Kill Switch by Penelope Douglas

She was beautiful.
And bright. Her dark brown hair hung down her back in
loose curls, her jeans and short-sleeved black blouse fit a lot
better than my clothes ever did, she wore lipstick and mascara,
and the light caught the small ruby encrusted with diamonds
on her left hand. Kai must’ve gotten her a proper ring after
their quick nuptials.
Fucking Kai. He’d clearly treated her how she deserved.
But was she his now? Truly?
I sighed, looking around. “I hated college.”
“You hated being away from your family,” she corrected.
“And I don’t mean GGabriel and me.”
I clenched my jaw. Yeah.
The year and two months I spent at college sucked, and
even now, I look back on it as though time had been suspended
as I existed without Michael, Will, and Kai.
And her.
“You were the only loner I knew who hated being alone,”
she mused, gathering up her books and papers.
“So what will you do?” I asked, changing the subject.
“With your education, I mean?”
“She’s already doing it.” A voice trailed down from the top
of the stairs, and I glanced over my shoulder enough to see a
skinny body with brown hair trot down.
Alex.
“She, Rika, and I are designing a curriculum for young
women,” she said, stopping just above me. “Self-defense,
survival, situational awareness, decision-making… We’re
hoping to roll it out next summer, starting at Sensou.”
Sensou. The dojo Kai, Rika, Will, and Michael owned
together. Not with me.
Self-defense, survival, situational awareness… People
don’t need classes in that. You push someone in a pool, they