“Yes, sire.”

  I arranged almost everything inside the school, the administrators merely puppets. It had been imperative that Sage’s head not be filled with vicious stories surrounding the Elite.

  “Excellent.”

  “Would you like anything else from me?” She dragged her tongue across her lips. She was still a junior but had shown significant promise. There was no requirement for her to remain until graduation.

  “You’re a very good girl; however, I have other business to attend to prior to the party.” I stroked the side of her face as a reward. “With obedience comes rewards. Now, rise and attend to your task.”

  She did as required, although I could see disappointment in her eyes. Perhaps she thought she’d be granted the gift of sucking our cocks. Not a chance. There was only one girl I hungered for.

  After Kelly left the room, I turned toward the others, smug from the vile thoughts running through my mind.

  “You’re one sick bastard,” Hunter said as he laughed.

  “You have no idea.”

  “I gotta ask. You’re certain her father is the one?” he continued.

  “You’ve asked me that before, Hunter. Do you seriously doubt me?”

  He lifted his eyebrows. The man knew how hot-headed I was.

  However, there was no need to think about his question. I’d seen the top of her father’s hand the day he’d dropped his daughter off, the scar something I’d never forget. My blood boiled with rage, my brother’s death yet to be avenged even though my father had tried to find out who’d dared kill his firstborn son. “I’m positive. The girl will pay.”

  “So the plan is to fuck and feast tonight?” Cristiano asked.

  “Absolutely. Sage will be well used during and after the party.” My cock twitched, my balls tightening. “Then she’ll be placed on an extremely short leash which will allow her to graduate. But only if she is very obedient.”

  “The house is ready for our arrival. I’ve taken the liberty of adding a few amenities such as a cage, just in case she needs a reminder of her place.” The desire in Cristiano’s eyes was about something else altogether.

  I rubbed my jaw, contemplating what could come next. “And you say I’m a sick man.”

  “You are,” both of my buddies said at the same time.

  “And I make no excuses for being that way.” I lifted my glass, waiting as the others did the same. I’d already made the decision we would claim her weeks before. It would be tricky given graduation, but I had no intentions of staying for the fucking ceremony. Our last exams were in three days. Then she’d become ours permanently.

  “To the hunt,” Hunter growled.

  “Now, the capture.” Cristiano added.

  “Then we’ll break her.”

  “Imagine the look on her father’s face when he learns his baby has disappeared.” Hunter smiled.

  I had imagined. It had been all I’d been able to think about during my sleepless nights. While I hungered for the woman more than I had any other, there was only one end to the game I was playing.

  Revenge.

  Sage would pay for the sins of her father. She would be fucked, used, and punished.

  Then when we grew tired of her, she would die in atonement for the murder of my brother.

  CHAPTER 3

  Sage

  “I have exciting news!” As my dormmate burst into the room, I couldn’t help but smile. The girl had a verve for life, which was something I aspired to. Kelly Cole had quickly become my best friend after I’d enrolled in the City of Hope’s illustrious musical program less than two years before. God, I hated the name, but almost no one used Crandall University. Thank God at least it would be on my diploma.

  My parents had finally agreed to allow me to attend a college far from home, the luxurious Kentucky setting both beautiful and serene. And far removed from the crowded streets of Chicago. While not my first or even my third choice in colleges, it had been my first taste of freedom, allowing me to enjoy the perks of being away from home. They’d only agreed because of the exclusivity of the school, as it was designed for kids born to the rich and famous.

  The environment was heavily protected, the grounds secure. I’d seen armed security guards constantly walking the property in search of unwanted intruders. There wasn’t a kid on campus who didn’t have a powerful family. I’d learned early on that money could buy anything.

  Except for happiness.

  I’d been lonely for almost all of my life. I’d had no siblings and no real friends until Kelly had bounded into my life. She’d taught me how to become more personable, dragging me from my protected shell, kicking and screaming. I was grateful for her friendship.

  Once that had happened, I’d ventured out into the real world, pretending to be something I wasn’t: a professional singer. It was my foray into perfecting my stage presence while not being forced to feel the competition from my peers at school. At first, I’d been terrified. Now, I relished in pretending I was Lola or Tina Marie or Sasha. I’d learned about myself while dressing in provocative clothes.

  I craved the darkness.

  The only other outlet I had was writing, and I dared not do it on my laptop for fear of someone else seeing it. My thoughts drifted to the latest story I was in the middle of writing. My sexual cravings had always been dark, but I’d yet to explore all the juicy things I’d researched. My fantasies had fueled my stories since arriving at college. However, if my mother saw them, she would die.

  “Hello!” Kelly said, jerking me out of my almost trance-like state.

  “Oops. Sorry. Meaning what? Or dare I ask?”

  She waltzed closer, giving me a pouty look. “I managed to secure an invitation for you to the greatest party of the year.”

  I instantly tensed. I’d yet to attend a single party on campus. They were held frequently. Some were provided by the school administrators, but most catered by the elite groups that had formed long before I’d asked to enroll. The school had been around for at least four decades, the education top-notch, graduation ensuring a place in a doctoral program of choice. Considered a music prodigy, I was set to graduate in less than two weeks, only a single exam standing in my way of receiving a diploma. I’d combined two years into one since I’d arrived later than other kids. “I need to study.”

  “Oh, come on. You’re brilliant and talented. You can take a Saturday night off.”

  She was right, and I really wasn’t worried. I was a straight ‘A’ student with a 4.5 GPA.

  While the City of Hope wasn’t Julliard, there were a half dozen Broadway and opera stars and one rock star who’d graduated over the last ten years. I had high hopes of being the next discovery one day. At least a girl could dream.

  “Besides,” she added, pointing her index finger in my direction. “I know about your late-night forays into town.”

  “What?” I tossed one of the pillows from the couch in her direction. I’d done everything in my power to keep that a secret from everyone.

  “Yup. You aren’t the prim and proper shrinking flower everyone thinks you are.”

  “You’re such a bitch!” I said playfully. Then we both giggled.

  Singing offered peace of mind, a freedom that I’d never thought I’d achieve. I knew my behavior was risky. If discovered, my parents would force me to return home where I’d be followed on a daily basis by at least one brutal security man. My father had hired an entire army after the first threat made on his life. That had been when I was five or six. My mother had finally confided in me after I’d pushed so hard to be able to attend a regular high school. While it didn’t make any sense given what my father did for a living, I knew anything was possible.

  I couldn’t stand the thought of returning to that life ever again.

  “Which group?” I was almost afraid to ask. She had other friends given her popularity, but she never lorded it over me. I was a wallflower, preferring to remain alone with my music and writing. Thankfully, she’d never pushed me or made fun of me. When she hesitated, I groaned. “Don’t tell me.”

  “Yes, girl. The Elite.”

  Bullies. The school was full of them. The Elite made some of the college bully romance novels I’d read look like kids playing in sandboxes. The boys believed themselves to be men and were rich and powerful, their families akin to gods in the corporate and organized crime worlds. They were the most entitled people in the world. I was certain of it.

  I shuddered violently at the thought of people forced to spend time in the same room with them. Kelly’s fascination with the boys who belonged to the club was ridiculous. Granted, the few boys I’d met were gorgeous, as if each one of them had sipped from the Adonis pool, but they were also rumored to be arrogant bastards.

  I had a few in my regular classes. They insisted on being disruptive, and the professors always looked the other way. At least for the most part, none of them had ever paid me the time of day.

  “Don’t you mean the Damned?” Even with disdain in my voice, I dragged my tongue across my lips. Several were objects of my fantasies, but no one would ever learn that. Nope. It was my secret.

  Such a bad girl.

  Kelly rolled her eyes. “Oh, come on. That’s just jealousy from other students who don’t have what it takes to become a member. They’re all smart, rich, powerful, and good-looking. Dreamy, if you ask me. I have my sights set on at least two of them.”

  Of course she did.

  Jealousy wasn’t the word I’d use. The boys who made it through the grueling initiations the older members forced them to endure became nothing more than bullies on steroids. They were some of the most entitled people I’d ever met in my life. I hated every one of them, although I had to admit more than one of them had appeared in my raunchy stories. If only they knew what the quiet girl could dream up in her imagination. “They wear all black, for God’s sake. Doesn’t that tell you something? I think they’re Devil worshippers.”

  She rolled her eyes, flopping down on the couch beside me. “Don’t be childish. It’s a uniform of sorts.”

  Uh-huh. I’d seen them walking in groups through campus, taking up the entire sidewalk, forcing students to move aside or be shoved. They were typical bullies in every sense of the word. “Demonic creatures,” I teased. “And I heard about their initiations. Brutal. I’m shocked a single boy ever considers joining their motley crew. Don’t they drink the blood of animals or something?”

  “Where do you get this stuff?”

  I shrugged, taking a sip of my soda. “I hear things. I’m not the wallflower you think I am.”

  She smiled slyly. “So true. I assure you that they aren’t demon spirits. But they do throw the most incredible, kickass parties on campus. It’s the end of the year. Remember? You need to live a little.”

  She was right about living a little, something I’d never been allowed to do. I chewed on my lower lip as I thought about her offer. Students of the Elite lived in a massive estate on the outskirts of the property, the fifty acres sectioned off from the rest of the students. They even had their own stables that housed incredible horses. I’d always wanted to see inside, but not as one of their ‘girls’. “What is this party?”

  “Just a party. Come on. As I said, you need to live a little. It’s going to be the event of the year,” she taunted. “You’re going to graduate and leave me. Please come with me?”

  “Begging isn’t going to help.”

  “What if I clean the room until the end of the year?”

  “Oh, that’s a lame gesture. Besides, I have nothing to wear.” Which was true. I preferred jeans, sweatshirts, and tennis shoes, enjoying the comfort they provided. It also allowed me anonymity in a sea of wealth and power.

  “I’ll loan you a dress and heels. We are the same size.” She pouted her lips again. I swear the girl could get anything she wanted.

  I glared at her, knowing that when she put something in her mind, she refused to give up on it. “What are they doing at this party? Sacrificing a pig or something?”

  “Girl, for God’s sake. You really do need to get out more. It’s just about music, hot men, and plenty of booze. We can flirt to our heart’s desire.”

  “I don’t drink.”

  “One glass of wine or champagne isn’t going to kill you.”

  “They’re not allowed to have alcohol at these parties.”

  “And you know rules don’t apply to the Elite. They can do anything they want to do.”

  Her statement was true enough. The administrators always looked the other way since the facility was private. But that didn’t make it right. From what I’d heard, the members were perverted as well as dangerous, some of the members sons of mafia leaders. “I don’t know.”

  “Pretty please. I would really prefer to have you with me. You know, a friend?” She batted her long eyelashes, as if that technique would work on me.

  “Fine. But only for an hour.”

  “Yay! Let me grab the dress I thought of. I can’t wait to see you all dolled up.”

  I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been dressed up.

  As soon as she scurried off, I heard my phone and sighed, forced to race into my bedroom where I’d tossed my purse after getting back from class. I was certain it was my mother’s regular three-day check-in. She’d remained nervous even after all this time. I turned on a light, then caught the call on the fourth ring.

  “Hello, Mom,” I said, without bothering to look at the screen.

  “Baby girl. How is everything?” As usual, her voice was chipper. Connie Winters never allowed her guard to drop, even with her own daughter. She was everything I wasn’t. Popular. The light in a room. The life of a party. Beautiful. Accomplished. I felt like the ugly duckling beside her.

  “It’s good, just like it was three days ago.” I narrowed my eyes and walked closer to the nightstand, my breath catching. A red rose petal.

  A cold shiver trickled down my spine. It was the second one I’d found in three weeks. I hadn’t paid attention to the first, thinking I’d rubbed against a bush, but the way it had been placed directly in the center of the small table wasn’t natural.

  My mother jabbered on as I pulled it closer, taking a deep whiff. The scent was incredible, one of the sweetest fragrances I’d inhaled.

  “You make it sound like you’re upset that I check on my daughter.”

  I closed my eyes, positioning the petal exactly where I’d found it.

  Then I turned around in a full circle, trying to process what she’d just said.

  “Um… No, I’m not upset, but you can stop worrying about me now. I’ll be home for the summer in less than two weeks.” Sighing, I walked toward the window, looking out at the sprawling grounds of the campus. I could almost see the Elite’s estate through the massive tree line.

  “Both your father and I are coming for graduation.”

  I exhaled but the shivers continued. “That’s good.”

  “Are you okay, baby? You sound strange.”

  “Uh… no. You know me, Mom. I worry about the finals.”

  Ice continued to prickle my skin. I scanned the room, noticing one of my drawers was open just a crack. I was anal retentive about organization, maybe slightly psychotic about how I left my things. I never left a drawer open. My legs felt like lead as I walked closer, tentative about opening it.

  When I did, nothing jumped out at me, but I sensed someone had been in my room. In fact, I would swear it on a Bible. I closed my eyes briefly, certain two nights before someone had stood over me, watching me sleep. I’d jerked out of a dream to find my window open, which I hadn’t remembered doing. The whole thing had left me with a creepy feeling.

  She laughed, the sound practiced and perfect. “You need to stop worrying. You are my brilliant daughter.”

  “How’s Dad?”

  “Traveling as usual.”

  I sorted through the drawer, then realized my crimson panties were missing. Part of what my mother liked to call my neurosis was that I had to wear a matching panty and bra. The lacy bra remained exactly where I’d placed it, but the panties were missing. “I, um… I thought he was slowing down.”

  “Just a couple more trips and he’ll stop traveling altogether.”

  Now raw fear tore through me. I’d had the feeling of being watched for as long as I could remember, but I’d forced myself to think otherwise. What if it was true? What if there were cameras placed in the suite? The thought wasn’t farfetched. “That’s good.”

  “Alright. I can tell you’re in the middle of something. I can’t wait to see you. What are your plans for the weekend?”

  I could lie and say studying in my room, but maybe it was time my mother realized I was growing up and out of my parents’ shadow. “I’m going to a party tonight.” I moved into the bathroom, yanking open the hamper lid, tossing clothes right and left. My thong definitely wasn’t there.

  My heart raced and I spun around, looking for any obvious signs someone had been in the shared bathroom.

  The glitch in her shocked sigh caught me off guard. “You don’t want to do that.”

  “It’s not off campus. Just a little get together with friends.” Now, I was lying. I would never call members of the Damned my friends.

  Her hesitation created a wave of tension. “Honey, you need to be careful.”

  “Mom. I’m twenty-one now, not a child any longer. Need I remind you that I’ve been a very good girl?” Now, I rolled my eyes. My parents were far too protective. I wasn’t as breakable as they assumed I was.

  “It’s not you I’m worried about. There are some very bad people in this world.”

  Tell me something I hadn’t already heard about a thousand times or more. “Mom. It’s a party located in the most secure facility on earth. Nothing is going to happen. Okay?”

  Another hesitation. It drove me nuts. “Just tell me you’ll call me tomorrow. Okay?”

  Exhaling, I returned to the main room, trying to control my breathing.

  I wanted to be frustrated with her, but I was aware of the threats my parents had received over the years, although they’d surprised me given my father owned a food distribution firm and restaurant in Chicago. Yes, my parents were extremely wealthy, but why the threats? My dad was a down-to-earth guy. “I will. I promise.”