Cruel Love (Privilege 6)

“I got us dinner,” he said, dropping a takeout bag on her desk. He shook his jacket off his shoulders and tossed it on Kaitlynn’s bare bed. “When I went to the dining hall to get you and saw that you weren’t there, I figured you had some kind of premonition that you shouldn’t fill up on greasy roast beef when I was going to show up bearing gourmet Chinese.”

Ariana inhaled the sweet and spicy scents wafting her way from the open bag. Never could she have imagined that she would feel so grateful to someone for bringing her spring rolls and rice. Clearly, he was the one who was psychic. He seemed to always know exactly what she needed.

“You might be the greatest boyfriend of all time,” she said.

Jasper slipped his arm around her waist and smiled. “I aim to please.”

Then he kissed her, and for the first time all day, Ariana forgot all about Victor Meloni. She forgot all about Reed and Palmer and what tomorrow might bring. All that mattered was where she was right at that very moment.

With Jasper.

FORMER LIFE

The sun was just starting to brighten the gray morning sky when Ariana slipped into the Georgetown biology building’s admittedly dungeonlike basement through a service entrance in the back. The hallway smelled of formaldehyde and rotting garbage, and she covered her nose with her cashmere scarf to keep from choking. Taking a deep breath through her mouth, she stood for a moment and listened. All was silent and dim. The only real light in the underground hallway emanated from the glowing, red exit sign behind her head.

Somewhere in this basement was Reed Brennan, and wherever she was, she was all alone. Adrenaline coursed through Ariana’s veins, and her fingers curled into claws. She couldn’t wait to sink her fingernails into the bitch’s skin.

Walking on her tiptoes, Ariana crept to the first door and peeked through the long, skinny window. The room was dark. She checked the lab across the hall. One light shone at the professor’s desk, but it appeared to have been left on overnight. There was no sign of life. Outside the third door, Ariana hit pay dirt. There was a clipboard tacked to the wall, displaying a lab schedule. Under SIX O’CLOCK, FRIDAY MORNING, Reed Brennan—and only Reed Brennan—had signed her name.

Suddenly, there was a loud click—the sound of a bolt lock opening—and Ariana heard the upstairs door creak. It had to be Reed. She was five minutes late, but she was here. Heart in her throat, Ariana flung herself inside the lab and pressed back against the cinder-block wall. The only windows in the long, dank room, were set high in the opposite wall, and all were closed against the cold.

All the better to keep anyone from hearing you scream, Ariana thought, smiling in anticipation.

All the overhead lights were off, making it nearly pitch dark.

All the better to surprise you, Ariana added.

She heard shuffling on the stairs and bit down hard on her lip to keep from laughing with sheer glee. But then, she heard a voice. And it wasn’t Reed’s.

“Can’t believe you made me get up at the ass crack of dawn. Have I ever been a morning person?”

The triumphant excitement emanating from Ariana’s heart froze in midair and shattered. It was Noelle Lange.

“I can’t believe you actually came,” Reed replied.

“Wait. I had a choice?” Noelle said.

Ariana’s heart was in turmoil. She hadn’t laid eyes on Noelle Lange since her sham of a funeral last summer. What was she doing here? Did she go to Georgetown too? But no. This was not possible. If Noelle were a student here Ariana undoubtedly would have seen her by now. And Noelle had always dreamed of going to Yale. There was no doubt in Ariana’s mind that she had found a way to get there. This made no sense. No sense at al

l.

“I already e-mailed the professor to tell him I wouldn’t be in class because of the memorial service,” Reed said. “I just have to print out the lab I finished last night and then we can get out of here.”

“Fine. And then you are buying me one huge cup of coffee,” Noelle chided.

They were right outside the door. Ariana looked around in desperation. She dropped down behind the first storage table and yanked on the cabinet door, but it was full of beakers and Bunsen burners. The doorknob began to turn. Ariana whirled around and spotted a four-doored closet. Praying it wasn’t locked, she pulled on the handle. It swung open, dumping several lab coats onto the floor and all over her feet. Ariana scooped them up in her arms, jumped inside, and swung the door closed behind her, jamming her fingers in the process. The pain exploded so suddenly she saw stars.

“Damn it,” she hissed under her breath.

She brought her fingers to her mouth and sucked on them, half to dull the pain and half to keep herself quiet. The lights in the lab flickered to life and Ariana could just see a sliver of the room as Noelle and Reed entered. She caught a glimpse of Noelle’s long, dark hair as she passed the closet and paused. Her black coat. Her diamond earrings. Her heart felt as if it was going to burst with longing.

Noelle. Noelle was right there. If Ariana reached out she could have grabbed her sleeve.

Suddenly, her vision started to prickle over. She leaned back against the hooks full of lab coats behind her, closed her eyes and breathed.

In, one … two … three …

Out, one … two … three …