Total pages in book: 119
Estimated words: 116875 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 584(@200wpm)___ 468(@250wpm)___ 390(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 116875 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 584(@200wpm)___ 468(@250wpm)___ 390(@300wpm)
“You’re invited too, Bella.” Honey grabs her notes and starts stacking them. “We can do it before the semester starts.”
A sleepover? I haven’t done that since elementary school, and I’ve been longing to have one with grown-up friends. It’ll be just like season six of Vampire Varsity, when they do a seance and summon the King of Hell the night before prom! “I’m in!”
Raine’s phone starts ringing to the tune of Funeral March. She fumbles to silence it, baring her teeth in annoyance. “Got to go. My stepbrother’s wondering where I am.”
“Me too,” Honey says. “I have a meeting with my advisor.”
With a quick goodbye, Raine takes off. Honey and I pack up and follow. I didn’t get a chance to ask Raine about her stepbrother or tell them both about my supervillain studies. I guess I can do it at the sleepover.
But before we part ways, Honey pulls me into an alcove under a brilliant stained glass window. Her face is bathed in blue as she looks around to make sure we’re alone, then whispers, “Listen. I know Fraternitas. Before coming here, I worked at one of the clubs they owned. They even… well, let’s just say I know a lot about them.” She bites her lip. She’s obviously not telling me everything, but this isn’t the place and the time to grill her.
“Why would one of them be following me?”
“I don’t know. I’ll try to get more information for you. In the meantime, be careful. Your stalker got that ring because he killed someone.” She pauses, waiting for her statement to land.
I nod, trying to suppress a smile. The fact that Blondie is a murderer only makes him more intriguing. I bet I know how he killed, too. I bet he put that spiderweb around his victim’s throat and squeezed.
Honey looks worried again, so I pretend to take her warning seriously. “Got it.”
“They have a code they follow. I’ve never heard of them harming an innocent. But they don’t rule the city because they’re nice guys. They’re ruthless when they destroy their enemies. If one is stalking you, you might be in serious trouble. And if your stalker is who I think he is, you don’t want to mess with him.”
I’m still pondering Honey’s words as I walk home.
I know my stalker is dangerous. My father is always worried his line of work will bleed into our personal lives. My mother died because of it. After that, Papa tried to shut me away from the world. He always wants to play it safe, but where’s the fun in that?
I’m more fascinated by what Blondie might think of me than what he might do to me. I could call up my dad and ask him about Fraternitas, but I don’t want him to freak out and pull me from school. I’ll find another way to learn more about him. Contain the threat. Or tempt him to do something to me.
YOLO!
I like having a stalker. Especially one so pretty. I walk across campus, feeling a prickle on the back of my neck that tells me someone’s watching. It gives me a little thrill.
Pane P’s is closed, so I swing through a corner store and grab some donuts for dinner. I’ve got a long, lonely night of rewatching Vampire Varsity and reliving every moment of my brunch with Blondie.
But then I see my dad’s Rolls is in the driveway and perk up. He’s home, and that means some company until bedtime. He’ll grill me about what I’ve been up to, and we’ll have Thai or Chinese takeout for dinner.
My me time of fantasies of Blondie will have to wait. I skip up the driveway, never once guessing who lies in wait.
* * *
Kaiser
* * *
I stand in Bella’s home with St. James and Damien, the leader of the Fraternitas. We’re all in masks, mostly to protect Damien’s identity. Outside the brotherhood, he’s known only as The Devil.
We’re in the Poisoner’s office. Damien sits behind his desk, and Benjiro Bosco, the Poisoner himself, stands before him, like a supplicant.
“Once I sign this,” he motions to the papers on the desk, “it’s done? You will protect my daughter?”
“We will protect both of you,” St. James says.
“You will keep her safe?”
“You have my word,” I say. “She will belong to me. And no one touches what’s mine.”
The Poisoner’s shoulders slump. He knows he’s beaten. We’ve given him a good deal, and he knows it. I sense he’s actually relieved. He can’t defend his daughter against the Vesuvios, and he knows it.
St. James goes over the contract, and the Poisoner signs it. He has no choice.
I add my name. Just my first name because my last name is long forgotten. Damien and St. James sign as witnesses and add a wax seal.
I can’t stop the feeling of triumph from spreading through me. Belladonna Bosco is officially mine.