I didn’t sleep.I couldn’t sleep.Luca had told me to go inside, but the second I shut my door, I knew he wasn’t going to let this go. I knew, without a doubt, that he was going to do something reckless.And I hated that I couldn’t stop him.Hated that a part of me didn’t want to stop him.Because even though I was scared—terrified, really—of what this all meant, there was something about Luca’s anger that made me feel safe.I wrapped my arms around my knees, staring out my window.Midnight had come and gone.No messages.No calls.I should have gone after him.I should have followed him down that hall and demanded he tell me what the hell he was planning.Instead, I let him walk away.A sharp knock at my door had me bolting upright.I froze.Then I slowly got up and crept toward it, heart hammering.Another knock. Louder this time.“Who is it?” My voice was barely above a whisper.“Me.”My stomach dropped.I yanked the door open.Luca stood there, soaked. His hoodie was drenched, rai
Her lips were warm. Soft. A sharp contrast to the rain still dripping from my clothes, to the raw ache in my knuckles.I kissed her like I was trying to make her understand—like I was trying to make myself believe it too.That she was mine.That I could protect her.That I hadn’t just made things so much worse.Her fingers dug into my hoodie, pulling me closer, not caring that I was still soaked, that my skin was cold to the touch.I groaned against her lips, half from the pain in my body, half from the way she felt against me—warm, alive, safe.I had no business touching her like this right now.Not after what I’d just done.Not after the kind of night I’d had.But I was weak when it came to Sienna.And right now, I needed to feel something other than rage.She whimpered into the kiss, and fuck—that sound alone nearly made me lose it.I deepened the kiss, hands sliding under her hoodie, feeling the heat of her bare skin beneath my fingers. She gasped as I pressed her back against the
My hands shook as I stared at the screen.The words blurred together, but they still burned into my brain.You should have stayed invisible.My stomach twisted. My chest felt tight, like I couldn’t get enough air.Luca ripped the phone from my hands before I could react. His jaw clenched so tight I thought it might break, his entire body going still.And then—He exploded.“Fucking hell.” His voice was raw, furious. He shot up from the bed, pacing the room like a caged animal, one hand in his hair, the other still gripping my phone so tightly his knuckles turned white.I just sat there, frozen.Because I knew this moment.I’d lived it before.Only last time, I hadn’t had anyone pacing the room, fists clenched in anger on my behalf.Last time, I’d been alone.Luca spun back toward me. “Has this happened before?”I hesitated.His eyes flashed. “Sienna.”I swallowed, fingers digging into the blanket beneath me. “Not exactly.”His nostrils flared. “Not exactly?”I pulled my knees up to my
I left Sienna’s dorm room feeling like I was going to rip someone’s throat out.I wasn’t stupid.She was hiding something.The way she looked at me, the hesitation in her voice—it was more than just a creepy text. This wasn’t new to her. Someone had been messing with her long before tonight.And I’d let it slip under my radar.That wasn’t fucking happening again.I didn’t go back to my room. I didn’t call Ethan or anyone else.I headed straight to my uncle’s office.By the time I reached the administration wing, it was well past midnight, but I didn’t give a shit.I pounded my fist against the door once before shoving it open.Matteo Russo looked up from his desk, brows lifting as he took in my stance. “Luca.” His voice was steady, unreadable. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”I threw my phone on his desk. “Someone is threatening her.”He didn’t blink. “Who?”I clenched my jaw. “If I knew that, I wouldn’t be here.”He picked up the phone and read the message. Then he set it down and le
I didn’t sleep.How could I?The message on my phone burned a hole in my brain, looping over and over again until my head ached. Every time I closed my eyes, I imagined shadows lurking in the corners, faceless figures watching me from the dark.I hated this feeling.Hated the fear curling inside me, whispering that no matter how far I ran, I’d never outrun my past.It was 5 AM when I finally gave up pretending to sleep. I got out of bed, dressed quickly, and slipped out of the dorm before the halls got busy.I needed air.I needed Luca.—The rugby field was empty when I got there, but I knew he’d been here.The crushed cigarette on the ground, the indent in the grass where someone had been sitting—it screamed Luca.A gust of wind hit me, sending a chill through my hoodie, and I hugged myself, scanning the horizon.Where are you?I didn’t have to wait long for an answer.I heard footsteps behind me, heavy and deliberate.I turned just as Luca came into view, his face shadowed by the e
I knew Ridgecrest Academy.I knew every whispered secret, every hushed conversation behind closed doors. I knew who controlled the social hierarchy, who ran the underground deals, and who had enough power to make someone disappear—figuratively and literally.And right now, my instincts were screaming that something was very, very wrong.Amanda’s little stunt in the dining hall wasn’t just some petty attempt to get under Sienna’s skin. No—this was calculated. A well-placed strike meant to rattle her. And the way she spoke?She knew something.Something I didn’t.And that was unacceptable.—“Tell me everything.”Ethan and Jaxon sat across from me in my room, the tension thick enough to choke on. Sienna was next to me, curled up in my hoodie like she belonged there. Like she was mine.She was still shaken, though she’d never admit it. I could feel the way her fingers twisted the fabric of my sleeve, the barely-there tremor in her breath.And I wanted blood for it.Ethan sighed, running
I had been afraid before.Afraid of my father’s debt.Afraid of the notices that piled up on our doorstep.Afraid of the way people whispered when they thought I wasn’t listening.But this?This was something else entirely.Because now, it wasn’t just fear—it was a warning.Amanda had made it clear that she knew something. And now, thanks to Luca, Ethan, and Jaxon, we knew why.She was in Matteo Russo’s pocket.Which meant I wasn’t just dealing with Ridgecrest’s elite.I was dealing with Luca’s family.And if there was one thing I’d learned in my short time here, it was this: The Russos didn’t play fair.—I sat in Luca’s dorm, curled up in his oversized hoodie, my arms wrapped around my knees.Across from me, he paced like a caged animal.Jaxon was slouched in the chair by the window, arms crossed, while Ethan leaned against the wall, looking unusually serious.The silence was suffocating.Then—“We need to take control of this,” Luca said, voice sharp.Ethan nodded. “Yeah. The quest
Ridgecrest had always been a battlefield.Most people didn’t see it that way.To them, it was just another elite prep school where rich kids played pretend, and the only real consequences were bad grades and college rejection letters.But I knew better.Because Ridgecrest wasn’t about education.It was about power.Who had it.Who controlled it.And who was willing to burn the entire place down to keep it.Matteo Russo had been pulling the strings for years.Now?He was about to find out what happened when his own blood turned against him.—Sienna sat across from me in my room, legs crossed, her sharp eyes locked on the papers scattered across my desk. The dim glow from my desk lamp cast long shadows across her face, highlighting the determination in her expression. She didn’t look nervous. She looked ready.Which was good.Because we were past the point of turning back.Jaxon leaned against my desk, flipping through the file she had pulled together. “So, what’s the move?”Ethan crac
I needed to hit something.I needed to feel the burn in my knuckles, the sting of impact, something that hurt as much as the betrayal lodged deep in my chest.Sienna knew. She had known for months. And she hadn’t told me.The girl I trusted—the girl I wanted more than anything—had been keeping secrets about the one thing I could never forgive. My father. His debt. The chains he wrapped around people, forcing them to bend until they broke.I stormed across campus, barely registering where I was going until I shoved open the doors to the gym. The space was mostly empty except for a couple of guys on the treadmills and some freshmen half-assing their lifts. None of them mattered.I zeroed in on the punching bag in the corner and walked straight to it, my pulse hammering in my ears.One hit. Then another. Then another.My fists landed over and over, each impact reverberating up my arms, but it wasn’t enough. Nothing was enough.How the fuck had I not seen it?I thought I knew her. Thought
The weight of my confession settled over us like a thick fog, suffocating, inescapable.Luca hadn’t said a word in the last five minutes. Not since I told him the truth. Not since the ground beneath us cracked open, sending us spiraling into free fall.He just stood there, hands braced on his knees, head bowed as if the force of what I’d said had physically knocked the breath out of him.And maybe it had.I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to suppress the tremors in my hands. My heartbeat was a chaotic rhythm in my chest, each thud a countdown to whatever would come next.I wanted him to say something. Anything.Scream. Demand answers. Tell me he hated me.But the silence was worse.“Luca,” I whispered.He straightened slowly, his eyes shadowed, unreadable. When he finally met my gaze, I almost wished he hadn’t.Because he didn’t look at me like he had yesterday.Not like I was the girl he wanted, the girl he burned for.No, he looked at me like I was the lie he never saw coming.
The moment Luca walked away, the air in my room felt thinner.Like he’d taken every ounce of oxygen with him.Like he’d taken me with him.I stood there for a long time, staring at the closed door, trying to breathe past the tightness in my chest.But the panic had already settled.He knew.I had spent months, months, trying to keep this secret buried. I had convinced myself that if I just played my cards right, if I stayed quiet, if I did everything I could to keep my head down, I could outrun the inevitable.But there was no outrunning Luca Russo.And now that he knew, everything was going to change.I sat down on the edge of my bed, my hands shaking as I pressed my fingers to my temples. My brain was already spiraling through the worst possibilities.Would he tell someone?Would he go after Matteo?Would Matteo find out that Luca knew?The last thought sent ice through my veins.If Matteo even suspected that I had talked, that I had said anything—No.I couldn’t let myself think li
I walked.I didn’t know where I was going, didn’t care. I just needed to move, needed to put as much distance between myself and Sienna as possible before I said something I couldn’t take back.The halls of Ridgecrest blurred around me, students shifting in my peripheral vision. I could hear their voices—some laughing, some whispering—but none of it registered.All I could hear was her voice.“My father owed Matteo a debt.”It replayed in my head like a slow-motion car crash, twisting and distorting until it was the only thing I could think about. The only thing I could feel.My father.Her father.Connected in a way neither of us had ever spoken about.Because she hid it from me.And I let her in anyway.The thought made me sick.I reached the field before I realized where my feet had taken me. The empty bleachers loomed in front of me, and for a second, I almost turned back. But my body was too wired, my hands shaking with the kind of anger that needed an outlet.So I walked straigh
The moment the words left my mouth, the room shrank. The air thickened, pressing against my chest, suffocating.Luca’s expression didn’t change at first. His body remained tense, rigid. But his hands—his hands flexed at his sides like he was holding himself together by sheer willpower.The silence between us stretched, sharp as a blade.Then—quiet. Too quiet.“What did you just say?”I swallowed hard. “You heard me.”“Say it again.”His voice was different now. Dark. Cold. A warning wrapped in a command.My breath shook as I forced myself to look at him. “My father owed Matteo a debt.”Luca exhaled sharply through his nose, but it wasn’t relief. It was something closer to rage.“And you knew,” he said flatly.I opened my mouth. Closed it. What was I supposed to say? That I had been drowning in this secret, knowing it would destroy us? That I had spent months fearing this exact moment?That I had fallen for him despite knowing how this would end?I hesitated too long.Luca let out a sh
She kissed me back.And for a second—for one reckless, unthinking moment—I thought maybe we could pretend the rest of the world didn’t exist.That there weren’t a thousand reasons why this was a bad idea.That there weren’t secrets coiling between us like barbed wire, ready to tighten and rip us apart the moment we got too close.But then Sienna pulled away.Her breath was unsteady, her lips parted, her eyes wide with something that looked a hell of a lot like panic.And just like that, reality crashed down between us.She stepped back like I’d burned her. “I can’t do this.”My jaw clenched. “Why not?”“Because it’s—” She exhaled, shaking her head. “It’s dangerous.”I let out a low laugh, sharp and humorless. “No shit, Hayes.”She glared at me. “I’m serious.”“So am I.” I took a step closer. She took another step back. It felt like a goddamn metaphor. “You think I don’t know this is a bad idea? That I don’t know everything about us is messed up?”She swallowed hard but didn’t answer.
I needed to stay away from him.That much was clear.Every time I let my guard slip, even a little, Luca Russo found a way to get under my skin. A glance, a touch, a single word spoken in that low, infuriating voice, and suddenly I was right back where I swore I wouldn’t be—on the edge of something reckless.Something dangerous.Something I couldn’t afford.So why had I gone to the match?Why had I stood there, watching him dominate the field, moving like he owned every inch of that stadium?And why—when he came to me afterward, sweat-drenched and looking at me like I was the only thing in the world that mattered—had I felt like my resolve was slipping through my fingers?This had to stop.It had to.By the time I got back to my dorm, I felt like I’d run a marathon.“Where have you been?” Lila asked, sitting cross-legged on her bed, scrolling through her phone.“Nowhere,” I mumbled, stripping off my hoodie.She arched a brow. “Lies. You were at the game, weren’t you?”I groaned, flopp
I should have walked away.Should have turned around and let it go.But I didn’t.I couldn’t.Sienna fucking Hayes had a grip on me I didn’t understand, and every time I tried to pull away, something yanked me right back.She didn’t say a word after I let her go in the hallway, just turned and disappeared down the corridor like she didn’t feel the weight of my eyes on her. Like she didn’t hear the pounding in my chest when she was close.And that?That pissed me off more than anything.Because she should know.She should fucking see it.I ran a hand through my hair, my jaw tight as I stalked into the locker room before rugby practice. The usual chaos filled the space—teammates throwing jabs, the clatter of cleats against the tile, the sharp scent of sweat and determination.But I barely heard any of it.“Jesus, Russo, you look like you’re about to kill someone.” Ethan’s voice cut through my storm, and I turned to see him watching me from his locker, one brow raised.“Not now,” I mutte
I didn’t sleep.Not really.I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, my heart still racing from the night before. Every time I closed my eyes, I could feel Luca’s hand on my back, the heat of his body when he’d whispered, Trust me.God, I was so screwed.The thrill of almost getting caught still buzzed in my veins. It wasn’t just the danger of sneaking around that had my body on high alert—it was him.Luca Russo.The boy I swore I wouldn’t get close to. The boy I was failing miserably at resisting.The worst part?I didn’t even want to resist anymore.I turned onto my side, hugging my pillow to my chest, but sleep never came. By the time the morning announcements played over the intercom, I was already wide awake, staring at my uniform hanging on the closet door.I needed to pull myself together.This was getting reckless.Luca was dangerous—if not for my heart, then for my entire future.If he found out the truth about my father… about why I was really here…No.I forced myself to sit u