“What the hell is wrong with you?”
He chuckles. “Wow, you seem happy.”
“Time to talk,” I snap.
“About what?”
I slam the door shut behind me. “I know you’re in the frat house. You told me you’re a distributor.”
“So? That’s nothing new.”
“You knew Scarlet took an overdose. She was the courier.”
His eyes narrow. “How do you know about this?”
“It doesn’t matter.” I pace up and down his room. “The point is, I need to know what the deal is with you and this entire Alpha Psi club. You guys are bad. You forced Hunter to fight.”
“And your point is?”
“What the fuck is wrong with you for thinking this is okay?”
He stands up from his chair, his demeanor suddenly changing into something much, much darker. Something creepily scary.
“He had to be punished,” he says with a strong voice.
“Just like Scarlet? Did she have to be punished, too?”
He prowls forward, the pen dropping to the floor.
I inch back, swallowing. “She was poisoned. Murdered. And you know it.”
Brody stops in his tracks, carefully assessing me from a distance. “Yes.”
I find it hard not to breathe. I was right all along.
He was the one behind it all.
“She was a threat. She wanted to expose me for who I am. Of course I don’t want that to happen. There’s a lot at stake here.” He leans forward and picks up the pen. “Do you know what I’ve been through? Do you know how much I’ve sacrificed to get this business off the ground? How much I’ve suffered to finally be able to afford things?”
“Was it worth it?” I snap.
Brody squints and sighs. “Damn right it was. After our fight, Scarlet probably realized how advanced this whole operation was. She wanted out. I didn’t let her, yada, yada, I killed her. You know the drill.” He flicks his fingers like he just told a simple story.
I’m frozen in place, mortified.
“You killed her … You … You’re the―”
“The boss. Yes.” He balls his fists. “Unfortunately, your fucking boyfriend had to go ruin it all by pursuing me. I still have no idea how he managed to find out she was the courier, but it doesn’t matter. He’s locked up now, and he’ll be dead before the end of the night.”
“No …” I gasp.
“Yes,” he says, chuckling. “I was hoping he’d keep you out of this, but now he’s left me with no choice but to do the same to you.”
He clenches the pen in his fist, pointing it toward me. “You see, I’d do anything to keep my business going. It’s my life. There is nothing more important.”
Oh no. Oh God no. This can’t be happening. I don’t want to die.
I step back as far as I can, but Brody’s right in front of me, blocking the only exit out of this goddamn room. My fingers curl around the edge of a cabinet, trying to get as far away from him as possible.
I should’ve known. Dammit, I should’ve seen this coming!
Hunter was right. He was always right.
“Don’t do this, Brody,” I stammer.
“What? Kill you? Autumn, you’ve left me no choice. You should’ve just stayed out of this. Now it’s too late.”
He lurches forward.
I scream. My body twists in a way I didn’t expect to be possible. The pen barely shoots past my waist. Brody has me by the shoulder, his fingernails digging into my skin. I can feel the blood flowing.
I scream as loud as I can, grabbing a hold of his arm to keep him from stabbing me. It’s my strength against his. His deadly eyes are gazing into mine, almost searing their way into my soul.
He moves his hand toward my neck and starts squeezing, hard.
I’m coughing, choking on my own breath. Burning pain follows. My esophagus is being crushed by his hands. I fight to untangle his fingers from my throat, but he keeps strangling me. I’m trying to gasp for air, but nothing comes in. Life is slipping away from me. I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe. I don’t want to die.
The door slams open.
Brody shifts his hand, holding the pen like a knife. He tries to strike me with it, but I avoid it by arching my back. My eyes can only focus on avoiding the pen. I don’t know what’s happening.
Someone comes in and grabs Brody by the shoulders, dragging him away.
Panting, I buckle over and suck in the air that was pulled from my lungs. I’m gasping for air, trying to get as much in as possible.
And then I see who it is that saved me.
“Don’t you fucking lay a hand on her, you motherfucker!” Hunter yells.
He grabs Brody by the shirt and wraps his other hand around Brody’s wrist. He turns Brody’s arm until he squeals, forcing him to drop the pen he tried to stab Hunter with, too.