Page 13 of Boys Who Taint (Spine Ridge University #5)

Apollo

I take another swig of my drink and set it down on the pile of firewood next to me. A fire blazes not too far from here, and guess who’s at the forefront, dancing to the flames?

Aspen fucking Caruso.

I grin as I watch her having the time of her life with her friends, blissfully unaware that she’s being watched.

But I can wait. I have all the time in the world.

All the time for her to come running straight into my arms when the time is right.

I admit, that whole thing with Levi being branded a killer because of Mavis’s death has offered me an opportunity I cannot ignore.

Despite my best efforts, those two used to only have eyes for each other.

And now that she hates his guts, I finally have a shot without becoming the villain of the story.

Although I’m sure Levi won’t see it that way … he won’t try to kill me.

After all, I’m one of the few allies he has left at this school.

We’re family. And family always shares.

A devious grin forms on my face, but the second I want to approach her, a guy with snowy-white hair appears out of nowhere and takes her out of her friends group to dance with her. Fuck me, it makes me grip the tree beside me so harshly I nearly rip the bark off barehanded.

“The boyfriend,” I mutter to myself, glaring at the motherfucker clutching her dainty ass like he owns it. But that ass is mine, and only my handprint belongs on that piece of her skin.

“Who?”

The voice behind me makes me turn around and grab his throat so fast he can’t even blink.

“Relax. It’s me.” My brother, Atlas, raises his hands. “Don’t kill me.”

I put him down and sigh out loud. “Don’t sneak up on me like that.”

“Who’s doing the sneaking here, though?” he retorts, raising a brow.

“I was just having fun,” I say.

“Hiding behind a tree?”

“You know how those girls are.” I turn around again so I can keep my eyes on her and that mystery guy she definitely didn’t want me calling her boyfriend.

“Oh … girls …” Atlas shrugs. “Yeah, it’s not like I have experience there.”

“What are you even doing here?” I quip. “You’re not supposed to be here. This is a student-only party.”

“Heath invited me,” he replies. “And who cares? It’s run by students. It’s not like anyone’s gonna check everyone.”

“I might tell them to,” I quip.

“Because I caught you plotting?” He scoffs, almost taking pride in the fact that he’s managing to piss me off. “Didn’t think I’d be able to get up your ass that quickly. What kind of girl has gotten Apollo fucking Torres so worked up?”

I swiftly turn around and grab his shirt, dragging him away from the bonfire. “I don’t have time for this. Leave. Now.”

“Or what?”

“You want me to call Dad?” I growl.

He tilts his head. “Dad already knows. He encouraged me to come.”

“Why would he?”

He shrugs. “He wants me to get out of the house. Live a little.”

“Then live a little.” I make a waving motion with my hand. “Shoo.”

“It’s so much fun watching you stalk a girl, though.” He smirks the same way I do, and it pisses me off even more.

“Don’t you have a lame friends group to entertain? Go.”

He raises his hands. “Fine. I’ll leave you to your creeper ways. But only if you tell me all about her later.”

“In your dreams,” I retort as he slowly backs away and finds Heath’s little gang. And by gang, I mean Silas, Max, Ivy, and all of their friends.

Silas and I got along okay because we’re both sadistic sons of bitches, but the others … eh. Couldn’t care less.

The only thing I care about right now is finding out who that fucker is who’s constantly floating in Aspen’s vicinity. And why Levi has even allowed him to live.

Then again, it wouldn’t look good on him to kill another person she loves.

One more mistake, and the Caruso family will wipe him off the map.

I smirk to myself. Lucky me.

Years ago

Aspen and Levi run around on the playground, constantly chasing each other for at least thirty minutes now, and I’m left hanging from the swing.

“Aspen,” I call. “Aspen, look!”

But she’s too busy with him to even notice me when I’m doing a really neat trick.

Upside down, I watch them roll around on the grass, annoyed that they won’t even look at me. “Aspen. Hey, Aspen!”

Levi tickles her.

“Stop, stop!” she begs.

She giggles nonstop, the sound infectious enough to make even me grin.

“No,” Levi says, laughing like a maniac.

She tries to crawl away, but he grabs her with two hands and lifts her off the ground. “C’mere!”

She squeals as he carries her away, her eyes glowing as she glances at him. “You’re so strong!”

She pinches his muscles.

Blinking, I stare.

He throws her onto a giant pile of leaves, roaring like a dragon, while I’m still left dangling from the swing. I slowly let myself down, realizing I will never get her attention.

I sit down on the swing, pinching my arms the way she pinched him.

A smile forms on my face. If that’s what it takes, then I have work to do.

Aspen

Present

I throw another piece of wood onto the bonfire, and the blaze that erupts makes my entire body zing with adrenaline. God, I love watching the flames dance in the sky.

“Having fun?” Grey asks.

I nod and chuck him a block too. “You try it.”

He reluctantly holds it in front of him and then throws it in, stepping back as the flames begin to lick his skin.

“The pain is part of the rush.” I wink.

But when I look through the crowd of people dancing, I spot Levi standing near Apollo and a group of friends from the Phantom Society. Something about the way he’s staring at me makes all the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

And I can still hear his warning ringing in my ears. Stay away from him, or else…

Grey is coughing hard, so I grab his arm and drag him away from the fire, back to our little spot in the woods. “Here, drink this.”

I hand him my vodka and Coke. He gulps it down, then breathes out another cough. “Jesus, what did you put in this?”

“Vodka.” I laugh. “You drink alcohol, right?”

“I thought you meant they had beer!”

“They do, but this gives the night a little kick,” I reply.

He shakes his head. “I’m woozy. I need to sit down.”

“But I wanna dance,” I say, trying to drag him out of the seat.

“You go ahead,” he says, smiling. “I’ll watch you.”

I smirk. “Oh … you’ll watch?” I take a few steps backward and point at him. “All right then, you watch me while I dance for you.”

“For me?”

I wink and start dancing my way back to the fire, enjoying myself while I still can.

Because I know, somewhere, a ghost is waiting to come and haunt me.

I swallow back the nerves and focus on the music, trying to block out the thoughts about the stranger, his note, and the murderous consequences of the promise I shouldn’t make.

But with Grey’s piercing blue eyes boring a hole into my body, I’m starting to wonder if I’m not already being haunted.

I twirl around with Ivy and watch Grey’s lips part in anguish. His tongue dips out to lick his lips as he’s getting visibly flustered by my dancing when he adjusts his pants. And I’d be lying if I said it didn’t give me a kick.

I’m slowly wrapping this man around my finger, yet we haven’t even kissed.

I lick my lips and turn around again, showing off what I have, but when I spin around, Levi locks eyes with me.

I stop as abruptly as my breathing.

He narrows his dark eyes and takes a deep drag, blowing out the smoke right at me as if it’s some kind of taunt. I’m immediately reminded of his warning. His threat. And those goddamn calloused fingers that touched me in places I didn’t think he ever would.

I swallow away the lump in my throat as he casts the cigarette aside and stomps on the bud before disappearing in the crowd.

Only when he’s gone does my heart rate return to normal.

That motherfucker … I hate him.

Incensed, I walk away from the fire because it’s only cranking up the heat and taking hold of my body even further.

God, I’m so fucking angry. Just from that one glare he gave me, I’m off my rocker because all I can think of is all the ways I want to make him pay.

Grey is still looking at me, and I can hear him call for me, but I’m far too enraged, and I don’t want him to see me like this. I don’t want him to know what Levi did.

So I just keep walking through the dancing crowd, into the forest, and out of his sight.

There, I spot the wooden stool near The Edge … and the mask lying on top.

That’s the one.

That’s the mask my Ghost was wearing.

The mask wasn’t just put there by accident.

It’s an invitation.

From the woods, I approach The Edge—the steep drop-off on the cliff where this bonfire takes place. This place is said to be haunted by the ghosts who have fallen to their deaths. Barely anyone ever comes here anymore … except to end it all.

I gaze around to see if I can find the guy, but there’s no one here.

No one except me and this note still burning a hole in my pants.

I take it out of my pocket and stare at the words written so carelessly, and I can’t help but wonder what will happen if I accept.

If he’ll truly kill Levi Torres…

For me.