Page 28 of Beautiful Forever
If Aleksei wasn’t spot on, his comment would be humorous. “Patrick just called.”
He crosses his thick, inked arms over his chest and cocks his head. “What the fuck did he want? And please don’t tell me it’s what I think it is.”
I turn away from the window. “Then I won’t tell you.”
His head droops forward on a sigh, chin to sternum, before identical gray eyes lift with capitulation. Aleksei would walk through hellfire for me if I asked him to. “When?”
“Next weekend at his Catskills estate.”
Although premature, Knight’s plan works in my favor. He’s using the guise of a dinner party to have his wife murdered. Francesco, Helena, and Tristan will be there, which means Aleksei finally gets his wish, and I finally get my revenge. But there’s oneverymassive problem.
“Whatever happens, promise me that you will not hurt Syn.”
Aleksei’s brow furrows. “The redhead you’re stalking? Why would I hurt her?”
“Patrick invited her.”
His frown deepens. “Why? She’s not Society.”
I pace to the couch and straighten a throw pillow, needing a little order in the chaos. “Syn is this year’s recipient of the Knight Foundation scholarship. But I think it has to do more with Tristan’s big fucking mouth since he’s been telling everyone that she’s dating Hendrix.”
Cue my humongous eye roll because that’s the biggest pile of bullshit he’s ever said. Syn isn’tthatkind of girl. The kind Hendrix likes to fuck and ruin. She’s sweet, extremely naïve, and as far as I have been able to tell, she hates Hendrix Knight’s guts. How do I know that? Stalking her across campus isn’t the only stalking I’ve been doing.
Aleksei’s no longer frowning. He’s laughing. “If Patrick believes his son has decided to try monogamy, he’s delusional. Serena said she was just with?—”
I stop him before he goes into any detail. “I don’t care what Serena said.” I will never understand why he wants to sleep with a woman who screws Hendrix on the regular. The stuff Knight is into makes a sadist look tame. Needing my brother to take this seriously, I don’t broker my tone. “Promise me right now that you will not touch Syn.”
I know Aleksei. I know what he’d do to her if she were fair game in our plans. Her scars show how much pain she’s endured and survived. I’m not going to allow my twin to cause her any more, regardless of her relationship with Tristan, or Constantine, or even Hendrix, if there was one.
His lips curve in a smirk. “She’s living with them. Seems like she wants to get touched?—”
“Promise me!”
Aleksei’s expression flares with surprise at my unusual outburst. I rarely raise my voice.
“Jesus fucking Christ, A, learn how to take a joke. Why do you care what happens to her? If she chose to be with them, she willingly put herself in the crossfire.”
Normally, I wouldn’t care. I’m in too deep. My hatred of Francesco too consuming. I would do anything, kill anyone, to make him suffer. But the thought of anything happening to Syn just doesn’t feel right. My black soul was damned a long time ago, but there is still a remnant of my conscience that holds onto the mangled threads of compassion Mama instilled in me.
“Fine,” Aleksei huffs. “The redhead is off limits.” He stomps off like a petulant child who has been told he can’t have a cookie before dinner.
Just as I start to text Pyotr to tell him what’s going down this weekend, a notification pops up on my screen.Motion detected, camera two.
We installed several wireless security cameras around the bell tower. As insulated as we think we are at DF because of the Society, the campus is in no way secure. I also don’t like it when people just drop by unannounced.
Seeing Tristan and Hendrix coming up the walkway, I exhale an exasperatedfuck. I knew he was going to find out about what happened with Syn earlier today—I was counting on it—but his timing sucks. With a tap of a button, I send the elevator down to the lobby to greet them, my way of saying,I know you’re here, asshole.
He and Hendrix stop outside the entrance, whatever conversation they’re having not a happy one. Tristan flings open the door, and once inside, he looks around the small lobby. Past Society members who attended DF used the bell tower for meetings…and other things, like orgies. Before we moved in our freshmen year, I made sure to have everything stripped down to the wood framing and joists. New floors, new drywall, new paint. I converted the second and third floors into apartments. Aleksei lives on the floor below me.
When Tristan and Hendrix get into the elevator, I turn the audio on for the camera installed in the ceiling and go into the kitchen to pour myself a drink.
“Are you going to be a bitch and ignore me for the rest of the day?” Hendrix says.
Tristan continues to stare straight ahead. My half brother has never been good with confrontations, which should make the one we’re about to have interesting.
“How are we playing this?” Hendrix asks.
Coming back into the living room, I take a seat on the couch, mute the audio, and wait. The lift slows and bounces to a stopwhen it gets to the third floor, the ding sounding just as the doors slide open.
