Violence is just one of many purging methods that can be replaced by more peaceful ones, such as a bike ride.
Or a ruthless fuck with Cecily.
But I sure as hell got off on it when I punished those lowlifes and left them bleeding on their apartment floor.
However, it feels like too little compared to what they dared to do to Cecily—or worse, what they planned.
Something still sits wrong with me, though. The fact that Jonah wasn’t the one who put them up to it.
But that doesn’t make sense. Jonah is the only one who knows about his courting ways with Cecily.
Unless the slimy fuck put on a disguise. The three losers were probably drunk or high, and the club was dark, so they could’ve mistaken some details.
As Ilya pulls the car out and drives down the road, I fetch my phone and ask for security footage from the club last night.
The reply is almost immediate.
I scroll to the time the three fuckers went into the club, jumping around like monkeys on crack. Soon after, they slip into a corner near the bathroom. The only hint of their companion is a glimpse of his black shirt.
That must be the guy who promised them drugs. I watch more and more of the footage, but there’s no sign of him near them, not even at the bar, where he would be watching his handiwork from.
It’s impossible to locate him in a busy club when all I have is that he was wearing a black shirt.
Could it be Jonah? I’m about to call my guy back in London, but I get distracted by a text.
Cecily: Morning. Thanks for these *sparkling heart emoji*
I spend a full minute of intense staring at the sparkling heart but still can’t find an explanation for it. One thing’s for sure, I like it, and it caught me completely by fucking surprise since it’s the first time she’s sent one.
Then I notice that she attached a picture of a box of waffles I had delivered to her apartment earlier.
Cecily:How did you know I love waffles?
It’s in her stupid journal. I think they’re her comfort food whenever she wants to feel better. I thought she might need a pick-me-up after last night.
While she didn’t have any sleep paralysis, she shivered while she slept in my arms and tears clung to her lids. That’s part of the reason why I couldn’t bring myself to leave until she fell into quality sleep.
Jeremy: I know everything about you.
I’m about to tuck away my phone, expecting her to be too busy preparing for school, but her reply comes immediately.
Cecily: Is that how you managed to find me at the club? You had Ilya watch me, didn’t you? Wait a minute. Was Ilya doing the job for you all those weeks when you disappeared?
This little fox is too smart for her own good.
Jeremy:He was there in case you needed protection.
Cecily: More like, he was a pseudo-stalker. Seriously, the one I need protection from the most is you.
Jeremy:Too bad no one can protect you from me.
Cecily: Don’t be so sure. I can stand up for myself.
I’m beginning to see that, considering everything she’s demanded and how she put her foot down last night, and I’m not sure if I like that side of her.
Fuck it. I do. Just not when she’s using it to get away from me.
Jeremy:You can stand up to me all you like, but there are nonnegotiable things, such as your safety.
Cecily: Oh, please. You have a tyrant’s mentality and think everything is nonnegotiable. But don’t even think I’ll sit there and take it. That’s simply not going to happen. Anyway, thanks for the waffles. Ava and I will enjoy them.
Jeremy:I sent them to you, not Ava.
Cecily: Sharing is caring.
Jeremy: I don’t share. Everything about you is mine.
Besides, I don’t like the way Ava was all over her when they danced at the club. Or how Cecily takes care of her with nauseating affection. Something she doesn’t even do with me.
I’m so tempted to eliminate Ava completely, but that might make me lose Cecily for good.
So I shove that thought to the back of my mind.
For now.
Cecily:Are you seriously jealous of my best friend? Who’s also a girl?
Jeremy: You give her too much of your attention.
Cecily:Okay, Mr. Caveman. Have a nice day, and please try not to hurt anyone *sparkling heart emoji*
I keep staring at that emoji longer than I did the first one.
“Is something wrong?” Ilya asks from his position behind the steering wheel.
“What does a sparkling heart emoji mean?”
Ilya stares at me for a beat, looking stunned for the first time ever, before he focuses back on the road. “Uh, don’t all the heart emojis mean love and affection?”
“But it has sparkles around it. They should mean something else.”
“I’m not sure.”
I’m not sure why I’m focusing on this either. I’m used to Annika sending a newspaper of emojis stickers and GIFs in her texts. And they’re often filled with all sorts of hearts, primarily purple and white ones.
But Cecily rarely talks in emojis. She’s too straightforward for that.
Still, I want to know exactly what she meant by sending it.
“Boss.”
“Hmm?” I answer Ilya absentmindedly, still staring at her text.
“What are your plans regarding Miss Volkov and the guy she’s seeing?”
I turn off my phone’s screen at the reminder of my sister and her unwanted crush.
I’ve let it slide all this time to give her more freedom, but it has recently come to my attention that Creighton King, the guy Annika has chosen to like, is plotting something with Landon.
And while I didn’t give a fuck at the beginning that they’re cousins, mainly because Creighton stays out of anything related to the Elites, Nikolai found out that’s not the case lately.
It’ll be a cold day in hell before I allow that rotten family, especially Landon, to get close to my sister.
So I have to stop it before it’s too late.
Even if I have to hurt her in the process.
CECILY
“Who got you smiling like that?”
I have no idea how I manage not to flinch and then calmly place the phone on the table.
We’re in the kitchen that’s filled with purple and pink chairs, utensils, and curtains. Even the fridge wrapper and dishes have some of those colors, thanks to the two girly fashionistas Glyn and I share a space with.
Ava sits across from me, waffle in hand while she licks the syrup that’s managed to escape from her fingers.
She finally woke up when I announced I got us waffles. Her hair is gathered in a messy bun, and she has a white de-puffing mask on. Add that to the constant groaning and moaning about last night and it’s like I’m in the company of a whiny ghost.
I busy myself with cutting a piece of waffle to avoid meeting her gaze. “Oh, nothing. Just some meme.”
Please don’t let it show on my face that I’m giddier than usual this morning.
“Uh-huh. Didn’t know memes made you look like you’re in love.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.” I pour some orange juice and slide it in her direction. “Eat up or you’ll be late to school.”
“Try again.” She lifts her leg up on the chair and hugs her knee, then brings the waffle to her mouth while she narrows her eyes at me. “Sooo I might have been drunk, but, and this is the important part, I remember things.”
Blimey.
I’d hoped she was too hammered to remember stuff—she usually doesn’t. Or maybe she only pretends she doesn’t.
Mimicking a monk’s serenity, I take a sip of my coffee. “Things like what?”
“Like how Jeremy was at the club last night.”
That’s not so bad. I can work with it. “He probably goes to all the clubs on the island. That’s not weird.”
“The fact that he talked to you is. He was close.” She holds her thumb and forefinger a hairsbreadth apart. “This close.”
“You were drunk. You probably saw it wrong.”
“Did I also see it wrong when he got into your car with his silent scary mate? Or when you were talking to him outside my room? He was right here last night! Well, not here in the kitchen, but here in the flat.”
My ears heat despite my extensive attempts to appear unaffected. That alone gives Ava the answer she’s been playing detective to find.
“OMG! You totally shagged him in the club, didn’t you?”
“Ava!”
“You did!” She all but rips the mask from her face, revealing her shocked expression. “You smelled like him, and you had these puffy lips, watery eyes, and flushed cheeks. I think I’m going into a state of shock.”
“Hey—”
She holds up a hand. “I just need a moment to process things.”
I grow stiffer in my chair, and my T-shirt starts to stick to my back with sweat the longer I wait for her.
Ava opens her mouth a few times, then shakes her head and clamps it shut before she finally asks, “Is it true?”
“Is what true?”
“Everything I heard and saw and eventually deduced?”
I nod. It’s useless to hide it from her anyway. She would’ve found out sooner or later.
“Oh my fucking God. This is huge.” She drops her leg to the floor and leans forward in her chair. “When did it start? How? Why is it Jeremy, of all people? The Jeremy Volkov. Why is the scary big guy at TKU the one you gave up your prude status for? You hated him! Most importantly, why didn’t you tell me? I thought we shared everything.”
I wince, gripping the cup of tea tighter before I set it back on the table. “It’s not that I didn’t want to tell you, it’s that we’re not really a thing, per se.”
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean? You guys are shagging, right?”
“Uh, yeah. But we only recently started some sort of a relationship.”
At least, I think so.
Jeremy didn’t promise me anything, but he also didn’t say no to what I asked. I know that with time, he’ll come around. I’ll try to make him come around.
Because I can’t just stand there while he takes and only gives back sex in return. It’ll eventually drain me, and I’ll have nothing left.
“The more I listen, the more surreal this becomes.” Ava grabs her phone. “Hold on. I need support. Can I tell Anni and Glyn the news and call for an urgent girl squad meeting?”
I all but fly across the table and snatch her phone away. “No.”
A crease appears between her delicate brows. “Why not?”
“I told you this thing is new, and I’m not sure if it’ll work. So I don’t want to get the others, especially Anni, involved yet.”
Hell. I don’t even know how she’ll react to this. She was super pissed about that Maya trying to steal away her brother, so maybe, she doesn’t think anyone is worthy of him.
“Fine, fine. I respect that,” Ava grumbles and stretches out in her chair. “Now, tell me, why Jeremy?”
“I don’t know either.”
“Come on, there must be something that drew you to him. I would’ve sworn you hated his guts, background, and everything in between. So how did cursing him and the whole of TKU turn into dirty fucks at the club?”
I flop down on the chair beside her with a sigh. The first time I officially met Jeremy, at the fight club, when he was exerting his controlling behavior and kicking Annika out, feels like ages ago.
“Now that you’ve reminded me, I did hate his guts. Honestly, sometimes, I still do. He’s controlling, abrasive, and doesn’t have a gentle bone in his body. Well, mostly. He can force himself to be soft sometimes, but it’s like he’s an alien who’s emulating human behavior. It doesn’t come naturally to him, but he puts in the effort, so I guess that’s a start. Oh, and he’s persistent.”
A stalker, actually.
But I won’t tell Ava unnecessary things. If she finds out the extent of how fucked up Jeremy and I are, she’ll probably try to poke his eyes out and will get herself shot dead by his guards.
Besides, it’s not that I feel threatened by his presence or whenever I sense him watching my every move.
In fact, I feel surprisingly safe.