Page 17 of Boys Who Taint (Spine Ridge University #5)

Aspen

Hours later

“Can anyone hear me?” I scream. “Please! Anyone?”

It’s been minutes since Ghost left me hanging on the goddamn lectern. I don’t know exactly how long, because I can’t get to my phone, and I can’t see anything except for that bright light right above me.

I can’t believe he just fucking left me here.

I reach for the knife again, but of course it’s no use.

He stuck it in there on purpose to taunt me and remind me of my place.

Well, fuck him.

I roar out loud and lean over as best I can, but the microphone firmly embedded inside me forces me to stay put. My ankles are tied to my wrists, and no matter how hard I try to bend, I’ll never reach that fucking knife, not even with my teeth.

“Goddammit!” I yell.

Suddenly, the door at the back opens up, and I look up. “Who’s there?”

“Oh my God …” An arrogant female cackles, and I can’t tell exactly who it is because of the shadow, but I definitely feel like I should know her voice from somewhere.

Only when she walks down the steps do I realize who it is.

Sunny Reed, Levi’s half sister.

“Sunny!” I mutter. “Please, help me get off.”

“Holy fucking shit, Aspen,” she says as she approaches the lectern. “How the hell did you get yourself into this mess?”

“Are you gonna help me or not?” I growl.

“Jesus, of course,” she replies, ripping the knife out of the wood. “Don’t worry.” She slices through the rope with ease, and I yank my ankles and wrists free from each other with a groan, then slowly slide off the microphone.

I swiftly grab my jeans off the floor and attempt to put them on while she’s glaring at me with her hands against her waist as if she’s got a ton of questions. But I don’t even have the answers. Nor pants apparently because they’re completely torn to shreds.

“Oh, here.” She takes off her tight black leggings and throws them at me. “Put those on.”

“But then you’re in your underwear,” I say.

Sunny shrugs. “I don’t care.”

Wow. I’m impressed.

“It’s night. Who’s gonna see anyway?” she adds.

“True.” I swiftly put them on and pull my torn shirt back down, patting everything down to make myself as normal-looking as possible even though I just got rammed through.

“So … you gonna tell me who tied you up there or nah?” She blows out a bubble of her gum. “Because I know for a fact you didn’t do this to yourself.”

“Maybe I did,” I reply, wiping down the microphone so that hopefully it erases all evidence of my ever being tied up here.

“Impossible.” She narrows her eyes. “I know how to tie a knot. You didn’t do these.”

“How could you tell?”

“Professional eye.” She winks, and for some reason, it makes me blush.

“Also, the reason I’d love to know who was behind this is because I need to know if I have some competition on campus.

” She throws her arm around my shoulders, casually playing with the knife that was just between my legs.

“Besides, I won’t be able to punish them for you if you don’t give me a name. ”

“I don’t know,” I reply.

“Oh, c’mon, don’t be coy,” she retorts.

“I’m serious. I don’t know his name.” I swallow. “He calls himself Ghost.”

“Ghost?” she repeats, before bursting out into laughter. “I’m sorry, but that’s corny as hell.”

I throw her arm off my shoulders. “Not my idea.”

“Sorry, I just figured you were into BDSM or something. Though, I admit, I never thought you were the kind of girl to do it in public. I didn’t know you were freaky like that, Aspy.”

“Please keep this between us,” I ask. “And it’s Aspen.”

“Sure, sure,” she replies.

“Don’t tell anyone. Especially not Levi,” I say.

“I won’t tell a soul.” She raises her hands.

I don’t know if I can trust her. After all, she is Levi’s half sister and part of that family. They might be trying to find dirt on us too after our families made it clear we’re all rivals now.

I hold out my hand. “Can I have my knife back?”

She narrows her eyes. “Yours?”

I snatch it away before she can tuck it away.

“No worries. I wasn’t going to keep it. But I am curious …” She smiles wickedly. “Was he good? Good enough to make you want it again?”

My eyes widen, and my face immediately flushes from the heat rushing back to my skin. “Y—no. I don’t …”

She laughs. “Don’t be shy.” She tilts her head. “If you want me to find him and kill him, just ask.”

A knot forms in my throat.

I doubt that’s a good idea, considering the deal I made with Ghost and his intent to murder her half brother.

“I’m good, thanks.”

“All right, if you say so,” she says, walking back up the stairs again. “So you gonna stay and wait for him, or are you gonna go back to the party?”

“Neither,” I reply. “I need a shower. Badly.”

“I can imagine,” she replies.

When she walks off, I ask, “Wait, how did you know I was here?”

She glances at me over her shoulder. “I didn’t. I always go scouting at night.”

“For what?”

She grins. “New places to kill my victims.”

My skin runs cold.

“Have a good one,” she says, her ass swaying from left to right as she walks to the exit like a bad bitch who just doesn’t give a fuck.

And you know what? I don’t even care if what she said was true.

I sneak into the sorority and close the door to my room before I take another breath. It’s like I just got run over by a truck.

I peel my clothes off my body and chuck them to the floor as I walk toward the bathroom and turn on the shower. The pain from the scalding-hot water doesn’t faze me as I step under it. I’m far too focused on my own raging anger that’s slowly boiling over.

That man … whoever he is … will pay for what he did.

We may have made that deal, him and I, but the way he used my body… the way he made me want to beg … was unholy.

I wash my skin with soap, but nothing can ever rinse me of the filth slowly seeping into my body, corrupting me from the inside out.

I can still feel his fingers right there, between my legs, coaxing out the throbs.

Fuck.

This deal will be the death of me.

But I know one thing for sure. After that ghost of mine kills Levi for me, I’m going to make sure he perishes too.

And I don’t care what kind of effort I have to put in to make it happen.