LOGINGabriel
There’s no time to feel sorry for myself. I want to mourn what we could have been, but I understand her reasons for leaving, too. Right now, I need to focus. Following the coordinates that Favreaux texted me, I make my way through Montpellier.I’m restless the entire way there, practically itching and ready for a fight. I’ve never known Favreaux to be an honorable man. Just because he says he’ll exchange Odette for the codes doesn’t mean I’m going to willingly take him atGREYSONI Skate out onto the ice, contemplating my next move with Violet.My obsession with her is getting worse. I can’t stop thinking about her. Bloody. Bruised. Brutalized. I want to push my limits, yes, but I want to push her limits. See how far I can take things until we both crumble.Part of me looks forward to that.I had a phone call with my father this morning. He wanted to know how Crown Point is treating me.The two months leading up to the start of my junior year were volatile. Both in how my father and I reacted to what happened, but also in Rose Hill. Our attorney, Josh Black, was by almost every day to advise us on the best legal action with Violet Reece. The civil suit haunted us through August, until she dropped the charges.I wonder about that now as I pass the puck across the ice to Erik.Why did she drop it?
VIOLETI Make it halfway home when someone grabs me. Their hands wrap around my mouth and waist, yanking me backwards. They pinch my nose closed. I suddenly can’t take a breath.I thrash and kick wildly, but my attacker doesn’t care.On some level, I know it’s Greyson. The neighborhood on this side of the university has always been quiet, almost sleepy at night. Willow and I have been living here for three years without incident.My chest aches the longer I go without oxygen. My throat screams. Black spots flicker in my peripherals, and it only takes another few seconds for my vision to dim.It’s only when I sag that he releases my face.I suck in a deep, hiccupping breath.He spins me around and puts me against the wall. The rough brick of the apartment building rubs into my back, catching on my hair. He has his h
VIOLETIt takes me three hours to put my room back together, sans mattress and box spring. In fact, my room looks a whole lot bigger without the bulky furniture. My pictures are all gone.When I first discovered it on Monday, I did three loads of laundry to get rid of the paint on my underwear, and I had to toss all the clothes that were ripped to shreds. But I didn’t want to deal with the furniture. I didn’t want to take down the photos. So I hid it from Willow for four days.Now it’s Friday, a quiet day with no classes, and I have the mental capacity to deal with it.Whoever did this had a lot of anger, which makes me think of Greyson.And trust me, I don’t want to be thinking about him.Willow gets home on the tail end of my cleaning spree, when I’m struggling to push my red-stained, gouged dresser out the front door. The only
GREYSONI pop the puck into the air with the blade of my stick, passing it to Knox. He catches it on his, letting it sit for a moment, before sending it flying across the room to Steele.Erik sits in the corner, his head bent as he works on… something.Fuck if I know.We’re all two beers in and getting restless.It’s been a hell of a week. Practice every night has been kicking my ass more than usual, and Coach has repeatedly yelled at us to get our heads in the game. He blew his whistle tonight until he was purple, then finally ordered us to run two miles in the gym and get the fuck out of his sight.Besides that, I’ve been watching Violet.She walks to school with Willow Reed. Sometimes they drive if the weather is particularly poor. On occasion, Violet takes her time and pauses often to rub down her thigh or mas
VIOLETI’ve been getting strange looks all day. And, stupid me, I write it off as being back after a semester away. It wasn’t like I was unpopular. People liked me. I had a good amount of friends, including a lot of the athletes. That was the circle I ran in, being on the dance team. But now, there’s a weird hush that precedes me. I’ve been in a quiet bubble, unable to break through it.Until Amanda finds me.She skids to a stop in front of me in the hallway outside my third and last class of the day. I created my schedule so the majority of my classes were on Mondays and Wednesdays, and I’m paying the price for it now.But besides that, Amanda seems stressed. Or nervous?“What’s wrong?”She bites her lip and releases it. “Willow’s been yelling in the IT department’s office for an hour.”
VIOLETSunlight slants across my face, and I groan. I block it with my hand, but then my overhead light flicks on.“Rise and shine, Sleeping Beauty. It’s almost one o’clock.” Willow climbs onto my bed, flopping beside me. “How are you feeling?”I squint at the ceiling. “Like my head is an anvil and it’s being struck by a hammer over and over. Undecided on my leg. Or the rest of me.” That’s a lie. As soon as I focus on my lower leg, pain shoots up into my hip in waves. I grit my teeth.“Well, you went a little hardcore…”Yeah, that’s true. I couldn’t bear to look at Greyson at the bar. He completely ignored me after accosting me in the bathroom. Instead, he flirted with Paris and one of her friends. And meanwhile, I kept freaking out.Why the hell is he here? Did he know
RaquelThere are tons of winter homes out here. Cabins and lodges and villas for the fancy rich elites of the world. I drive for at least two hours before we come across a cabin out in the middle of the forest. It’s quiet and secluded, surrounded on all sides by snow and mountains and evergreens. J
Gabriel“Foxtrot, duck!”My body reacts to the sound of her voice like a trained soldier obeying his drill sergeant. I duck out of the way just as Raquel comes flying in, smacking one of the guards right in the jaw before putting his gun-wielding arm in a stress hold. She puts so muc
RaquelIn another life, I could have been an award-winning actress. It’s incredibly liberating, getting to dress up and play a part. I arrive at the castle dressed in the catering uniform Klaus and Anders managed to snag for me. It fits like a glove. When I pull up to the security booth just
Gabriel“Let’s have dinner here tonight,” Raquel says with a sweet smile. “We can order room service and take it easy. Conserve our energy and whatnot.”I nod slowly. “Sounds good. We can run over our exit strategy one more time.”She presses a quick kiss to my cheek before







