“Have you met Shane Ross before this?” Victor asked on our way to the restaurant.“No, but I’ve read all his articles,” I replied. “My Ethics professor arranged for me to meet him tonight. Have you met him?”I was puzzled by Victor’s odd behavior ever since I told him who I was meeting.At first, I thought he was excited to meet Shane, but I sensed he was feeling apprehensive with a tinge of jealousy.But why?“I was introduced to him at Moonglow,” Victor replied. “It was right after his first article on slumlords came out.”“I remember that article,” I said. “Amy brought a copy of it to school.”“That article forced Alex to create new laws for landlords,” Victor told me.“Good. New laws were long overdue,” I argued. “All tenants should have basic necessities like heat and plumbing in rental properties.”“But then the landlords raised the rents,” Victor reminded me.“And Shane wrote another article that inspired Alex to start a rent supplementation program,” I said. “Shane is doing wh
Victor was quiet when we got into his car and began the drive back to his apartment.I could still sense his anxiety and jealousy and understood why he felt this way. But I was determined to work with Shane on the story, so we needed to talk about it.“You don’t want me doing the story with Shane,” I said, breaking the silence in the car.“Does it matter if I don’t?” he asked.“You always matter to me,” I replied. “But I don’t know why you don’t trust me.”“I didn’t say I don’t trust you,” he insisted.“I can feel your jealousy,” I said. “We can’t hide our feelings from each other.”“Maybe I am a little jealous,” Victor admitted. “You are a special and beautiful woman. So, of course, I am uneasy with you working closely with an attractive, charming man like Shane.”“You are attractive and charming,” I reminded him. “Like most women, I think you are the hottest man alive, and I love you. We are fated mates. I want to marry you after I graduate and have your children.”“I know deep dow
I contemplated texting Findlay to ask him to meet me somewhere, but I decided to go to The Association to lure him out in case the faction could intercept his messages.After Amy agreed to help me, I picked her up at the manor, and we drove to The Association Complex and parked in a lot near the front of the main entrance.At the door, I saw Rodney Wells, the head of the complex security, speaking with another security guard.“Just go with whatever I say,” I told Amy. “Although this guy gives me bad vibes, I’m going to ask him for help. I don’t want to seem like I suspect anything.”“Don’t worry,” Amy said. “I’ll follow your lead.”I took a deep breath, and we walked over to the security guards.“Hi,” I said with a faux giggle. “Rodney, right?”He tapped his name tag.“Oh, yeah.” I giggled again. “I was hoping you could help us. I need to talk to Victor’s personal assistant, Findlay, without Victor knowing about it.”Rodney’s eyes narrowed. “Why?” The suspicious vibes he was giving of
Findlay tried to call his husband again with the same result. “Daisy, we need to go back right away.”“Amy, I don’t think you should go with us,” I said. “I don’t know what’s going on at The Association, and it might be safer for you to stay here.”“Sure. I’ll visit with Dad and have Justin pick me up.” Amy jumped out of the car. “Hey, Why don’t you take Dad’s pickup back to The Association? It might be better if the faction doesn't see you coming.”“What do you think?” I asked Findlay.Findlay nodded. “If the faction knows I am a spy, it would help if they didn’t know I was returning for Tony.”“The keys are under the floor mat,” Amy said. “Good luck, Findlay. I hope Tony is okay.”“Thanks, Amy,” Findlay replied as he jumped into the passenger seat of Elliot Gray’s old pickup. He was shaking with fear for his mate. “Please hurry, Daisy.”The truck started easily, and the controls were similar to my car. And it was kind of fun to be behind the wheel of something so high from the groun
The passages were silent, and they seemed much more familiar to me than they had before.Leading Findlay through the shorter tunnels and then down the longest passage, I quickly found the stone wolf that opened the door to the bathroom.I pressed the wolf’s nose, and the stone wall between the ivory columns moved inward.“It’s a good thing you know about this way inside the complex,” Findlay whispered. “I’m grateful, Daisy.”Doing something to help Tony was making Findlay feel much calmer. I was glad. It would take cool heads to survive this situation, especially if it was as bad as I thought.“Let’s find those weapons,” I said. “We may need them.”I was frightened and didn’t like the thought of handling a gun, but I was determined to help Victor and Alex in any way necessary.We went out the bathroom door into the hallway, and Findlay looked around.“I never used this bathroom, but I know where we are,” he said. “It’s not far from my office.”It was my turn to follow him. The halls o
“No, Daisy.” Victor shook his head. “You can go back to the passages, even for Cassidy. It’s too dangerous.”I pulled away from him. “I’ve been in the passages twice this morning. I just came from there, and I’m in one piece. I’ll be fine.”“Listen to him, Daisy. I can’t lose you either,” Alex said. But his face was contorted in agony. He loved Cassidy. She was his second chance for happiness in life.I couldn’t let him lose her like he lost my mother.I kissed Victor and backed away. “I’ll be back soon.”“Daisy, no!” Victor and Alex shouted.“Don’t worry.” I tucked the gun into my waistband. “I’ll be fine.”“I can’t ask you to risk your life to save Cassidy’s,” Alex said. “I’ve only had you back in my life for a year. I don’t want to lose you either.”“You didn’t ask me to do anything. Stop worrying. I’ll be back,” I insisted and hugged Alex.After giving Victor a last loving look, I left the room and made my way through the complex’s empty halls to the bathroom.I checked the bathro
The door to the outside opened. Cassidy and I picked up the bomb and ran out to the parking lot.“We need to get it away from the building,” Cassidy said.There was a field beyond the parking lot, but we’d never be able to run there in time and then get far enough away before it exploded to not get killed.I spotted Elliot Gray’s truck parked a few feet away and realized the parking lot tilted toward the field. It gave me an idea.I opened the driver’s door. “Help me put it on the seat,” I told Cassidy.She didn’t argue. We had fifteen seconds until the red light came on. Ten seconds after that, the bomb would explode.After the box was on the driver's seat, I stepped on the brake and put the transmission in neutral before closing the door.Then Cassidy and I pushed the already rolling truck to get it moving faster and rushed back inside the passageway door.We were about fifteen feet inside the passage when the sound of the explosion tore through the air.When it was over, we ran bac
Instead of hiding in the bathroom and crying, I changed into shorts and a t-shirt so I could go into the home gym to take out my anger and frustration on the heavy punching bag.Kickboxing had become a hobby that I enjoyed. I attended classes at Jayden’s gym at least three times a week. The instructor told me I had a natural talent for it.Avoiding Victor, I went through the living room to get to the short hallway that led to Victor’s den and gym.I flipped on the lights and gazed at my reflection in the mirrors lining the walls. The sour expression on my face made me cringe.I began practicing leg work on the heavy bag, remembering the romantic dinner Victor had ready for me when I woke up.I kicked the bag harder, wondering if I had been unreasonable.He didn’t want me to quit college to work full-time with Shane. After the experience with Chloe, I understood how jealousy can make you think irrationally. But I’ve never done anything to give Victor a reason not to trust me.“You had