Viola
Late Saturday morning, I wake up cold and cranky in the front seat of my Audi. I must have fallen asleep. The thin blanket I keep on the back seat did nothing for my mood. With all the testosterone in the frat house these days, cold and cranky are right up my alley.
I check Quinn’s office and the place still looks dark. I can only guess that Dante has her there and won’t let her leave. I’m not worried. Not about Quinn. She’s smart enough not to get herself killed. Plus, I should go home and prepare. Waiting here will gain me nothing.
Not that I know where we’re meeting yet.
Dante would never set the time and place until the last moment. It’s what he does when dealing with people he doesn’t like or trust, which says a hell of a lot about our relationship now.
When I get home, Jude’s fucking car is blocking the driveway. I park on the road and walk the rest of the way to the front door. A sharp laugh escapes me. The fucker has changed the locks. I’m a trained killer. Did he think a few metal bolts would keep me out?
I don’t have a lock pick on me, but I can see through the glass it’s an automatic dead-latch with a 5 lever mortice. Not unbreakable like the locksmiths like to pretend. But I don’t have the time or the energy to bother with ‘picking’ it. Fucking Jude. I say it several times under my breath, like it’s some kind of stress-relieving mantra. Then I take out my pistol, attach the silencer, and shoot around it until the door is fucked enough to swing open.
Next time get a bigger lock.
Jude strides into the hallway eyes bugging out of his damned head at the sight of me as I kick the door open. Didn’t expect that did you, you fucking tosser? I calmly walk past him, not giving him or the damage the bullets have done to the plasterboard a sideways glance as I return the pistol to my backpack.
“You could have knocked,” he seethes.
I look up as I finish putting the pistol away, not bothering to answer. His gaze rakes over the damage. He’s wearing only boxers. He must have just woken up since his blond hair is disheveled, and his hazel eyes are red-rimmed and tired-looking. But he’s ripped. All that rugby after school paid off. If I wasn’t so damned horny, I’d drink my fill. But….
He follows me into the main lounge. There’s a frozen image of boxing on the screen that takes up the entire wall, and the room is littered with empty beer bottles and pizza boxes. Usually, the place is immaculate. I walk through the lounge and into the connected kitchen and dump my pack on the dining table.
He comes close, blocking my exit, stinking of alcohol and sweat. Underneath is the underlying scent of male. It’s not unpleasant. It’s actually turning me on. Fuck. There I go again. Put me in a frat house with three guys and no sex, and watch what happens. Viola has to kill to get her kicks. I’d die first before I ever admit that’s why I moved on the list early. It was the only way to get a good night’s sleep in this place.
“Are you going to pay for that?” Jude snarls at me.
I shoot him a look. Is he still going on about the door? “No,” I say simply. “You’re the one who changed the locks.” It’s a guess but I’m positively sure it wasn’t Dino or Lorcan.
“Fucking bitch,” he says. “Take the hint. You’re not staying here. This is a frat house. No girls allowed…unless they’re in my fucking bed. Although, that could be arranged.”
I roll my eyes. “Get out of my way, Jude.”
“Or what?”
My pack is still open so I slip the pistol from it and hold it so he can see it. “Or I’ll shoot your pathetic excuse for a dick off.”
“That’s not how you reacted the other day,” he smirks but steps aside, pretty hazel eyes wide awake now and filled with malice. “You wanted it.”
He’s referring to the night he came home completely wasted and the fucker stripped and got into the shower while I was brushing my teeth. My room doesn’t have an ensuite so I use the main bathroom which annoyingly doesn’t have a lock. I stood my ground. I was there first. I even got a good look while he soaped his cock into an erection, but left shaking my head before he could jerk off right in front of me.
“I left before the nightmares began. There are some things you just can’t unsee,” I say.
“You know, you’re not that good a liar.”
“Whatever,” I say, heading toward the stairs.
“You’re a pretty useless hired gun too. I’m still fucking waiting for you to kill Carl Marques.”
“And I’m still waiting for you to pay me,” I snap back. I walk out of the room leaving him standing there, heading upstairs with my pistol in hand to the bedroom I’ve started calling mine.
I’m going to buy new locks tomorrow and fix them to the bathroom and my bedroom door. Until then, if Jude so much as puts an ear to either of them, I’m going to blow his brains out. Dino and Lorcan too. I’m sick of guys walking into my personal space.
I need my privacy.
They think they call the shots. They don’t. There’s only one person I know who could take me out.
Dante.