Page 36 of His Deadly Devotion

“That actually makes sense.” I smile. She is way smarter than she gives herself credit for.

“You really going to pass up on Harvard?”

“For her, yes,” I say, not taking my eyes off my girlfriend, who is currently whispering something in some asshole’s ear.

“You can’t kill him. His family is extremely well connected,” Lorenzo tells me.

“So are mine.” I shrug. Because it’s the truth.

“Yeah, but you can’t use those connections right now.”

“Ares De Bellis, am I right?” I ask Lorenzo.

“Yep.”

“He’s dating Kyla’s sister?” I ask.

Lorenzo snorts. “He wishes.”

“Right.” Taking the few steps I need to make it to Aurora, I place my hand on the small of her back.

“This is Connor. Connor, Ares. He needs a bathroom. Can he use yours?” she asks me.

I look at the guy, then back to Aurora, and she winks at me. “Sure?” It comes out more like a question, because it is one.

“Why the fuck are you here, Ares?” Lorenzo calls out.

“I came with Zia Zoe. She’s talking to Kyla, but she heard this one was here. I just happened to be with her,” Ares replies.

“Don’t you have work or something to do, Lorenzo?” Aurora asks. “Talk later.” She takes hold of my hand and leads me out of the room. “Ares, follow us. I’ll show you where the bathroom is before I find Zoe.”

When we make it back to the bedroom, Ares drops his backpack onto the bed with a loud plop. “Okay, I got you some things,” he says, pulling out a MacBook, an iPhone, and a small black box, which Aurora picks up.

“What’s this?” she asks him.

“A scrambler. No one will know you’re using a device within five meters of this,” he explains. “Also, this.” He hands Aurora a disk drive. “Internet. It’s prepaid and loaded.”

“So, like burner internet?” she questions while eyeing the device.

“Kind of. If anyone asks, you didn’t get this from me. And Zara has nothing to do with it either,” Ares says.

“So, you and Zara, huh?”

“There is no me and Zara,” he deadpans.

“You sure about that?” Aurora laughs. “You know her father will literally feed you to pigs.”

“Your boyfriend’s parents have a bounty on your head. I think you have more to worry about than who I am or am not dating,” Ares is quick to fire back.

“Pfft, they’re not going to find me. But I do need to hunt down Zoe before she bursts through this door.” Aurora looks from Ares to me. “You wanna meet another cousin?”

“What’s one more?” I take her hand in mine.

“This one happens to be a De Bellis,” Ares says.

“And that makes her differentbecause?” I ask him.

“If you’re rude to her, I’ll happily hold you down while my brother cuts out your tongue.” He smiles.