“Look, it hasn’t hit the news yet but it will by tomorrow-” Dad said.
“What will?”
“They figured out the source of this fucking virus,” he growled.
“Oh, right.” I suppressed a sigh. Dad had been determined to blame someone ever since Mom had died. He’d been suckered in by a bunch of conspiracy theorists about government cover ups and bio weapons. I was pretty sure they were just after his money to fund their nonsense research, but I hadn’t tried to stop him. He had plenty of money if he wanted to waste some of it, and if it gave him some kind of peace to believe in that bullshit then he could have it.
“I’m not talking about some theory, Blake. I’m talking about confirmed information. That virus was a fucking bio weapon, but it was supposed to be on strict lockdown because they don’t have a cure for the fucking thing.”
“You’re saying the government are admitting this?” I asked, my interest piqued.
“Yes! They are because they’ve also figured out where the leak came from.”
“Really? Where?”
“This asshole disgruntled scientist who worked in the labs. He stole it and sold it to god knows who, or maybe he released it himself, I don’t fucking know but it clearly got out into the world.”
“So they’ve arrested him?” I asked hopefully. I hoped they’d gotten hold of him in a state with the death penalty so that fucker could fry.
“No,” Dad ground out. “Unfortunately the asshole realised they were onto him and he’s gone on the run.”
“Fuck,” I cursed, pacing up and down as I tried to process this.
Someone, some fucking, pathetic, worthless, money grabbing shrew of a man had done this. Had infected the world with this poison. Had killed my fucking mom! I wanted his head. I wanted him dead and bloody at my feet. I didn’t know how I’d manage such a thing, but I wanted it more than I could possibly put into words. More than I’d ever wanted anything.
I couldn’t hear anything beyond the ringing in my ears and all I could see was black. No…red. Because rage was red and I was full up to bursting with it. Fucking exploding with it.
Dad was saying something else, but I couldn’t hear him above the pulse pounding in my ears.
“Did you hear what I just said?” he demanded.
“No. What was it?” I ground out.
“I said that they haven’t released his name to the public yet, but I used my sources to get my hands on it. And my guys tore through every scrap of information there is on him out there.”
“And?” I asked.
“And. His name is Donovan Rivers, he’s a scientist, obviously, but he’s also a prepper, into all kinds of shit, but that’s not what matters because I found his weakness. He tried to hide her away when he realised this would all come out, but he chose the wrong goddamn place to do it.”
“Hide who away?” I asked with a frown.
“His daughter. Tatum Rivers. She’s at your school!” He kept talking but I couldn’t hear him anymore because my skin was crawling, my head was pounding and my heart was beating to a beat so powerful it fucking hurt.
No! No, no, no, no NO!
How the fuck had this happened? She wasn’t just at my school, she was in my bed! I’d just made her come. She’d been looking at me like the world began and ended with me. But it didn’t end with me…it ended with her.
Rage clawed at me, burrowing its way out of my heart and working its way through my veins, poisoning each and every part of me, consuming me. This was her father’s fault. Which meant it might as well be her fault. This whole fucking thing, the sickness, people dying, my mom…shit.
“Make her life hell, son,” Dad growled in my ear.
“You can count on it,” I snarled in reply before ending the call.
I turned away from the dorms and ran to the far end of the path where there was a sign for a lookout point with a view over the lake to the mountain beyond. I raced up to the top, my feet falling still at the very peak of the cliff.
I clawed my hands into my hair and roared my grief to the sky. My voice echoed on and on endlessly and I stumbled back, falling to my knees as I gripped my cellphone almost hard enough to break the damn thing.
I needed to do something about this, but I couldn’t think clearly through the fog of rage and grief that consumed me.
I needed Saint. He’d know how to deal with this. He could think it through properly. I dialled his number with trembling fingers and put the phone to my ear as it started ringing and I waited.
He answered on the fifth ring and I just hoped he had the answers I needed.
***
I headed back to my dorm over two hours later, wondering if fate was shining on me and the daughter of the man I’d sworn to kill would still be in my bed. I’d done a good job of wearing her out last night so I had to hope that she’d just fallen asleep again while waiting for me to come back.
I’d spent the last two hours at The Temple with Saint and Kyan and we had a damn good plan for how we were going to play this now. I just needed to keep my cool for a while longer. Play the game. Keep her sweet.
And despite the bitter taste it left sitting on my tongue, I was willing to swallow it down for the sake of what we needed to do.
This part of the plan was all mine. I hadn’t even told the other Night Keepers. I just told them I was going for a walk and I’d be back. And that was in part because I still wasn’t entirely sure I could stomach it. But there was only one way to find out.
I headed into Hazel House and took the stairs two at a time before walking to the far end of the corridor where my room sat. It wasn’t much of a personal space. My real room was in The Temple, but Saint didn’t want us bringing girls back there so that was pretty much the sole purpose of my room. Just a place to take girls and fuck them. Nothing more.
My heart hammered to a war beat as I lingered outside the door, wondering if I could really play this part while so much hatred warred beneath my flesh.
But there was only one way to find out.
I pushed the door open and was equally relieved and infuriated to find Tatum still sleeping in my bed.
Her golden hair spilled all around her and she’d rolled onto her front, pulling the covers over her body, though the curve of her ass still drew my gaze through them.
Damn her. Damn her for being so fucking tempting. It was like she’d been specifically designed with my cock in mind. Everything about her drew me in. From the sexy, rough edge on her voice to the perfection of her body and those fucking blue eyes which saw into my soul.
I’d never known a girl who I even wanted to see again the next day, let alone fuck again. And yet despite everything, the sight of her laying there, waiting for me, naked in my bed had me hard as stone already. Even knowing who she was. And I hated myself for that weakness. But I could use it too.
I moved across the room to the chest of drawers which held nothing more than a few spare clothes for the odd nights I stayed here. The brilliance of it was that I could literally leave the next morning once I was done with a girl and I didn’t even have to kick her out. I just went back to my real room.
But that wasn’t an option now. Tatum Rivers was a thorn in my side which I fully intended to pull out.