Bridge of Love

  Chapter 1

  Bridge

  I knew she was trouble the moment I saw her.

  Emma Varma.

  I would know that ass anywhere. The real question was, what was she doing here on campus? And how hadn't she been seen already?

  Under any circumstances, a girl like Emma was going to get noticed. All that raven dark hair, silky and hanging to the middle of her back. Cinnamon skin. As much as Eton liked to purport that they accepted many underprivileged boys, there was a distinct lack of diversity. Brown skin, great ass, and long flowing hair combined to scream girl on campus. Usually that meant the vultures should have been circling, so how had no one seen her?

  She was scurrying around the corner from Toby’s room. Had she come to see him? Was something wrong with Pamma Auntie?

  There was a small part of me that wished she was coming to see me.

  Ha. A small part? Is that part me… your dick?

  Toby Varma was one of my best mates. I'd known Emma since Toby and I started at Eton a few years ago. When I met her, she'd been knobby kneed with a dirt smudged face and very annoying.

  Well, she was still very annoying.

  I glanced over my shoulder to see that no one else had seemed to notice her, so I followed her down the back stairwell that led down to one of two study rooms. One of them, I will admit, had a secret entrance. It was one that we seniors tended to use to sneak out to go drink or head out to a party. How did Emma know about it?

  I glanced down at my watch. It was four-thirty. The study rooms wouldn't be busy. There might be one or two people studying, but they might not see her.

  I had to run to keep up. I checked the first study room, the small one, but she wasn’t there. And then in the second, I saw her as she hit a hidden book, pulling it free and sending the shelves of books swinging.

  Jesus Christ, she was a disaster everywhere she went.

  I followed her quickly, glancing behind me and making sure no one was following us. Where are you going, Ems? I followed her into the passage where darkness hit me hard, and I had to let my eyes adjust. At the other end, I saw the light of the swinging door that led outside to the grounds. From there would be the path down to the teacher's parking lot. Below that would be the student parking lot, though it was nearly impossible to get a parking space at this time of day. On the left, there was a covered path to the equestrian arena and one to the boathouse used by the rowing team.

  I followed her down the path to the boathouse and then caught up to her easily.

  I knew I shouldn't scare her. But she was running around fucking Eton by herself. No escort. Wearing tight jeans and a crop top, and she was going to get in a lot of trouble, not to mention the trouble Toby could get into. Not that what she was wearing should garner any unwanted attention. She could and should wear what she wanted.

  I also knew arseholes. Eton was full of them. Hell, most of them had never even seen a real live girl they weren’t related to. Someone would fucking lose their shit and report her, say something shitty to her, or worse.

  The idea of any of those things happening to her had my teeth grinding and my hands curling into fists.

  I would end anybody who said anything to her. If anyone touched her… fuck. They would wish I killed them.

  My oh-so-helpful brain replayed an image of the last time I’d lost control. The incident that had landed me at Eton as my last chance, according to the old man. Before I’d come here, I was one of those East End hooligans people saw on the news.

  I never hurt anyone really, but I was in trouble a lot. Vandalism mostly. Mostly bored kid shite. Mum was working all the time to try and get the restaurant going. And I was perpetually angry at the old man I knew existed for never helping her.

  Add to that I was shit bored at school and it was a recipe for disaster. It was a wonder I wasn’t in jail or dead.

  At any rate, this idiot bloke had tried to hurt one of my mates back home. Sweetest girl you’d ever met. Really shy. The fucker had pulled her around by her hair during an argument. So naturally, I’d called him out on his bullshit and the bloody geezer came at me with a knife.

  He’d ended up on the wrong end of his own knife that night. It wasn’t fatal or anything. I’d even applied pressure to his shoulder wound while holding him down so my mate could shave his head.

  Okay, maybe that was a smidge too far. Point was, I wasn’t going to tolerate any verbal or physical harm coming to Emma.

  She was my best mate’s little sister and deserved respect.

  Right... and that’s the only reason?

  "Now where do you think you're going?"

  She whirled around, ready to scream. But I pulled her against me and clamped a hand over her mouth. "Be quiet, Emma."

  At first her eyes were wide and fearful, and she struggled. But when she saw it was me, her brows furrowed and dropped down. I could feel her teeth starting to graze the flesh of my palm. "Do not bite."

  She blinked rapidly. Then her eyes seemed to be smiling at me, and I knew I was in trouble. As if sensing what she was going to do, my body moved automatically, one leg bending and crossing over my body to protect my balls. Emma hit the outside of my thigh, and then her teeth clamped down on my flesh.

  I muttered a curse. "I fucking told you to shut up. Hold still. It’s just me. Are you trying to get caught?"

  That seemed to get her attention, and she relaxed and stilled.

  "What are you doing here, Emma?"

  She shoved at my chest, and I had no choice but to release her. "Well, if you would fucking leave me be, I could go find him."

  "Are you looking for Toby?"

  She rolled her eyes. "No, I was here to seduce you."

  That rasp in her voice and the way her gaze landed over me with just a hint of derision drove me insane. I wasn't sure why, because fucking hell, there were a million girls I could have, a million of them who clearly wanted me.

  But Emma. Fucking Emma. Every time I was near her, it was like someone set my body on fire, making my skin too warm, too tight, too itchy. I usually avoided touching her at all cost. But I had made a rookie mistake, and now my body tingled as I faced off against her.

  "You turn up dressed like that on an all-boys campus and think no one is going to notice?"

  "What was I supposed to do?"

  "Well, if you are trying to sneak around campus, you should have hidden your hair with a hat and actually put on a uniform. Not that that would have done much to hide your ass, but it would have been less conspicuous. But instead, you went around in those tight jeans and crop top, giving the boys no choice but to stare at it as it hugs your tits. Now, I recognize that’s not your intention and that there’s nothing wrong with the way you’re dressed. But you have to take into consideration that A, this is an all-boys campus with a lot of lads who haven't seen a girl in a long time, and B, they have no idea what to do with one, and C, they can't help but to objectify girls. And still, you're running around here as if none of that matters? That's not how life works, Ems."

  She scowled then. What the fuck had I said wrong this time?

  "I don't need a big brother. I have one. One who has abandoned me for the holiday. Where is he?"

  I blinked. Toby had abandoned her? No fucking way. He and his family were close, like my mom and me.

  “If you’d been caught in our room, we’d both have been expelled.”

  "I'm his sister. That doesn’t count."

  "Yes, it does. The rules are very clear. Sister, mom, or grandmother, no women allowed. We would have been expelled."

  She frowned at that. "Well, how was I supposed to know?"

  "You didn't really think that through, did you?"

  "Whatever.
Look, you're not my big brother. You're not the boss of me, so I don’t care what you think. Just tell me where he is, will you?"

  "Well, I'm not just going to leave you on campus to look for him alone."

  "Yes, you are."

  "Why?"

  "Because I will make being with me a giant colossal pain in the ass. So you might as well just let me go."

  I ground my teeth. "No. Let's go. He's probably at the boathouse."

  "You're serious? You're going to walk me there?"

  I nodded. "Yeah, because that's what Toby would want."

  She rolled her eyes. "You really are never any fun. You know that, right?"

  "I didn't realize fun was what you needed from me."

  "It'd be nice. You know, for you not to be uptight and a giant colossal pain."

  I shrugged. "I don't really care about being a pain in the ass."

  "Yeah, clearly. It shows."

  "Fine." I forced a tight smile onto my face, and she shook her head.

  "You know what, it's better when you don't smile."

  I couldn't help it. A smirk teased out. "So, you want to tell me what you're doing here?"

  "Yeah, I'm trying to force Toby to come home."

  "I mean, you know he loves you, right? If he could come home, he would."

  She chewed her bottom lip. "You don't get it. We're all each other has. Mom drives me crazy, and he's the buffer. Plus, he promised me something."

  "Whatever he promised you, I'm sure he'll make it up to you."

  At the boathouse, I could see Toby as he prepped some equipment. "Your brother is over there."

  She groaned. "Ugh, I should have just come here first. My friend dropped me off after therapy."

  I squinted against the sun as I caught sight of the car on top of the hill. "You hiked all the way to campus from there?"

  "Yeah, I didn't want to be seen."

  I shook my head. "Wow, Emma Varma, when will you ever learn that there is an easier way to do things?"

  She turned and gave me a saucy smile as she backed away from me. "Now what fun would that be? See you around, Bridge."

  I forced myself to not call out after her as she turned to jog toward the boathouse. It wasn't my business. And that tingling from where I'd touched her before hadn't disappeared. This was the problem with Emma Varma. It had always been the problem. Even before I really knew or understood that whole relationship-with-girl’s thing, I knew she made me insane, too hyper aware. She unsettled me, and it had gotten worse over the years as she began to grow and develop. How many times had I stayed at Toby's house with Emma constantly trying to get our attention? My attention. Always trying to push me. But I'd held strong. Now was not the time for a show of weakness. Even though Emma Varma had grown up, she was still way the hell off limits. My best mate's little sister? No way, no how. Forgetting about her was in my very best interest.

  ***

  Toby

  I was about to blow up my life.

  One decision, one false move, and everything would explode. I often thought about it. If I had stepped right instead of left that day, maybe I wouldn’t have even seen what happened, and I’d still be oblivious. The problem was, now there was no unseeing it. I was already ashamed of myself for holding onto the information for far too long. A part of me hoped maybe I hadn't seen what I thought I saw, that maybe I'd gotten it wrong. And when the incident hadn't shown up on the news, when no one had said a word about the girl, I had managed to somewhat convince myself of that. Except, I had seen it. I knew I had. So at exactly 2:00 p.m. tomorrow, if everything went right, I was going to blow up the truth. Instead of going home to London for a holiday break with my mates, I was going to stay on campus. I was going to go to the Dean of Students and tell him what I'd seen. The Dean of Students was also a member of the oh-so Elite organization. The organization that was going to determine the future of my life and of my mates' lives for that matter.

  If they knew what I was going to do, would they stop me? I'd like to think not. I'd like to think that they would walk in there and stand beside me, but I wasn't going to drag them into this. If I was going to get kicked out for speaking the truth, then fair enough, but I was going to make sure that they were protected. So instead of going home, I was staying on campus. I'd already told my mum, and she was displeased. And I told my sister two days ago, as well. Emma was apoplectic. I'd promised to take her to some stupid concert by Estella Grant, some poppy, wannabe singer. Mom had said she could only go if she had an escort because Mom knew Emma well. And I was supposed to be Emma's escort. But if I was staying on campus, I couldn't be. I had found the perfect solution though. I was just going to have to live with my choice.

  Emma was difficult in the best of times. I loved my sister to distraction, but she was wild and free and would ruin your whole day because you crossed your eyes at her. But she was also quick-witted and fun to be with. And at the core of it, Emma was also really compassionate. She couldn't stand to see anyone treated unfairly, and she would go full war crusader on their behalf. The problem was that Emma didn't always look before she jumped. She was the type of person who confronted right then and there about it, without even thinking of the outcome. I was always telling her to wait and think before she acted.

  Just like I had waited patiently and deliberately. But I was too deliberate sometimes, and I had thought about this one for too long.

  Maybe you didn't see what you thought you saw. Maybe everything is fine. Maybe everyone is fine.

  But I could feel it in my gut. What I’d seen had been real. I hadn’t imagined it. I hadn’t been pissed enough to have hallucinated it. It had happened. And I knew the expectation was for me to stay quiet, stay silent. But I couldn’t. Oaths or no oaths.

  The only problem was that if what I’d seen had been real, everything I had worked so hard for was going to come to a screeching halt, and I was going to humiliate my father, my family, everyone.

  Your father who doesn't talk to you? Who hasn't seen you or your sister since you were seven and Emma was four?

  That was the thing with organizations like the Elite. Once I was initiated, I would see my father once a month, every month. He'd be behind a mask, but I would know it was him. I was his son, and he still wouldn't speak to me. He would not acknowledge me. He would still look at me like a stranger, but I would be there with him and someday be his equal.

  Are you sure about that? What if he never acknowledges you?

  Okay, fine. I at least hoped we would be equals. It didn’t even have to be reconciliation, but maybe respect wasn’t too much to hope for.

  You’re delusional.

  Maybe, but either way, this information wouldn't hold any longer. I couldn't hold onto it anymore because one among us was the devil and was going to bring everything down. And he had to be stopped.

  Oh yeah, like you're the one who could stop him. He has everything. The family, the connections, the pedigree. No one will believe you.

  Whether people were going to believe me or not, I had to try, even if I ruined everything. I knew the right thing to do. I just had to do it.

  You will destroy your life.

  Well then, so be it. I would destroy my life. But at the very least, I would have done the right thing, and the poor family that might be looking for that girl would finally know the truth about what happened to her.

  A shiver ran up my back as I thought about that night. The fear that I could have done more, that I should have done more. But I’d been frozen, At first unsure of what I had seen, then unwilling to believe it. The horrifying acceptance had come later.

  I'd considered going to the police directly, but if I called the police to Eton with no proof, that would be a disaster. No, speaking to the dean was the better way.

  I’d been distracted while I ruminated on my plan, and I froze as I saw someone with dark hair coming around the corner of the boathouse. "Emma Varma, what the fuck are you doing out her
e?”

  "It's a boathouse. People come to row all the time."

  "Yes, but it’s a fucking school day, Ems. Did you sneak out?"

  "Maybe?"

  I glanced around, trying to figure out how the hell my sister had gotten into the boathouse. And then I noticed a car at the top of the hill, and it looked like a girl was waving down at Emma. "Oh my God, who is that?"

  "That's my mate, Katy."

  "Wait, Katy Finch? Didn't you get in trouble with her last term? She nearly got you expelled, Emma."

  "Ugh, St. Harrow's. It's so annoying. Sister Eunice has it in for me."

  "You're not supposed to be here, Ems."

  "I know, I know, but to be fair, you bailed out on me. That’s the reason I’m here. I need you to find me a replacement."

  "A replacement?"

  "You know I will die if I don't go to that concert."

  "I know and I'm sorry, but it can't be avoided. I’ve got to stay here."

  "For what? Some kind of stupid project? You weren't even clear when you told me you won’t be able to make it. If you're going to lie, lie better."

  I watched my sister, the setting sun kissing her skin, making it glow. "Look, I'm sorry, love, but I promise I'll make it up to you. It's just been a crazy time with everything going on here. I have to stay and finish a project, okay?"

  "You're a party pooper. Mom will never let me go to that concert now. She doesn't trust Katy."

  "Well, she shouldn't. Expulsion, Emma, really?"

  "Like I said, Sister Eunice has it in for me."

  "You mean, outside of the fact that you snuck out, stole a car, and drove forty miles to see me instead of being where you're supposed to be?"

  "I'm your sister, and you love me though. And I missed you."

  She bit her bottom lip and I could tell part of that was put on, but there was also truth in what Emma was saying. I stalked over to her and wrapped my arms around her. "You're such a pain in the ass. What is wrong with you?"

  “Oh, nothing really. It just felt like you abandoned me."

  "I have never abandoned you a day in my life, and I'm not starting now."

  She wrapped her arms around me tight. "Tobes, I know you don't want to talk to me about the whole secret club and all that."