He’s so good at blending in that even I am starting to wonder if it’s all real.
I go back up to the last picture he posted about five hours ago of the five neon purge masks.
Night of mischief.
I scroll up and I freeze as the profile refreshes. During my snooping, he posted another picture.
It’s black and white, showing his middle and ring finger inside a mouth.
Mymouth.
This is the picture he took earlier when I was underneath him as he told me I can hide from the whole world but not him.
Nothing is visible aside from my neck and my lips, but I know it’s me.
Damn him.
God damn him.
My fingers shake as I scroll to the caption.
Caught a little rabbit tonight and I decided to keep it.
Keep it, my butt.
I’m fuming, and all the ‘that’s hot’ and ‘holy fuck’ comments aren’t helping. So I close the app and throw the phone on my bed.
Then I think better of it. How dare the bastard post that picture of me after the whole show with Cherry?
He wants to play?
I will play.
It takes me five minutes to find the sketch I was playing with at lunch earlier. I place it beside the blank canvas and pick up my warm colors.
I only have a vague idea of where I’m taking this, but stroke after stroke, the image comes into focus.
For the first time, I’m thankful I don’t have a problem painting humans, and I do so with flying colors.
My creation stares back at me with a soft expression. It’s an imaginary man who, unlike Killian, has blond hair, hazel eyes, and a dimpled smile. There’s a softness in his gaze and he looks so nice that I get a huge grin.
After adjusting the lights, I take a picture of the painting and post it on IG with the caption ‘My type.’
Annika is the first one to comment.
annika-volkov: SO cute *heart eyes emoji*
the-ava-nash: Bitch, what? I mean WHAT? Where’s this fine specimen and why haven’t we interrogated him yet?
cecily-knight: What Ava said.
ariella-jailbait-nash: Go, girl.
lord-remington-astor: No, no, go back? I reserve veto rights on this cunt who looks untrustworthy as fuck.
Cecily and Ava gang up on him. Ariella defends him, and Annika keeps fawning and creates a separate thread for her and Ava’s socializing column.
I smile, pleased with myself. Mission accomplished.
As soon as I sit down, my phone vibrates.
I startle as the message across the screen reads:
Psycho:Like fuck he is.
KILLIAN
Ikick some boy Nikolai brought over out of my path.
Actually, make that two boys and a random girl.
My cousin usually has more women than men around, but he’s been acting strange since the initiation last night.
The boys are hammered, probably high, and don’t even whine as I push them with my foot.
Nikolai, however, isn’t between them, gracing us with a porn show first thing in the morning. Exhibitionism is the foundation of his soul, and while voyeurism isn’t something I’m against, it’s annoying when they all start shouting and irritating my sensitive ears with their noise.
After the initiation was over, White left without bothering to see who got in. No surprise there since he only cares about the game part, not the administrative part—same.
Gareth and Jeremy stuck around to welcome our two new members. The first is Cherry. I have a feeling she’s the one my idiot brother escorted into the compound and followed her around like he’s her puppy.
The second is an REU preppy posh elite. We invited exactly five—aside from Glyndon’s unexpected invitation. We don’t let REU kids in our ranks, but we made an exception this time for a scheme Jeremy and I have been plotting.
All five declined the invitation by not showing up. We expected as much, considering their close relationship with the Elites. The participant who got accepted isn’t one of them; it’s someone Nikolai personally sent an invitation then ambushed and held in a chokehold back in the forest. The one I was sure he’d murder for his insolence, but whose number was never said by the announcer. Since Nikolai only used his fists, he would’ve had to update the back base himself about any of the ones he eliminated.
Apparently, he didn’t do that for eighty-nine and even escorted him back to our compound to announce he was a new member. Something that Jeremy frowned upon, so he warned Nikolai and the guards to keep an eye on in case he was a spy, then moved on to antagonizing him.
Eighty-nine left soon after that shitshow—despite Nikolai’s attempts to keep him here for the celebration.
Cherry, however, brazenly shoved herself in one of the bedrooms for the night—probably Gareth’s. She tried to get in my room, but I kicked her out since I was busy looking at my phone for hours on end, waiting for a reply from the little rabbit.
None came.
I have no doubt that she saw my post on Instagram and decided to come up with her dull ‘My type’ painting. Since then, I’ve been considering creating a thousand Instagram accounts just so I can report it and have it taken down.
She really has no idea what she’s dealing with, huh?
For the rest of the night, I sat in the control room watching security footage. I saw every move my little rabbit made from where she appeared at the mansion like a scaredy-cat to how she slowly gained courage.
There was no footage of when I ravaged her for dinner since I made sure to take her where there are no cameras. If any of the guards had seen her naked or witnessed her erotic face, they’d be conducting a rant meeting with their maker as we speak.
Am I too possessive? Yes. Even I recognize that, due to the fact that I didn’t give a fuck about my sexual partners before.
But I realized something.
It’s not only about sex with Glyndon. I have a feeling that I’ll still feel the need to own her long after she spreads her legs.
During my observational session, I checked that her invitation to the Heathens’ initiation was indeed sent from our servers.
No trace of hacking or underhanded methods.
Jeremy couldn’t care less about these details and leaves them to his security. Nikolai is more detached, unless there’s a fighter he wants to challenge.
The most likely culprit is none other than my brother. Who escorted Glyndon out like some fucking knight.
If I confront him about it, he’ll just deny it. So I’ll search for proof and hit him upside the head with it. Logically, he has no reason to get her involved—except to antagonize me.
The thing is, Gareth is a good boy and dislikes using people.
Then, there’s the whole arrow incident that I still can’t find an explanation for. Whoever tried to shoot me did it from an impossible angle where they couldn’t be caught on camera.
It’s someone who’s well aware of the workings of our internal systems.
Someone…close.
After a whole night of watching footage and obsessing over my phone like a teenager, I finally came down the stairs.
Once I kick away Nikolai’s fuck buddies, I continue on my way. I step on something black—someone—pause, then poke at it with my foot. Did a murder happen while I was sleeping—or trying to?
What type of blasphemy is that? I demand a redo.
I nudge the figure for a good minute before he rolls to his back with a groan, revealing none other than my deranged cousin.
His hands are still covered with dry blood—that will be a bitch to remove—and his face is stuck in a frown, like a whore dreaming about a boring fuck.
I kick him again. “There are beds around, you know.”
“Fuck off, you motherfucking fuck,” he mumbles, but he doesn’t sound sleepy, more like thoughtful. “Did I bother you sleeping on my own damn floor? Let me think in peace.”
I nudge him again, just to fuck with him. “Since when do you use the word think? Have you hit your head somewhere? Let me take you to the hospital for a quick scan, maybe see if you actually have a brain while we’re at it.”
He groans loudly and sits up with the lethargy of an immortal monster. He opens his bloodshot eyes that are surrounded by dark circles. Someone had a night. “Fuck off before I murder you and hug Aunt Reina at your funeral while she cries over her useless son.”
“What got your panties in a twist, Niko? Bad fuck night?”
“More like an absence of fucks night.”
“Really?” I tilt my head in the three passed-out druggies’ direction. “You literally have infinite options. What’s wrong? Erectile dysfunction?”
He snarls at me.
“Fuck. It is?”
“Fuck off, Satan’s heir. It’s called lack of interest.”
“It’s called impotence. Our poor Niko. Should I get you some blue pills? Don’t worry, it’ll be our little secret.”
Nikolai surges up and slides down his pants and boxers, revealing his very hard, very pierced dick. “Told you it’s lack of fucking interest. Now, fuck the fuck off before I stab you with it.”
“Highly not recommended, you’ll just break your stick of joy.” I throw a bored glance at his companions for the night. “None of them would do?”
He pulls up his pants, then taps the back of his pocket, retrieves a crumpled-up cigarette, and speaks around it as he tries to light it, but his Zippo won’t work. “They’re as enticing as STD-infested whores. None of them know how suck dick right.”
I pull my Zippo and light his cigarette, then get one of my own. “Then go to someone who does.”
He pauses with his cigarette dangling, then wraps an arm around my shoulder, virtually squeezing the fuck out of me. “You’re a motherfucking genius, Kill.”
“And you’re just figuring that out?”
He continues the mission of being a clingy fuck. “You’re right, I should just change scenery. Care for some shooting lessons? That instructor is good at getting on her knees.”
“Can’t. Busy.” I slip out of his octopus hold, then swiftly shove him away.
“Boo. I’ll go with my fave cousin, Gaz. You can kindly fuck off.”
I flip him off on my way out, then instead of lighting my cigarette, I throw it away.
Something tastes off about it.