Page 99 of Revere

Too bad, baby. You’re mine now. Whether you like it or not.

33

I CAN’T BE HERE

PATIENCE

The dayI was supposed to join Jacob for the Vance Osentago interview comes and goes. Then another week comes and goes. Jacob’s lies are proof he never really cared about me, but to feel it with each passing day of silence hits deeper.

A naive part of me expected him to show up at my doorstep and beg me to listen to him.

That’s the problem. Sigma Sin men don’t beg. They don’t ask forgiveness. They don’t apologize for what they do. It’s exactly why I could never be with one of them.

I refuse to be some man’s trophy wife, expected to sit silently while he does as he pleases. Kills who he wants and fucks whoever crosses his path. He might be a god to his men, but I refuse to bow down to anyone ever again.

The only good thing about time passing is that school is finally starting, and I can bury myself in my studies. Hole up and pretend I’m still the same girl from last year. That girl would have chastised me for what happened over the summer.

That girl knew better.

I sink into a seat at the back of the classroom and pull out my laptop. College used to be the one place that made sense, and now, it only reminds me of Jacob.

Violet pops into class with Kole at her side, and they make their way over to me. I don’t know what to make of the fact that seeing them is comforting, considering how they were there for me when I got back from LA.

My roommates.

Their Sigma Sin boyfriends.

I’ve never felt safe with that fraternity, but Alex’s friends have surrounded me since being back, and after what happened with that man in the basement, it’s the type of security I need. Alex, Kole, and Declan have no problem drawing blood, and for the first time in my life, that doesn’t bother me.

“Feels like we were just here,” Violet says, dropping into her seat.

Kole almost looks like he wants to set her on his lap, but he settles for keeping a hand on her thigh.

“Feels like a lifetime ago for me.”

Violet frowns, her gaze drifting to the front of the room. The moment she pauses at the front of class, her eyes widen.

“Wha—” All thoughts evaporate when I see Jacob walk into class.

I haven’t seen him face-to-face since the day in the basement, and as much as I hate him, he’s still one monumental, sinful temptation.

How had I never seen it before?

Everything from how he walks to how he watches people around him bleeds with power and Sigma Sin. His slacks and dress shirt are perfectly tailored but understated. Nothing to give him away. He’s not wearing a tie, and his sleeves are rolled up to show off his pornographic forearms.

I hate those arms.

Those hands.

Worst of all, I hate that I still remember how they feel giving me pleasure—gripping my hips when he’s about to come.

Those thoughts need to stop.

Jacob has his head down. One hand is in his pocket while the other types something into his phone. But the moment he reaches the front of the room, he looks up, and his eyes land on me.

Green wrecking balls that destroy what’s left of my heart.

Like he knew exactly where I was sitting. Like he’s known where I am all along.