Treachery

“Sorry I’m late. I got caught up helping Professor Stewart grade some papers.”

Before I could answer him, a familiar voice called from the direction of the front door.

“Gabe, get the fuck in here, we have a gauntlet to a

I stilled at the sound of that deep voice, my skin prickling in response, my teeth grinding together. Beside me, Clayton turned his head to nod in Ta

“Oh, shit. Somebody’s about to get it,” Clayton murmured as Gabriel pushed away from the wall and walked in the direction of the front door.

A spike of panic shot down my spine as Gabriel ran up the steps and slapped hands with Ta

They were friends? I felt like a fucking idiot for telling him how I felt. There was no doubt in my mind he would pass the information along to Ta

As if intuiting my thoughts, Gabriel turned and winked at me before walking completely into the house.

My eyes drifted to Ta

I knew I shouldn’t have come out here tonight. Now I would have to constantly watch my back because there was no telling what Ta

Whispering against my ear, Clayton asked, “You doing okay?”

“No,” I answered, tears stinging my eyes. “I feel like an idiot right now.”

Tightening his arm around me, Clayton hugged me to his chest.

“Why? What happened?”

I told him what happened when Everly and I arrived to the party, his brows knotting between his eyes with confusion as I finished the story.

“So wait, if you were pissed off at Ta

It felt like a thousand pound boulder had dropped into my stomach, my eyes lifting to his, practically begging him to not finish whatever it was he had to say. I didn’t need to hear the truth, didn’t need to know that the man I just poured all my thoughts out to had been-

“Gabriel is Ta

Had it been possible to die right there and drift away into the afterlife, I would have happily done so just to escape the consequences of this night.

“So basically, when I told him that I think everybody in his group is an asshole, that means-“

Clayton laughed, but then held me at arm’s length, his brown eyes meeting mine.

“That you called him an asshole as well.”

“But he didn’t say anything,” I argued.

Clayton’s expression softened before he reached over to rub a thumb along my jawline.

“Of course he didn’t. Gabriel’s the best liar known to man. Why do you think everybody calls him Fraud?”

Son of a bitch...

I was ready to get the hell out of there and was about to tell Clayton exactly that when the music died off in the house, replaced by a crowd of people roaring out in hoots and hollers, raucous laughter mingling within the noise.

Lifting his head to look at the front doors, Clayton gri

“Come on, let’s get inside. I want to see what idiot decided to run the gauntlet instead of paying the price.”

“What does any of that even mean?”

I was so frustrated with this party already. It didn’t help that Clayton was talking in code about gauntlets and paying a price.

Letting out a heavy sigh, Clayton wrapped his arm around mine and started walking me up the steps to the house.

“You know the rumors that you don’t want to mess with these guys unless you want to kiss your social life goodbye?”

I nodded, mentally adding that the rumors were exactly why I didn’t want to come here in the first place.

“Well, let’s just say that everybody who lives in this house is well co

Reaching the door, I grabbed his arm before he could open it.

“Why would anybody agree to that?”

Clayton ran a hand through his brown hair and blew out a breath.

“They’re desperate? But it’s all in good fun, you know? Plus, they have an out. If they won’t pay whatever price is asked of them, they can run the gauntlet.”

“Which is?”

The more I heard about this, the less I wanted to have anything to do with it.

“It’s a huge party, actually. And while everybody is having a good time, the person ru

He opened the door to tug me inside, the laughter and voices growing louder as people rushed past to run deeper into the house.

Weaving through the packed crowd of students in a large living room with floor to ceiling windows lining one wall and a huge fireplace dominating another, Clayton kept his arm around my waist to keep me from being jostled by other bodies.

At the front of the room, Gabriel climbed up on a table to stand above the crowd, his green eyes sca

The music that had been pumping through the house all night was cut off, anticipation for what Gabriel would say a vibration rolling through the gathering.

His eyes met mine again and he winked, causing my stomach to shift and turn when I remembered what I’d said to him.

Dragging his gaze from mine, he gri

“Next Saturday, Brad Cotter will be our honored guest at the next gauntlet party. Be there or be boring.”

All eyes turned to who I assumed was Brad. A tall guy with a slender frame, he didn’t look happy to be the supposed honored guest, but he forced a smile regardless. Wavering on his feet, he was obviously drunk, his skin a sickly pale shade of green.

The crowd roared with laughter and cheers as pounding music filled the house again, some people patting him on the back, others shaking their head and whispering that he was a dumbass.

“There you are. I’ve been looking everywhere for you. Are you okay?”

Turning, I locked eyes with Everly, my gaze dropping to her lips to notice her lipstick was smeared.

“It must have been hard to find me with your face attached to Jase for the past hour.”

Everly’s cheeks heated and a gamine grin stretched her mouth.

“Okay, so I’ve only been looking for the last five minutes, but still...”

Her blue eyes drifted right, a wider smile stretching her lips to see Clayton at my side.

“It’s about time you show up. Did Luca tell you what happened upstairs?”

Before Clayton had the chance to answer, a warm body pressed behind me, an arm reaching over my shoulder to wave a red Solo cup in my face. The scent of alcohol was overpowering and I knew whatever was in that cup would knock me flat on my ass if I accepted it.

“I come bearing a peace offering.”

Recognizing the voice, I spun around without taking the cup being offered.

“You could have told me you live here.”

Gabriel’s eyes twinkled with humor, his lips tilting up at the corners. Despite the fact he’d lied to me, I didn’t hate him as much as I did Ta

“Why would I do that when it was so much fun hearing how you feel about us?”