A Promise of Torment (A Violent Agenda)

VIOLA

I’m not good with kids or catatonic mothers. I shamelessly leave Quinn to deal with both Pascal and Rebecca the next day. Lorcan and Dino seem to have slipped back into how things used to be in the frat house. At least that’s how it feels. Lorcan cooks me breakfast, Dino brings me coffee.

It’s nice.

But Lily is still missing, Dante hasn’t come home, and Jude is still in Juvie.

And Adrien and Kristian are also still very much alive.

“I checked with Quinn. There’s no sign of him,” says Dino, taking a seat next to me in the cafeteria of the school. “Here,” he says, sliding a latte over to me. There’s a kitchenette in the boarding house, but the main cafeteria has a proper coffee machine. It also has one wall of sliding glass doors that open onto a view of the lake. It’s a good place to drink coffee and decide who to kill next.

Dino is looking at me, waiting for me to respond.

“Dante said he’d come back,” I say. “So he will.” I don’t know why I feel the need to explain Dante’s actions or defend him, but I do.

Dino nods. “I believe you.”

I look at him blankly. “So, are you and Lor staying?” I guessed as much after last night. Things have become messy again between us. And while I adore messy, I don’t like complicated.

“I said I’d never leave you,” Dino says, resting a hand on my knee. I don’t flinch, or feel the urge to slice his dick off, so that’s progress. “About last night…”

“I’m not going to break, I told you that.”

“I just want to make sure that you’re fine. Because if you’re not ready—”

“If you don’t stop talking, I’ll cut your tongue out,” I say in a mild tone. I appreciate the boys being cautious, I do. They’re allowed to be. I just want them to stop fussing and help me kill the people who deserve to die.

Dino puts his cup down, takes my coffee out of my hands, and then takes my hands in his.

“I told you before, I’m not leaving you. Ever,” he says, his baby blue eyes looking deep into mine.

“I treat you like shit,” I say to him.

He smirks. “Sometimes. And other times you blow my mind.”

“That blowjob was a one time deal,” I say. “I felt sorry for you.”

He chuckles. “You can feel sorry for me whenever you like.”

There’s a noise at the far side of the room where the entrance is. I glance up to see Pascal standing at the doors. She’s still shit scared of me.

Dino straightens and waves her in. “Pascal, are you okay? Did you want something?”

“Quinn sent me to get her a coffee,” she says.

Dino nods and gets to his feet. “Come on, let me show you how to make a blinding cup of coffee.”

I take the opportunity to leave the cafeteria. It’s getting too crowded, and I need some air.

I slaughtered a handful of Kato’s men last night before he escaped, but the itching under my skin hasn’t gone away. They were quick deaths that I had little or no control over. Kills like that have never quenched my ‘thirst’. The release I desire is harder to satisfy. It’s becoming more and more elusive. I’m the monster my father always wanted me to be.

Cold.

Dark.

And alone.

As much as Dino says he will never leave me, he will. Dante has, so why not the others? And they did before. I pushed them away and they left. How much longer can I keep up this pretense that I’m fine?