At Alstone College, we were kings. Untouchable. People called us “the Four.” How fucking original. We’d had the nickname since we’d first banded together at school—me, Zayde, and Cassius, all fourteen, and my brother Weston, thirteen. Now, with all of us at university and living together, we were closer than ever. Yeah, only me and Weston were related by blood, but they were all my brothers.
Truth was, I didn’t have time for many people, other than my boys. Women were good for one thing, and if it didn’t involve a willing pussy or having my dick sucked, I wasn’t interested. Speaking of…
“Time’s up.” I clapped my hands, startling the two topless blondes making out in front of me. They drew apart, heavy-lidded with arousal and the effects of the alcohol and weed they’d been smoking. One of the women continued to fondle the tits of the other, moaning, but my dick didn’t even stir. This shit was getting old, fast.
I took another drag of my blunt. “Didn’t you hear me? Out. Now.” I pointed at the door, and they got the message. Fucking finally.
“You sending away perfectly good pussy?” Cassius wandered in, grabbing the blunt from my hand and taking a huge drag.
“Wasn’t that good, believe me.”
He raised a sceptical brow. “How much have you had to drink?”
I glanced at the empty bottle of Jack, thrown next to me on the sofa. “Shit. All of it.”
“Brewer’s droop. Too much alcohol decreases the blood flow to your dick.” Cassius nodded sagely, as if he was a fucking medical expert. “That’s why you sent them away. Couldn’t get it up.”
“Fuck off.”
“Nah, think I’ll stay.” He slumped down next to me, throwing his legs onto the coffee table, knocking my phone onto the floor.
“Watch it, mate.”
I heard the door slam as I swiped my phone from under the coffee table, as Weston and Zayde burst into the room. Something, a premonition, had me sitting bolt upright, the haze from the drugs temporarily clearing as adrenaline raced through me.
Weston spoke two words, his voice calm and measured, but his eyes showed the underlying worry he was trying to hide.
“Code blue.”
Fuck.
ONE
“Kinslee, I need you to be my guide in everything. What or who do I need to know?” I stood, hands on hips, watching my housemate as she blew out a breath, tapping her lip in thought.
“Nothing specific I can think of right now, but stick with me and you’ll be fine. First, and most important, as you well know, there’s a big ‘welcome back to uni’ house party tonight. That’ll be our first stop.”
“Sounds good.” I smiled, pulling my hair out of its messy bun, letting it cascade down my back. “I can’t believe I’m really here, about to become an official student.”
During the first year of my degree course, when I’d been a normal university student in an ordinary university, the “accident” had happened, and my entire world had been turned upside down. I’d managed to transfer to Alstone College, a specialist business school, after months of back-and-forth, endless paperwork, and assessment of my course credits to ensure I could continue my studies going into my second year, rather than starting the first year all over again. Of course, the money I’d paid hadn’t hurt. At Alstone, money talked. That, and connections. A hundred grand, my mother’s new surname dropped casually into conversation—as much as I hated to use it, and my enrolment had suddenly been confirmed. Unfortunately, that had used a huge chunk of my insurance money, so I’d need to be careful with my spending.
After my transfer had been confirmed, I was ready. I had enough money to get by, if I was careful. I’d used some of the remaining insurance money to buy a phone, a laptop, other university essentials, and a compact car. My housing was sorted—I’d paid for the entire academic year up front. I’d scoured the online university noticeboard, and after viewing three different sets of accommodation, I’d lucked out with Kinslee Stewart. A second-year student like me, she had a two-bedroom apartment in a block right next to the campus and had advertised for a housemate.
As soon as I’d met her, we’d hit it off. We’d spent the past week getting to know each other, and I felt like I’d known her for years already.
I was beyond grateful that everything had seemingly fallen into place, but, all that aside, I had to keep my end goal in mind. The only reason I was now at