Page 126 of The Villain We Tempt

We stop outside the main entrance to Montclair Gymnasium and she pulls a little box out of her hoodie pocket. It’s wrapped in matte black paper with a cute little red bow tied around it. “Locker number three-one-three. The combo is seventeen left, forty-two right, twenty-one left.”

I chew on my lip as I take the box from her outstretched hand.

“Uh… What is it?”

Bella opens her mouth, then closes it and just smiles at me. “Maybe it’s better if you don’t know. But don’t worry,” she laughs when she sees my face. “It’s not gonna like, blow up or anything.”

I smile weakly back at her, wondering what thefuckI’ve gotten myself into as I slip the present in my bag and sling it over my shoulder.

“There aren’t any practices scheduled right now, so…” She shrugs. “The locker room should be empty.”

Should be.

But hey, I’m already here and I’ve agreed to help. Plus, odd duck that she may be, I don’t get the sense that Bella is, like,dangerousor anything.

So I get the locker number and combination from her again, turn, and walk into the gym.

Bella was right: the place is pretty quiet. Still, I can feel my face heat as I glance around and gently ease open the door to the men’s locker room.

“Hello?” I call into the space that smells like antiseptic and body spray. When there’s no response, I open the door a little wider and call out again, louder.

“Hello!Girl walking in! I just need to grab something, sorry!”

My pulse races as I step fully into the room and let the door shut behind me.

It’s utterly empty.

Thank God.

I quickly bolt down the rows of lockers until I find three-one-three. Bella’s combination works like a charm, and I swing the metal door open.

The first thing that strikes me is how freakingorganizedthe inside of the locker is. I mean, not to generalize, but Idohave a brother who plays sports and goes to the gym, and I’ve seen the chaos that accompanies all of that.

This locker isspotless.

Two sets of gym gear plus a swimsuit hang neatly fromhangers. Deodorant, cologne, toothpaste, a toothbrush and a cup, various hair products, and a full, old-school shaving kit complete with a straight razor are lined upperfectlyon a small shelf. The next shelf down boasts three neatly folded towels. Three pairs of athletic shoes sit at the bottom of the locker, all of them with their pristine white laces wrapped tidily around the shoes.

Pretty sure I’ve just broken into a serial killer’s gym locker.

Cool.

I sling my bag off my shoulder and unzip it. Just as I’m reaching inside for the present, I notice the framed family photo attached to the back of the locker—perfectly level, obviously.

It's ofLucia,her younger brother Elio, and her cousins Damiano and Vincenzo.

Elio is still in high school. So this is either Damiano's or his brother Vincenzo's locker.

That question is resolved the second my gaze slides to the other thing taped in meticulously right angles against the back of the locker: a heather gray patch with a dark blue raven over the Latin words “Praecisio in omnibus”.

Precision in all things.

It's the crest of The Order, whichDamianois the president of.

Vincenzo is in the Ouroboros Society with Arianna and me.

Suddenly, a huge grin spreads over my face.

Well, well, well.