Cruel Love (Privilege 6)

With another deep, cleansing breath, Ariana tucked her short auburn hair behind her ear and strode into the library, her head held high. She walked to the back of the study carrels and found an empty desk, where she quickly plugged in her laptop. Her plan for the evening had been to start organizing her notes for her chemistry final, but now she knew there was no way she would be able to concentrate on that sort of menial task. Not until she got some planning out of the way first.

Ariana shed her coat, sat down, and jumped her chair forward until her rib cage was pressed firmly against the edge of the desk. She blew out a breath and pushed her hair back from her face with both hands.

Killing Dr. Meloni was going to be different. The man was older, wiser, and more physically powerful than anyone she’d ever dealt with before. There had been times in the past, times she wasn’t exactly proud of, when the killing had come out of nowhere. It had sprung from sudden and violent emotions, like when she’d lost her cool with Thomas Pearson. Or simple convenient twists of fate, like that day she’d let Sergei Tretyakov drown in the lake near the Easton campus. She had planned out Kaitlynn’s murder rather meticulously, but that had been necessary. Kaitlynn, like Meloni, was smart and intuitive with serious reflexes, not to mention a killer survival instinct. So Meloni, like Kaitlynn, required a plan.

Ariana opened a new Word document and started to organize her to-do list. She typed it up quickly, glancing over her shoulder every so often to make sure no one was near enough to see her screen.

Get his schedule down to the minute

Visit his house again. Check for:

Security system

Points of entry

Evidence of other residents

Heavy traffic times (probably none)

Place to park the car least visible from road

Work on handwriting

Here, Ariana paused and closed her eyes, thinking back to the Brenda T. She had no problem envisioning Dr. Meloni’s signature. He’d written it on every chart, every prescription order, every report, every demerit. But most of the documents had been typed up on a computer, then signed by hand. Biting her bottom lip, she opened her eyes again. There was no way she would be able to write out the entire suicide note. Even if she broke into his on-campus office, she was fairly certain she wouldn’t be able to find enough writing samples to perfect his handwriting.

“I’ll have to type it out, print it, then sign it,” she murmured under her breath. “That’s what he would do anyway.”

She went back to her list of things to do at his house and added:

Location of computer?

Then she recalled another serious necessity and added that as well.

Find his gun

If no gun, must buy one.

Find out what one needs to buy a gun legally

Consider illegal avenues???

Buy treats/meat for Rambo distraction

Ariana sat back in her chair and blew out a breath. She was feeling much calmer, more peaceful, than she had while listening to Meloni’s message. This was going to be fine. It was going to be perfect, actually. The only question was when? When would Dr. Victor Meloni meet his end?

Smiling, Ariana imagined how the whole thing would play out. Imagined the look of shock on his face when he recognized her. How sweet it would all be. She could hardly wait.

“But you have to,” she whispered to herself. “Reed comes first, then Meloni. You’ve bought yourself time. Just remember that. You have time.”

Ariana clicked open her calendar and scanned it. The next few weeks were going to be so busy, with studying for finals, her big birthday bash, Stone and Grave events, and getting ready for Christmas break. She narrowed her eyes as she scanned the dates, and finally decided everything could wait at least until after her birthday party that Friday night. She deserved to have a little stress-free fun. Once all the champagne had been popped, all the cake devoured, and all the presents opened, then she could deal with the tasks at hand.

Both Reed Brennan and Dr. Meloni had just been granted a slight reprieve, and they didn’t even know it. Ariana smiled, saved her document and opened her chem notes, feeling like a benevolent saint—putting her own needs aside and granting her victims a few more precious days of life.

RESIGNATION

As Ariana led her fellow Stone and Grave members into the cave for her first official meeting as president, she tried as hard as she could to force a solemn expression onto her face. She fixed her eyes on the candle closest to the place of honor she would now occupy and stared it down, attempting to think somber thoughts. Thoughts about death and responsibility and privilege. But she just couldn’t do it. The giddy bubbles that had danced inside of her chest all afternoon had pumped up the party to a frenzied roar, and try as she might, there was just no keeping the ridiculous grin off her face.

She was president of Stone and Grave. She was president of Stone and Grave!