“Yo,” Niko says. “Where’d you go?”
“I got up early as fuck. Went to go take care of some stuff.”
Niko can tell it’s at least partly bullshit.
I don’t think he realizes that ten minutes ago, I was happily grinding my erection up against Weston’s ass in bed, but he’s still slightly suspicious about something.
“Morning, sweetie,” Mom says to me. “Going to take Coco for her morning walk.”
“Have fun,” I tell her. “I’m going to heat up those cinnamon rolls the guys brought over.”
“See you in fifteen,” Mom says before giving me a kiss on the cheek and heading out. It seems like she didn’t notice I was gone from the living room, so that’s one small problem solved.
Niko’s still peering at me with a quizzical look on his face, and I ignore him, heading toward the fridge to get the cinnamon rolls out.
The honest truth is that right now, I wouldn’t care if he knew.
I’d walk out here and tell Niko I slept with Wes if it were only up to me, but I know Weston is shy. I get the sense that he’s never liked hookups, and that he hates the idea of his personal business being spread around Onyx guys.
“This is your phone, right?” Niko asks me as I’m preheating the oven, and I glance over to see him looking at my phone on top of the counter.
I’m expecting the worst.
Maybe Wes sent me a dick pic, and Niko saw the preview. Or maybe it’s a text sayingwhatever you do, don’t tell Niko our dirty, fucked-up little secret.
But when I reach over to grab my phone I forget about all of it.
What’s on the screen is very different.
And a lot worse.
Kieran’s texting me, and it’s accompanied by an image of him. It’s his face, bruised and bloody on one side.
I drop the pan of cinnamon rolls onto the counter and the clatter fills the room.
Kieran: Guess which Onyx brother did this to me?
What the hell happened, Kier?
Roman Petrov couldn’t handle it when I confronted him. He has a shiner even worse than mine, though.
I told you not to escalate things. We do not want another frat war.
Think it’s too late for that.
I lock my phone and shove it away, already running through every way that this is nothing butbad.
“What in the fresh hell was that?” Niko asks.
I clench my jaw. “It’s Kieran. He’s flipping his lid on Roman Petrov, apparently.”
“Shit. Everything goes wrong on the one night we leave campus?”
“Kieran’s been a nightmare this semester. To put it lightly.”
The tension building up with Kieran already felt like a faulty dam that was about to burst. Now, it’s going to be worse.
Roman has reasons to hate him.