Lunar Crest University (Forbidden Fruit)

Chapter Fifteen

LUCA

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 14TH, 2023

I t was wishful thinking to assume I wouldn’t have to deal with any Javier business until after the trip to England. It would’ve worked out the way I’d hoped in a perfect world, but the world was nowhere near perfect. It was dismal, raw, and goddamn brutal. Fucking annoying in every sense of the word. Which is why I’m not as surprised as I should be when I park across the street from Finley’s apartment and notice someone sneaking around the concrete steps toward the window that allows the creep to see her standing in her kitchen.

She really needs to learn how to close the blinds at night.

Swallowing thickly, my nostrils flare as I watch the bastard cup his hands to the window as he peeks inside. I can’t tell who it is because the sun has already set, casting deep shadows around the small town that is always too quiet for its own good. It’s unnerving that someone can just look through windows out in the open for anyone to see.

The fucker could at least try to be discreet.

But it doesn’t matter anyway—his lifeless, rotting corpse will be stuffed into my trunk in a few minutes.

People watching Finley’s apartment means I have to watch Finley’s apartment. Maybe this wasn’t a bad decision after all. Maybe getting involved with her is the best way to protect her. I could keep tabs on her movements as well as Javier’s—make sure they never coincide.

Flinging my door open, I press my tongue against the corner of my mouth as I climb out, closing it quietly behind me. Cracking my neck, I walk across the street toward the oblivious hijo de puta . My hands clench into irritated fists at my sides as I creep up behind him, fighting the urge to snap his neck. No fighting, no words. I could wipe my hands clean of the situation in five seconds, but I need information.

“Do you always spend your Saturdays creeping outside people’s windows?”

The guy flinches, stumbling away from the glass as he whirls around to stare up at me. His dark eyes widen as if he’s just seen a ghost. I don’t recognize him, but he clearly knows who I am. His attempt to flee is halted as I grasp his hoodie, yanking him backward to shove him up against the brick of Finley’s apartment.

“Ah, ah ,” I tsk, pressing my arm into his neck. “You didn’t even answer my question.”

“Listen, man, I was just doing what I was told.”

“Which was what?” I growl under my breath, leaning in closer as my jaw ticks.

He blinks slowly, his eyes darting away for a second, undoubtedly thinking of the perfect lie. Another mistake—I know every tell, every sign on someone’s face that indicates they aren’t telling the truth. It’s always in the eyes, and the nervous fucker in front of me is avoiding eye contact like it’s life or death. Even the space between his thick brows twitches.

“Do you know who I am?” I ask.

He nods weakly.

“Then you know that lying to me wouldn’t be very smart, would it?”

The sweat on his forehead glistens in the moonlight as he swallows harshly, nervously staring up at me. The longer I look at him, the angrier I get. Why would Javier send this guy to go peeping in windows? He’s practically shitting his pants, and I haven’t even threatened him yet. The least Javier could do was find someone more intimidating to do the job for him, but he’d never be smart enough for that.

They’re all stupid, which is why it’ll be so easy to kill every single one of them.

It’s not like I have a choice. During my time under Javier’s wing, I’d never seen him give up on anything he’d set his sights on. Not once. His ego is too big. He may be a stupid fucker, but he’s a persistent one. The harassment and stalking of Finley won’t cease unless I stop it myself—the only way I know how. It’ll only get worse if I don’t.

So much for that fresh start.

“I think you already know—” he grumbles, pausing as he struggles against my arm still pressed to his neck. “—there’s nothing you can do to stop him. There’ll always be more, no matter how many you kill.”

Oh. There are his balls.

His words make my lips twitch in amusement as I narrow my eyes down at the squirming idiot, my heel digging into the dirt for leverage as I press my elbow deeper into his esophagus.

“ Scary .”

“It should be,” he strains breathlessly. “The more people you kill, the more determined he gets. He’ll go after everyone until you have no one left. That’s when he’ll put you out of your misery.”

I grit my teeth. “ Why are you here?”

“Why are you here?”

“You must have balls the size of coconuts with the way you keep talking to me.” I click my tongue. “Why don’t I cut them off? Hmm? Fucking feed them to you.”

None of this would even be happening if I hadn’t stopped Rosco from touching Finley in the alley that night. I’d interfered with Javier’s right-hand man, making the situation spiral out of control. There was no other choice but to murder Rosco. There’s no other choice but to murder every single person I need to until she’s safe. If that meant killing Javier and his men, then I would.

It wouldn’t stop with Finley, I know that. My family would be next.

Risking my life for a girl I’ve known for a month. Fucking idiot.

As much as I will myself to think that way, I can’t. It’s my fault she’s a part of this. It all stems back to owing Javier money. Rosco would’ve never cornered me in that alley that first night I’d laid eyes on Finley if I’d paid the fucker back quicker. I had plenty of money, but his stipulation made it all irrelevant. I had gotten the teaching position at the university, but it still wasn’t good enough. All Javi cares about is the cash, and now that Rosco is dead, it only permanently fixates the target on my back.

“Well. May the best man win, huh?”

I don’t even give him any time to respond before my hands clasp around his throat, squeezing so hard, my hands shake as I watch the light slowly fade from his widened eyes, which only grow more heavy-lidded as his clawing hands fall to his sides.

It never gets any easier to take a life, no matter how many times I do it. I just learn to compartmentalize a little better each time. Instead of the dread, all that’s left is numbness. After wallowing in guilt the first few times, I’d learned it’s best to just let it go.

It was just a job then. It’s just a job now.

I repeat the mantra over and over again in my mind as I drag the lifeless body across the street, my eyes scanning the dark scenery around me for any signs of life that could be witnessing something they shouldn’t. It’s so quiet, even the crickets can’t be heard. Stuffing the guy into my trunk, hiding him beneath a ragged old blanket for good measure, I straighten my shoulders as I suck in a deep breath.

Two hundred and two .

Slamming the trunk shut, I leave the dead body and the worries that come with it behind me as I walk back toward Finley’s apartment.