Treachery Prequel

Luca

Gabriel upheld his side of the deal. Two days after I slept with Ta

I’d gri

Unfortunately for him, I had no interest in giving him the chance. I’d written off having anything to do with the Inferno boys ever again.

As long as I kept my distance, Ta

That said something about them, though. Even if they were insufferable jerks that toyed with people like pawns on a chessboard, they accepted when they were beat and kept up whatever terms cornered them.

To say I was walking a hell of a lot taller was an understatement. I was practically floating because little Luca Bailey actually succeeded in besting Ta

For a full week, Ta

He knew law like the back of his hand, so well in fact that he didn’t need to crack open books to know what he was talking about. He was a walking encyclopedia of information, and I realized that when he passed the Bar exam and became a lawyer, he would be hell to beat in a courtroom.

Ta

Not only that, every night we met, he was actually acting human around me…like a friend of sorts. It lowered my guard against him, which bothered me. Frightened me. I didn’t want to like him.

And I absolutely hated sitting across from him remembering what it had been like to have sex.

I was begi

For that reason, I got back together with Clayton. I knew it wasn’t a good idea, and in a way I was using him as a buffer. Things had been awkward for us the first few days, but he’d caught up to me after class and apologized for the text. He admitted it was dumb and that he was jealous I’d gone to the party without him, and he begged me to give him another chance.

He was safe. And I was scared that without him, I’d fall into Ta

But still, I was walking on air without realizing the problem with being up that high: the fall would only be that much harder, and by Friday of that week, the air was ripped out from under me, the universe conspiring to destroy me, and rather than it being a one-two punch, it was also a right hook that knocked me completely off balance.

It started when I returned to my dorm from class. I was due to meet with Ta

Turning, I found a note on my desk, a hastily scribbled message that she had to leave without giving an explanation why. Almost as a soon as I’d finished reading, someone banged a fist against the door and shoved it open.

Jase’s shoulders filled the doorway, his nostrils flared like a wild beast. “Where the fuck is she?”

Voice a low growl, he sca

I held up the note. “Are you the reason, she left?”

He stabbed a hand through his hair, obviously pissed, his eyes dragging to me as his hands fisted.

Jase didn’t say a word in explanation. He just stormed out as quickly as he’d barged in and I was left standing in place, confused and angry because I knew he had something to do with Everly ru

That was the first punch.

Thinking Ta

He waited for me outside the main doors, his dark gaze trapping mine, his expression unreadable. Flipping his phone through his hand, he opened the door and held it for me, his energy off as I walked past him.

“Move.”

We approached his favorite table when Ta

I shook my head and sat down. “You’re such an ass.”

He dropped his weight in the seat opposite me and kept those dark eyes pi

Rolling my eyes, I looked up at him. “What’s going on with Jase and Everly?”

Although there was fire behind his gaze, his voice was as calm as ever. “How the fuck would I know? Do I look like his diary?”

Unaffected by his grumpy mood, I stared back. “She left school. He busted into my dorm looking for her-“

“When were you pla

Surprised by the question, I flinched back. Ta

“That’s not your business.”

He gri

“No, I guess it’s not. Apparently you like to get around.”

My eyes rounded. “What is that supposed to mean? Why do you even care?”

I mean, yes, we’d slept together, but Ta

“I don’t care,” he answered, and I felt vindicated for knowing that would be the case. “But I don’t appreciate being lied to, even if by omission.”

“What are you talking-“

Before I could finish the question, Ta

My damn tongue dragging across my bottom lip, his eyes flicking to the movement, a leisurely grin widening across his face until those eyes dragged up to pin mine in place.

“You’ve been a bad girl apparently.” He tsked. “Not only did you con my friend and use my kindness against me to force my hand, but then you lied to all of us. One I can forgive, the other…” He cocked his head to the side. “And here I thought better of you.”

He tapped a code into his phone and tossed it in my lap before settling back in his seat, his dark eyes focused intently on my face, waiting for me to give into my curiosity and look.

It took effort to look away from him. He was in full predator mode as if he had something on me. What could he possibly have?

My gaze dropped to his phone and my heart stopped. Literally. A painful thump as it kicked into action again with a beat so fast that I damn near passed out.