SWNOVELS Alluring Darkness: Chapter 4
People cast nervous glances at us as they pass us on the way to the doors, as if they’re all trying to figure out if we’re here for them or not. With our arms crossed, we stand side by side a few steps from the doors, watching the crowd that streams past and searching for the suicidal girl who keyed my car yesterday. No luck so far.
Morning sunlight slants across the horizon, turning the fields around us a pale orange and glinting in the windows of the cars in the parking lot. I slide my gaze to the three Range Rovers a short distance away. Mine is being fixed today, so I had to ride with Rico this morning.
Another wave of incredulity washes over me as I think back on what I saw on that footage yesterday. Our family is untouchable. We’re one of the most feared families in this entire state. My father is a legendary hitman, as are all of my uncles. And we’re connected, both financially and by blood, to the Morelli family. The one mafia family that almost everyone at this entire university dreams of landing a permanent contract with. No one messes with us.
Sure, there are some rival families who would love to take us down a peg or two so that they can rise to the top, but none of them have enough members on this campus to challenge us right now.
So who the hell is the absolute maniac who decided to carve Small Dick Energy into the side of my car?
“How did you sleep?”
I blink, yanked out of my thoughts by Rico’s sudden question. Flicking my gaze around the area, I notice that the crowd has started to thin out, so no one is close enough to hear us.
I slide my gaze to Rico, and immediately wish that I hadn’t. That usual hint of concern is present in his brown eyes. I want to snap at him that I’m fine, but I manage to restrain myself. His concern is justified, after all.
“As usual,” I reply.
Which means, barely at all. For the past nine years, ever since it happened, I’ve barely slept. Jace often jokes that it’s why I’m so volatile. The problem is that I think he might be partly right.
Rico hears the quiet dismissal in my tone, and thankfully drops the subject.
We stand there for another couple of minutes while some stragglers hurry from their cars and jog into the building to avoid being late. I scowl at the now empty parking lot. Still no sign of the girl.
“Maybe she finally realized whose car she keyed,” Kaden says from next to me. He runs a hand over his jaw while sweeping his gaze over the parking lot. “And was too scared to show her face here now.”
“Damn straight,” Jace fills in, a devilish grin on his face.
“Maybe,” I say, but there’s no conviction in my voice.
There was something so incredibly deliberate about the way she did it. The way she just strolled up to my car without hesitation. The way she smiled at the security camera afterwards. I’m having serious trouble believing that she didn’t know whose car it was.
Next to me, Kaden glances down at his watch. “If she was coming, she would’ve been here by now. Classes have already started.”
Rico grunts in agreement.
Uncrossing my arms, I straighten and shelve this problem for now. I will figure out who she is, and I will find her. And then she will pay.
“Alright,” I say. “Let’s get going.”
We leave the parking lot behind and stride into the building before splitting up. Blackwater University has a three-year education system, and we’re all in different years. Well, everyone except Rico and Kaden.
Jace is on his first year since he’s only twenty, and I’m on my senior year since I’m the oldest. Both Rico and Kaden are twenty-one, and started at Blackwater at the same time, so both of them are on their second year.
I run my gaze over Rico again before he and Kaden disappear down another hallway. Technically, Rico isn’t my brother. He’s my cousin. His mom is my dad’s sister. Or she was, before she and her husband were killed. Rico became a part of our family after that. But even before that blood-soaked night, I have always considered Rico my brother.
The door to the lecture hall creaks slightly on its hinges as I pull it open. Some of the first-years closest to the door turn to look when I step across the threshold, but they quickly snap their gazes back to the slightly raised dais at the front of the room. The instructor, a stern-looking woman in her fifties, slides her gaze to me. But she doesn’t comment on my tardiness. Because of our connection to the Morelli family, even the staff at Blackwater takes great care not to cross us.
I level a hard stare on the student in the closest aisle seat, and she quickly scrambles out of it and moves farther in. Sliding into the now empty seat, I slouch against the backrest and roll my neck.
This is my least favorite class. It’s basically nothing more than a long information session that I skipped when I was a freshman because I was bored out of my mind. But dear old Dad ordered me to finish it this semester because, and I quote, none of my sons will be known as slackers and lazy dropouts.
I almost let out a huff of laughter at the thought. If only he knew the shit that Jace gets up to.
Lounging in my seat, I sweep a lazy glance over the first-years in the rows ahead of me.
A jolt shoots through me.
My heart thuds in excitement, and I sit up straight, as my eyes land on a girl halfway across the room. She has long black hair and thick bangs. And a very soft-looking body.
It’s her.
Shifting my position slightly, I lean to the left so that I can study her better.
Fuck, she’s gorgeous. Not only does she have a perfectly soft and curvy body that just begs to be broken, but her face is also stunning. Pale green eyes and luscious lips. It’s the kind of face that draws the eye of every man in the room.
I drum my fingers on my thigh as I continue studying her. Once again, I can’t figure out what the hell she’s doing here. With a face like that, she won’t be a very effective assassin. But then again, not all hitmen need to be anonymous. Our family is proof of that. Half of the people in this state know exactly what we are, and they still die every time one of us is sent out on a mission.
Sliding my phone out of my pocket, I send a quick message to our group chat, telling my brothers that I found her and where to meet me after class is over.
Normally, I can barely manage to get through these lectures. But now, it’s fucking excruciating. All I want to do is to just drag her out of this room and confront her right this second. But I force myself to remain in my seat.
I want her to feel safe right now. To feel like she has gotten away with it. Because it will make her fear so much sweeter when I corner her later and exact my vengeance.
She tried to humiliate me by keying those words into my car for everyone to see, so I will return the favor and do something that will make her feel small and weak and utterly humiliated. And since she wrote Small Dick Energy, I know exactly how to do it.
Payback really is a bitch.