Stefan had even admitted that he got into a fight with a fellow frat brother on my behalf, which resulted in more threats against me.
Rather than risk more fights, Stefan had brought me back home.
Both of our parents, who I thought would be pissed as hell that we were wasting a semester of their hard-earned money and that Stefan had gotten in trouble once again, praised Stefan for doing the right thing and were happy we were both safe.
Luckily for us, the story of our having sex hadn't reached our parents’ ears, and they’d only heard small rumors about a scandal on our campus involving a popular fraternity. Still, there was the problem of what Stefan had done to Jace. From what I understood, Todd made up a story about what happened to Jace so that the school wouldn’t investigate the fraternity further. So, Stefan made good use of the ignorance of our parents to weave a tale that was so good that I almost believed it over the events that really happened. Some of it had truth to it, anyway. I was threatened, and Jace did attempt to assault me.
Stefan grinned at me. “Hook, line, and sinker.” He walked over and gathered me up into his arms, delivering a solid kiss to my lips.
I burned with desire, a feeling of happiness in my heart. Now that we were home, I could have Stefan all to myself. The thought of having sex with him right under our parents’ noses filled me with breathless excitement and dread at the same time.
Our kisses quickly became more passionate, and Stefan pushed me back onto the bed. He gently lowered himself on top of me, smothering my neck with kisses. “You know, Evelyn and Dad are supposed to be going on vacation here soon, after his big project with the Governor,” Stefan murmured, his deep voice filled with unbridled lust. “We’ll have the whole house to ourselves.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I purred softly, knowing the answer. Stefan’s strong hands on my body and his lips pressed against my skin felt incredible.
He grinned and kissed me hard on the lips. “Making up for lost time and mistakes. Starting with lots and lots of time in bed together.”
I smiled and replied dreamily, “I think I can come to love that.”
I pulled him down into another deep kiss, and we rolled around on his bed until I felt a sharp pinch and cried out.
Stefan pulled back immediately, his forehead creased with concern. “What’s wrong, Bella? Did I hurt you?”
“I don’t think so,” I replied, rubbing at my hip. “Something just dug into my side.”
“Hmm.” Stefan pulled back off the bed and onto his feet. “Move,” he ordered.
Dutifully, I rolled off the bed, revealing a medium-sized orange package with Stefan’s name on it and no return address where I had been lying.
“The hell is that?” I wondered.
Stefan stared at the item with suspicion. “I have no clue.”
“I think it must have been on the bed before we even walked in,” I suggested.
“Must have,” Stefan muttered absently, his eyes on the package. After a moment, he picked it up and examined it.
He shook the package close to his ear, but it didn’t make much of a sound. Gritting his teeth, veins bulged on Stefan’s biceps as he tore open the top part of the package. He peeked inside before pulling out a folded piece of paper. When he unfolded it and read it, his face went white.
My pulse began to race, my heart pounding so hard that I thought even Stefan could hear it. “What is it?” I asked breathlessly. “What does it say?”
Stefan’s voice sounded strained. “It says For brother and sister.”
“Throw it away!” I hissed immediately. “Now!”
Stefan folded up the piece of paper and stuffed it in his pocket, shaking his head. “I can’t do that, Bella.” He glanced at the package apprehensively. Whatever the package contained, it wasn’t anything big. “Someone wants to give us a message.”
“All the more reason to chuck it out the window. Please,” I begged. “Get rid of it.”
Stefan stared at me. “Do you really want to do that? Obviously, it’s someone who knows who we are and where we live.” Stefan shook his head. “As much as I want to please you, we have to see what it is.”
I crossed my arms, glaring at him. “Fine, whatever. Just do it.”
I held my breath as Stefan reached inside the package and pulled out a small, black, square-shaped item.
“What the hell is that?” I asked in confusion. Then I recognized it a moment later.
It was a flash-drive memory stick.
Whatever was on the drive, I knew it couldn't be good.
After a moment, he walked over and grabbed his laptop off his desk and brought it over to the bed, powering it on.