Page 53 of Devious Obsession
I can’t picture my uncle logging on to a computer and hacking into the website’s host domain to blow it to smithereens. I’dliketo see that. But in reality, he probably knows someone who knows someone who owes him a favor or six.
Steele’s dad may pay off the dean. Or donate to the school… wouldn’t that be grand. I spent the summer with him. So many problems can be solved by slipping someone some cash.
It’s stupid, especially for the people who need that money, who would break the rules for some extra cash, or circumnavigate policy.
Isn’t that how the rich get richer? It’s why politicians are corrupt, and why cops take bribes, and corporations can get away with murder.
Someone knocks on the door, and I almost fall over. “I’ll be out in a few minutes,” I call. There’s a bathroom downstairs, I think. It shouldn’t be that bad.
“Let me in,” Thalia calls.
I smile and unlock it, stepping aside so she can slip in. Her hair is in a bun on top of her head, and she wears a borrowed t-shirt. From whom, I don’t know. There are a handful of guys I would guess would be eager to lend it.
I relock the door and turn on the shower. “How was your night?”
“Great. As long as I don’t think about the fact that Greyson and Violet probably fucked on the mattress I slept on, I’m good.”
She pulls another toothbrush from the drawer, shaking her head at how many there are. Not alot, per se, but more than a normal house would have. Someone clearly went out and bought a dozen toothbrushes for their conquests.
“Who do you think handles the toothbrush inventory?” she whispers.
I shrug, but I meet her gaze in the mirror.
“Knox,” we both say at the same time.
Listen. He’s with Willow, I guess. Honestly, it’s a little hard to tell sometimes, because he’s amassiveflirt. Especially when she’s not around. Thinking he’d plan ahead for his sleepovers to leave with fresh breath isn’t a stretch of anyone’s imagination.
I shed the jersey and duck behind the shower curtain. There’s a good selection of shampoos and conditioners to pick from. The water was quick to heat, too. Plus the pressure…
“Are you going to tell me what’s really going on with you and Steele?”
I crane around the shower curtain again. Thalia’s sitting on the toilet, the lid closed, with her leg drawn up under her. She raises her eyebrow at my expression.
“No,” I decide.
“I’ll tell you who I kissed last night…”
“I don’t want to know that either,” I lie.
She chuckles and flushes the toilet. My shower switches to icy cold water, and I scream. I step out of the spray until it returns to normal.
“I hate you,” I mutter. “Totally unnecessary.” She wasn’t even peeing—just being an ass.
“Do we need to move?” she asks in a quieter voice. “Maybe we should call the police…”
“We could,” I agree. “But the website was taken down, and I think the post with my address was, too. Besides some guys loitering on the street, what are the cops going to do? I say we just wait it out for a few days and try to go back. The guys might go with us to grab some supplies today.”
“So we don’t get stuck smelling like boy products,” she agrees. “Okay, fine. What are you doing today?”
“Well, I need my sheet music.” I frown. And probably the money, especially if the apartment isn’t secure. But where would I put it? “And a change of clothes. So maybe the apartment first, then I can go to the practice rooms.”
Thalia takes a deep breath. “Okay, I’ll leave you to finish and try to wrangle some guys to come with us.”
14
STEELE
Iwas unsuccessful breaking into Aspen’s phone. I tried in the middle of the night, when she was passed out in my bed, but it’s locked down. Not a simple passcode—she has a six-digit one. Plus face ID, but it didn’t register it with her eyes closed.
