Page 18 of Sinful Storms

What are you up to? Should I be worried?

Me:

No. Just make sure the girls stay there. And their other roommates

Roman:

Got you. You wanna snoop in their room. Stay away from Quinn’s shit

Me:

Obviously

Roman:

I want details after

Me:

Maybe. Just keep them busy. I owe you

Roman:

You can repay me by giving me and Quinn alone time when you’re back from your little secret mission

Me:

Fuck off

OK I’ll give you an hour

Roman:

2 or the deal’s off

Me:

Fine. Deal

I shook my head. Banished from my own bedroom. Still, it would be worth it if I could find out what Aria was hiding, and it wasn’t like Roman and Quinn had many other places to go. Me, on the other hand…I’d resigned from my head boy position, but I’d kept my key card that let me into areas of the school most students weren’t privy to. And believe me, I’d made the most of it and would continue to do so for the remainder of my time at Hatherley Hall.

Glancing both ways to make sure no one was around, I headed into the corridor where Aria’s dorm room was. Once I was inside, I instantly dismissed three of the beds. It was easy to see which one was Aria’s. For a start, my little scorpion seemed to favour black clothing, and it appeared that extended to bedding, too. None of the other three would have a duvetcover in black with tiny skulls embroidered all over it. I grinned, shaking my head. Oh, Aria. Always trying to be so edgy.

I didn’t want to go through all her private shit, but I had a good idea of the size of the box, so I shouldn’t need to be too intrusive to find it. First, I examined her wardrobe, with no luck. I opened her drawers and sucked in a breath when I caught a glimpse of rows of silky material in blacks and reds and deep purples.

Slamming the drawer shut, I straightened up, rubbing my hand over my mouth. Fuck. Now my imagination was going to be conjuring up all kinds of unwanted images of her wearing that…

The box. That was what I was here for.

Aria’s desk was the next place I tried, but there was no sign of the box. It had to be here somewhere, unless she’d hidden it elsewhere in the school or on the grounds. If that was the case, I’d have to resort to stalking her, which wasn’t my favourite pastime. People stalked me, if anything. Girls getting me alone in dark corners…yeah, I enjoyed that version of stalking a lot. Although…stalking Aria could be fun. Another way to fuck with her.

I made a mental note to explore that thought later as I crouched down to search under her bed. Hitting the torch button on my phone, I swung the light around, my gaze catching on a shoebox in the far corner of the dark space.

Two minutes later, the shoebox lay discarded next to me, and I was examining the contents of the metal box.

When I lifted out the leather journal, examining the symbol and lettering on the front, I frowned. I’d seen this somewhere before, but I couldn’t remember where. And that ring…I’d definitely seen that somewhere.

Then I opened the journal, and I remembered.

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