Chapter 2

• Kane
• Kane was absolutely feral when it came to Celeste on a good day, but today? After all the turmoil with Blaine? He was murderous.
• "Kane, don’t," Declan's voice stopped him mid-stride, but his eyes didn't leave Talon even when Declan banged his fist on the ancient intricately carved wooden cart that held the liquor. "Shut the heck up, Talon. He’s here. Say what you need to say, and I’ll make sure you walk out of here tonight." Declan's poised tone, the one they'd been taught since kindergarten, did its job of masking his anger. His tone was cold and even. Kane knew he could count on him if he needed backup, but he wouldn't need anyone to step in. After seeing Celeste today, watching her walk around campus pretending to be sad, pretending that she didn't know why his brother was lying lifeless in the cold ground, he was looking for a reason to confront someone. And Talon had just given him several.
• Talon ignored Declan and started in on Kane again. "Since the golden boy is no longer with us, and she clearly doesn’t want anything to do with you. You won’t mind if I take my turn with her?"
• Kane had beaten the breath out of guys for talking about Celeste, but he'd never felt this sort of unbridled rage. He was going to confront him. He was going to watch his eyes go blank and feel his last breath.
• Talon was grinning at him when he said, "Don't worry, I'll give her back to you when I'm done with her."
• Before anyone could blink, Kane was on him. He didn't even know what his fists were connecting with, and he couldn't feel the pain that he knew should be there. It took both Declan and Wilder to pull him off of the guy. Minutes that felt like hours passed, and when his vision wasn't blurry, he saw Nathaniel and Cruz yanking Talon up off the floor and onto the long wooden table that had been the center of Kappa Alpha meetings since Westbrook had existed. Talon's mouth was bleeding all over his Westbrook issued white button-down, and Kane was glad to see the fear flicker in his eyes for a moment before he masked his feelings.
• Kane stalked over to him but allowed Cruz and Nathaniel to act as a buffer. "If you even think about touching her, you won't have enough strength to even beg me to put you out of your misery."
• She's mine, he wanted to add, but had enough sense to know that would just give him the satisfaction of knowing he was right on target with the jabs he was throwing Kane's way.
• "Now see, all this time I thought you were thinking with your you-know-what because who wouldn’t want a piece of sweet little Celeste ? But you clearly care what happens to her, don't you?" he laughed, but Kane could hear the way his voice was shaking, and that made his lips tip up into a demented smile like the psycho he was.
• Talon had no clue who he was messing with when it came to Celeste. "That's a slippery slope, don't you think? Let your brother rest in peace and keep your nose out of places it doesn't belong. I wouldn't want anything to happen to anyone else you care about."
• Kane was about to snatch him up, but both Nathaniel and Cruz stopped him.
• Wilder jerked his shoulders as if he was itching to grab Talon, but Declan pressed a hand to his chest, anticipating his movements and stopping him before he did something to get himself in trouble. Declan and Wilder had a different kind of friendship than the rest of them. It was like they were brothers or could feel what the other one was feeling. Kane didn't even have that with his own brother. They were polar opposites and rarely ever agreed on anything. Except they did agree on one thing.
• Celeste was Blackwell property and always would be.
• Declan moved to stand between Talon and Kane and he plucked his black pea coat that all of the Kappa Alpha's wore from the back of the chair he must have been sitting in during the meeting. "Next time he wants to kill you, I won't stand in his way." Declan's voice was controlled, almost bored. "Am I making myself clear?"
• Talon only grinned, and satisfaction coursed through Kane when he saw his bloody teeth.
• "Answer him." Wilder stood shoulder to shoulder with Declan, fumbling with the buttons on his own coat, making his demand seem less intimidating. Kane watched as Declan brushed Wilder’s fingers away and took over, fastening the buttons for him with practiced ease. It was those sort of small gestures between the two of them that made him wonder if there were things that happened between them that the rest of them didn't know. When Talon didn't respond to the demand, Wilder added, "If you don't play nice and answer Declan, we’re going to tag team your mom. We all know Mrs. Sanderson prefers frat boys over your father."
• Declan didn't react, but Nathaniel and Cruz snorted out a laugh when Talon snapped, "Shut the heck up. Leave her out of this." Talon finally stood, and he'd do well to remember that he was only able to do that because they'd allowed it. "I'm warning all of you to stop snooping around campus looking for stuff that isn't any of your business."
• "My brother is my business. And I will find out who is the reason he ended up on those cliffs with a broken neck." Kane fought to control his temper, and he was barely successful. He leaned in and angrily whispered, "When I find out who is responsible, they're going to get it ten times worse than what Blaine went through that night."
• He watched Talon closely as his words sank in, and he realized that the quiet promise was more intimidating than anything he could angrily yell at him. Without another word, he turned and headed toward the heavy wooden door that led out into the stone corridor. He needed to get out of there or he was going to confront him, and he clearly knew something about Blaine's death, or he wouldn't be fighting so hard to keep him from shaking things up around Westbrook. He needed to keep him around until he could unravel the truth. After that, if he died a slow, horrible death. Kane didn't give a darn.
• "Does your mom like it in the rear? I'm asking for a friend." He heard Wilder taunt, and he rolled his eyes because even though he didn't turn around to see it, he just knew Wilder was wiggling his eyebrows suggestively as Declan rolled his eyes. He knew what he was doing, and that he was doing it to help him, but his antics only ebbed his frustration a fraction.
• Kane heard Talon's rage-filled voice just as he was about to shove the door open, but he turned when he heard a scuffle. Talon scrunched up his bloody face in anger and shoved Wilder, who continued laughing, not budging an inch.
• Declan waved Kane off, letting him know he had it under control, and Kane didn't argue. Once he was outside, he looked up at the foggy sky and tried to gauge if the rain was going to hold off.
• This was the exact type of weather that Blaine and Celeste loved, and the reason they'd go down to the cliffs and sit for hours.
• He wondered what they talked about. Did he mess around with her out in the open where anyone brave enough to venture down the cliffs could see them?
• Jealousy raged through him at the thought of her with someone else. He treated her like trash because he was so angry at her, but she was his. He needed her, and that made him hate her even more. He knew he needed to stay away from her, for her sake and for his own sanity. He headed toward her dorm anyway because he didn't care about either of those things.
• He was going to ruin her life.