Page 46 of The Revenge

I wish it was as simple as hiding all the bad memories associated with this place.

The electronic keypad bleeps at me, rejecting the code.

For a moment, I think I’ve typed in the wrong number, but then I remember Gemini changed the code.

Before I can head back to the front of house, the door swings open, and I’m pulled inside.

“Where the hell have you been?” Syn demands. “I told you not to leave Bergmann’s room.”

I grab Syn’s wrist and yank his hand off my arm. The anger I’ve felt towards Syn had eased away after leaving Payne’s office,but the way he’s towering over me with the audacity of being mad at me has it all rushing back.

Without thinking, I crack my hand against his cheek. “How could you? I told you that contract was null and void. You had no right to do that. Payne is a good man.”

“Whoa, Tori, calm down.” Royal is standing behind Syn, his eyes wide. “It’s not what you think.”

“He wanted me to seduce him.” I jab a finger towards Syn. “And conveniently, pictures of me and Paynesomehowmake their way to the dean? One little glimmer of happiness, and its extinguished. I should’ve known better than to trust anything you say.”

With a frown, Gemini steps forward and tries to drape his arm over my shoulder, but I duck out of the way. “Royal’s right, little Vixen. Much as I enjoy watching you slap Syn, this wasn’t him. It was—”

“It doesn’t matter,” Syn snaps. “What’s done is done.”

His indifference makes me want to slap him again. “Are you kidding me? An innocent man is going to lose his job.”

Syn arches an eyebrow. “I would hardly call him innocent, but if you had come to me instead of interfering, I would have been able to make this go away, regardless of the evidence of him sticking his tongue into a semi-naked student.”

I bring my hand back and swing it through the air again, aiming for Syn’s face. Despite seeing what I’m doing, Syn doesn’t flinch.

But my palm doesn’t hit his cheek because Royal steps forward, grabbing my wrist. “This isn’t our fault.”

“Are you saying it’s mine?” I try pulling my arm free of his grip.

“Let her go, Royal,” Syn says.

“I don’t need you to fight my battles,” I tell him as Royal releases me.

Pressing his lips together into a thin line, Syn crosses his arms. “Then you’d better pack your things. The consequence of your interfering means we need to leave this place today instead of tomorrow.”

“Wedon’t need to do anything.”

“As I’ve said before, you’re welcome to leave by yourself. Not only do you leave behind the protection that we can give you, but you’ll also lose your only chance to speak to Preston Du Pont easily.” Syn doesn’t blink as he stares at me. “The decision is all yours.”

XVII

Tori

Even though there’s more than enough room for the four of us in Royal’s G-Class, I’m more than happy with Syn’s decision to ride with Gemini in his Maserati.

We left James Keyingham University nearly an hour ago, but it’s only now that my body has started to stop shaking from the rage.

“Are you ready to talk yet?”

I drag my gaze from the world racing by on the other side of the window and meet Royal’s gray eyes in the rearview mirror. Without answering, I return to looking at the frozen landscape.

“It was Lissa Carmichael.”

The statement brings my attention back to Royal. “What was?”

“We knew what happened because Gemini read your email. I know you don’t want to believe this, but when Syn found out, he went to the dean to get him stop what they were planning to do. Only you’d already told them you were leaving. Gemini did some digging and traced the video back to Lissa. She must’ve followed us last night.”

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