Page 41 of The Revenge

Fear flashes through her eyes, and then Bergmann shrugs. “Fine. She wanted to be alone. She went to the church.”

Ignoring the urge to mow Bergmann down with the golf cart, I point the cart in the direction of the small church on campus and then put my foot down. The church, the oldest building on campus, is probably one of the furthest points from where I am. I’m driving up the final slope, the small spire already in view, when my phone rings.

“What?”

“Why don’t boomers know how to organize anything on a computer?” Gemini asks me.

“I don’t have time for your jokes,” I snap at him.

“It was a genuine question, not a—”

“Gemini, I don’t care.”

Gemini tuts. “Late last night, the dean received an anonymous email. Attached to the email was the video of our little Vixen getting hot and heavy with the professor.”

My foot slips off the accelerator. “What?”

“You sound surprised.”

I swear to God, Gemini’s sole purpose on this earth is to test me.

“Gemini…” I warn.

“Wait… You really don’t know anything about this?”

There’s a strange knot of pain in my chest, but I ignore it. “She’s fucking the professor?”

“Looks like it. Well, no. Not in this video. I mean, she’s still wearing a bra, unfortunately. I’ve been deprived of the pleasure of seeing her tits… In this video, at least.”

“Gemini,” I snap. “Focus.”

“The video ends before he starts ploughing her, but it’s pretty clear what happens next. Are you sure this wasn’t you?”

“Why do you keep asking me that?”

“Because you told her to fuck him, and because just getting him fired wasn’t going to be enough. Remember?” Gemini asks.

Screwing the professor was one of the challenges I gave Victoria as part of her initiation. I wasn’t entirely surprised that she had achieved this, given how determined she was to pass her initiation. What does surprise me is that she’s continued to pursue this after we agreed that the contract, and all subsequent instructions, are null and void.

“Who sent the email?” I ask.

The sound of Gemini’s mechanical keyboard fills my ears. I arrive at the church and instantly turn the cart around.

Even though the groundsmen have cleared the snow from the path to the church gates, they’ve not touched the strip to the door.

The only prints in the snow are from birds.

Bergmann lied.

“Lissa Carmichael,” Gemini says, eventually.

XVI

Tori

The door is already open as I almost slide into Payne’s office.

He looks up at me, surprised, but before he can speak, I quickly step inside and close the door behind me. “You don’t have to leave,” I tell him.

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