, I need to show you something.Something about the upcoming Skulls’ gathering.”

A shiver traced down my spine, but I nodded.“Alright.”

Once we finished, Anubis paid the bill, he waved off my halfhearted attempt to chip in, and guided me back to the Porsche.We drove a winding route toward campus, but he took a detour through an upscale suburban area I’d never visited.At the end of a curved street, wrought-iron gates opened onto a spacious property, the sign readingEdenvane Senior Center & Alumni House.

“Alumni House?”I murmured.

“It’s a private extension funded by the Board,” he said.“They hold certain society gatherings here, away from the main campus.Members can come and go without arousing suspicion.”

We eased into a side lot.Anubis reached into the center console and withdrew a single stiff black envelope, sealed with a stylized gold skull.

My stomach flipped at the sight.“Is that what I think it is?”

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