Page 142 of Corrupted Pleasure

“Why are you stealing money?” I asked. My eyes traveled over the four of them. “And no more lies.”

I watched as the four of them gulped in unison. It was almost comical. Then they shared a glance.

It was Davina who answered. “For a school.”

I blinked. “A school?”

“Yes, a school,” she confirmed. I shifted my gaze to Wynter, then Juliette, and Ivy. There was hope and excitement in their eyes, except I had no idea why. I was missing a key piece of information.

Cassio and Luca leaned against the Jeep, watching the entire exchange with intrigue. I hoped the fuckers were taking notes. Their time was coming.

“What kind of school?” Aurora ended up asking. Thank fuck, I wasn’t the only one confused.

“For criminals,” Wynter answered with a wide smile.

“Well, their kids,” Juliette clarified.

“It would be a university for boys and girls from any criminal families,” Davina added. “So the kids don’t find themselves clueless like we’ve been. We learned our shit on the go. But this school will teach them the necessities they need to survive in this world… as well as the things they’d learn at a regular college. You know math, reading, history, science.”

It actually wasn’t a bad idea.

“I like the idea,” Cassio chimed in.

“Me too,” Luca pronounced. “If you need money, I’ll be interested in investing.” All four of them instantly shook their heads. “No? Why not?” Luca asked curiously.

“We don’t want anyone controlling who can or can’t join the school,” Davina told him.

“No discrimination,” Wynter announced.

Another two heartbeats of silence.

“How in the fuck did you four come up with an idea like that?” Sasha inquired curiously, leaning against the Mercedes.

The girls’ eyes darted away from us, avoiding to look our way. “Davina?” I growled.

“I kind of burned down a house,” she murmured quietly. “My ex-boyfriend’s. We needed the blackmail money, so we stole from you, Liam, first. But then a friend came through and erased the surveillance evidence. And that’s how the school idea came about.”

“Well technically, I burned the house down,” Ivy chimed in. “I dropped the match.”

“I gathered the alcohol and matches,” Juliette admitted.

Burned down a house! They fucking burned down his house? Why in the fuck did nobody tell me this?

“I tried to extinguish it,” Wynter announced.

“Why?” Alexei asked.

Wynter blinked, confusion on her face. “Why did I try to extinguish it?”

Alexei shook his head. “Why did you try to burn down the house?”

“Davina’s ex-boyfriend cheated on her,” Juliette reasoned like it was a perfect reason to burn down someone's house. “It was either that or we cut his dick off.”

Then she gagged, like just the mention of it would make her puke.

“We’re not killers,” Wynter reasoned. “Though we got pretty good at stealing.”

I scoffed. “No, you’re not.”