Cruel Devil: Chapter 1

This year will make me or break me. Personally, I’m hoping for the former. But, as I sit in the back seat of my mother’s SUV, I have a feeling it’s going to be the latter. There’s this sense of foreboding thrumming through me as I look up at the impeccably manicured lawns and twin pillars that decorate where I’ll be living this next school year. All one hundred and eighty days of it, plus winter and spring breaks. I’m going to hate every minute.

I’m very much aware that there isn’t a seventeen-year-old out there who wouldn’t kill to leave the nest a little bit early. And trust me when I say I’m not feeling like my life is about to take a turn for the worse just because I’m moving out at the ripe old age of seventeen. What does have me feeling this way is the fact that I’m joining a sorority. Not by choice, I might add.

Sorority life isn’t my scene. And no, I don’t have any firsthand experience with sororities, and yes, I’m absolutely judging them based on what I’ve seen on TV, but let’s be real, if you knew anything about me, you’d agree that me and the perfect plastics I see walking in and out of the houses on sorority row aren’t a match made in heaven.

When I applied for Sun Valley High’s running start program—a program that allows me to attend college courses and earn both college credits and the final credits I’ll need for my high school diploma, I thought, An escape from the stupid drama that is highschool life where I never really fit in. It’s hard to relate to the people at school when all they can talk about is how Suzie made out with Jason behind Ruby’s back and other stupid nonsense, like who is asking who to senior prom.

Meanwhile, my best friends have all graduated and are planning their weddings and being moms and doing real-life things that matter. It makes it hard to relate to high-school life. Hearing the gossip and then seeing all the back-stabby antics, it’s not what I’m interested in. And don’t even get me started on the boys.

They’re so incredibly stupid in high school. The catcalling and fuck-boy flirting. Urgh. You’d think they’d find a better pickup line than, “You must be an angel, because you look like you just fell from heaven.”

Barf.

The guys I go to school with have zero game. Not that I’d be interested in anyone at Sun Valley High anyway. I almost wish I was. It’d make seeing a certain broody asshole on the regular a hell of a lot easier.

Both of us attending Suncrest U isn’t going to help, but with any luck I won’t see him any more than I have to. Suncrest University is his turf, and here he reigns supreme, not that I’m surprised. Dominique Price and his best friends ran the halls at Sun Valley High as the school’s football gods, so of course their reputations would follow them to college as they continue to dominate on and off the field. I used to hate those three for what they put my brother through, but now we’re all friends. Hell, more like family. But I don’t need people realizing we know each other, especially with the unwanted attention that will bring, so I’d like to keep our association under wraps.

And since I’m in college now, Mom decided it was the perfect time to accept an out-of-state promotion and force me to join Kappa Mu—her alma mater. Guess that makes me a legacy.

Yay.

The alternative was moving with her—so not happening. The prospect of uprooting my entire life to move halfway across the country holds zero appeal, even if the alternative is, well, this.

“Ready to braid hair and paint your nails bubblegum pink?” my brother—Aaron—asks from the front seat.

I roll my eyes and flip him the bird. “Ha. Ha. You’re so funny.”

He turns to glance at me, pushing the blond hair from his face to give me a wink. “Don’t worry, sis. They’ll leave you alone once they realize what a prickly personality you have.”

I lunge forward to smack him but he swings open the passenger side door, stepping out, just in time to avoid my swipe.

“Kasey!” my mother admonishes me.

“What? He started it,” I tell her as I unbuckle to follow him. Despite the early hour, the house is already buzzing with activity—what looks to be a party in full swing. Girls in all manner of summer wear are flitting about, socializing, drinking whatever is in those red Solo cups—and let’s be honest, it’s not water—and carrying boxes, doing exactly what I’m here to do. Move in.

I wrinkle my nose and glance at my mom as she slings her oversized purse over her shoulder and moves to join Aaron and me on the sidewalk. “Not too late to change your mind?” Aaron mutters under his breath. “You know you wanna.”

I elbow him in the ribs.

Are we telling jokes now?

When mom concocted this grand idea of me joining her former sorority, Aaron, being the protective big brother he is, was nice enough to offer me the spare room at his place. An offer I was quick to decline.

Under normal circumstances, I’d consider it. We were never very close growing up given the four-year age gap between us, but Aaron has always looked out for me. Most brothers would balk at the idea of living with their baby sister after they moved out, but Aaron genuinely wouldn’t mind. He’s pretty chill about stuff like that.

The problem isn’t living with my brother. It’s living with my brother’s very hot, very broody, drives-me-insane, asshole of a roommate—Dominique Price. On the best of days, we tolerate one another. On the worst, well, things can be openly hostile.

“I’ll pass on living with the devil and take door number two, please,” I tell him, and he chuckles.

“Dom isn’t that bad.”

I snort. “Are we talking about the same person, here?” Dominique Price very much is that bad. He gets under my skin in a way no one else can, and the pull he has over me, urgh. I hate it. Sometimes so much so that I think I hate . When we’re in the same room, I want to kiss him and punch him in the same breath. That he makes me question my own sanity is infuriating.

Aaron gives me a light-hearted shove. “Alright, sis, have it your way. But don’t come crying to me when you realize the grass isn’t greener on the other side.”

A gust of wind blows my hair into my face and I hastily push my blond curls out of my eyes. “I won’t,” I assure him. “The grass on your side is already dead and yellow so the bar is set pretty low.”

He smiles, his eyes scanning past me, and I turn to see a familiar black Escalade roll up beside my mother’s car. The broody asshole I just mentioned parks his overpriced SUV and three doors open, letting out Dom, Roman, and Emilio. Somebody please shoot me now.

“What are they doing here?” I groan.

Aaron throws his arm over my shoulder and pulls me into a side embrace. “They’re being good friends and helping you move into your new place.” The fact that he genuinely believes that should be concerning, but I know better.

“Whose idea was this?” I ask.

Already their presence is drawing curious looks from some of the girls. It won’t take long for them to realize who they are. God dammit, he is such an asshole. It would have been bad enough if he came on his own, but bringing Roman and Emilio is taking it one step too far.

“Dom’s,” Aaron confirms what I suspected and my mother being the weirdo she is, gushes.

“Isn’t that so sweet of them, Kasey? It makes me so happy to know you’ll have such a great support system here. Makes me feel so much better about my baby girl going to college.” She sighs, the smile on her face wistful as she turns back to the house. If I grind my teeth any harder I’m liable to break a tooth. She cannot be serious right now.

“Yep. Soooo sweet,” I tell her while giving Dominique my most murderous glare. Does he shake in fear like he should? Of course not. Instead he smirks like the cruel bastard he is and heads right for me, Roman and Emilio right on his heels.

I’m going to make him regret this. I cannot believe he’d set me up like this.

The guys do that guy handshake bro hug thing as if they didn’t all see each other a few hours ago, then Dom turns his full attention on me and I have to force my expression to remain impassive. Age has only worked to sharpen his features, making him even more striking than the boy I met my freshman year of high school three years ago. With his hair tightly braided away from his face, his sharp jawline and full lips stand out in stark relief, and I can’t decide if I want to kiss him or punch him—a frequent struggle of mine, so I do what I’m best at and just antagonize him.

“Are you so desperate for female attention that you have to drop in on the girls of Kappa Mu for a little bit of an ego stroke?” I smile in satisfaction when his dark brown eyes narrow.

Dominique has this edge to him that’s difficult to describe. He’s both regal and rugged; the juxtaposition between the two is likely what makes women flock to him. He has two thin slashes in his right brow that somehow take him from attractive to dangerous, and after graduation he filled out to a full six-foot-five, stacked with all the muscles you’d expect a division one athlete to have. The effect he has on people is hard to miss.

When he scowls the way he is doing right now, he’s damn near terrifying to behold. But when he smiles, a real smile that doesn’t hold an ounce of malice—and mind you those are rare—his entire face lights up and for a second it’s like standing in the sun after months of nothing but rain. God, I hate him.

“I don’t need an ego stroke. Not a single woman here can hold my interest,” he says, his eyes boring into mine and waiting for a reaction. One I refuse to deliver.

Of course he’d say something like that. Dominique hasn’t dated, like seriously dated, for as long as I’ve known him. He gets around, I’m sure. What football player doesn’t when you have an entire fan club of jersey chasers? But the only girl I’ve seen him with more that once is Tamara Vinzent. I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting her yet, but she’s his date to any event or function that requires one. I don’t really understand their relationship, and for my own sanity, I try not to think about it too much, but somehow she’s outlasted everyone else and has managed to sink some form of a hold into Dominique where no others before her have succeeded.

When Dominique realizes I’m not going to respond, the corner of his mouth curls into his signature cruel smile. “You worried someone will catch my attention?” He scans the growing crowd. “Not really my type, but maybe I can—”

“Yo, Baby Henderson,” Emilio says, cutting Dominique off from whatever he was about to say and cutting through the growing tension in the air. “You gonna show us the new digs? Introduce us to your new lady friends?” He winks, and if I didn’t know him better, I’d think he was serious. But Emilio is head over heels in love with his girlfriend, one of my best friends, so I know this is for show and he’s just helping me out. The softy. Too bad his little act of kindness won’t keep him safe if he and the others don’t get the hell out of here before anyone realizes the school’s star quarterback, wide receiver, and cornerback just showed up.

I shake my head. “Hard no. You three need to leave.”

Roman smirks and Emilio clutches his heart as though I just wounded him. “Baby Hen—”

“Stop calling me that and go home or I’m going to tell Bibi about your big surprise,” I warn.

He sucks in a sharp breath. “You wouldn’t. You love me?” He meant it as a statement but it comes out more as a question.

“Wanna bet?” Because today is day one of campus life for me and I’m not going to let these three muck it up.

Emilio backs away, hands raised in the air. “You win. I’ll stay in the car.” He turns and jogs back to Dom’s Escalade. One down. Two more to go.

I turn to Roman and raise a single brow. “You too, mister.”

“You don’t have anything you can use against me,” he says, his voice filled with confidence he should not be feeling right now. Doesn’t he know me? I have something on virtually everyone. It’s little sister 101. You always find the dirt and horde it to later get your way.

I prop one hand on my hip. “I don’t?” I press a finger to my lips as though thinking before letting a wide smile spread across my face. “Hey, Aaron, did I ever tell you about the time Roman and Allie went to Silverdale?”

Roman’s eyes widen briefly before his brows draw together. “How do you—”

I pull my phone from my back pocket. “Allie sent me pictures from that weekend. You two were so cute together. The couples—”

Roman jerks forward, pressing his palm over my mouth. His dark brown eyes fill with a mix of disbelief and fury. “Not. Another. Word,” he growls. If he were anybody else, I might be worried by the threat in his voice, but despite his rough exterior, Roman is a big ole softie and his fiancé is one of my other best friends. He wouldn’t hurt a hair on my head. She loves me. He loves her. Therefore, I win. So instead of pushing his hand away or trying to say anything, I wait for him to realize what I already know.

It takes only a handful of seconds.

“Fine. Don’t say anything else. I’ll go chill with E. Deal?”

I nod and he slowly releases me, hesitating for just a second to make sure I’ll keep my mouth shut before he turns, slaps Dom on the shoulder with a muttered, “You’re on your own, man,” and joins Emilio in the car.

“Damn, sis, remind me not to get on your bad side,” Aaron says, as if I haven’t used this exact same tactic on him before. “Got anything on this one?” He nods toward Dominique, who raises a brow of his own, expression smug because, no, I have nothing I can use against him to make him do anything he doesn’t want to do and he knows it.