I snorted, took a pull, blew out the smoke, then asked, “What did you leave?”
“You’ll see,” he said, sitting down on the grass, knees bent.
“Have you been down to the lake?” I asked him, remembering him calling Sickle for advice about the cop interview tomorrow. “Fuck, they won’t give you a drug test tomorrow?”
He groaned, “I hope not. But if I get kicked out of Castlehill, I won’t be upset about it.”
“Our parents will be pissed about it, though,” I reminded him, because he always had a nihilistic, indifferent attitude toward life. Shrugged his shoulders, disinterested in almost everything except metal and motorbikes.
“She set up a trap in there,” he pointed out, ignoring my comment about our parents, but that was how Lev rolls.
“What sort of trap?” I took another pull of the joint, then blew the smoke out, watching it dance against the backdrop of the night sky.
“Fish hooks hanging at eye level,” he mumbled flatly.
I snorted, “Really? Impressive.” Then it dawned on me. “Wait. Fish hooks? Where did she get those from?”
He shrugged, “I don’t know.”
“Ah, Dirty ol’ Deano. Now, it’s making sense,” I crooned as the pieces fell into place and the drugs started setting in, relaxing me even more.
“What? Don’t tell me she's going with him?” The fact that Lev jumped to that conclusion over a simple comment made me wonder if he actually has feelings for her. Because we all know what happens when Deano gets his dirty fingers on his young, naive students.
“Nah, well,” there was a moment where it crossed my mind, but they’d have to meet in secret and fuck, she’s only been here a week, so they would’ve had to act fast. “Nah, I don’t think so. But she got the fish hooks off him, I reckon. I caught them in the act.”
“And the fishing line that the hooks hang off,” he added. “What act? Did he have his hands on her?”
“No, I mean, I caught them in the act of him handing the fish hooks to her.” My chest tightened at the thought of it, and I didn’t like it. Dirty ol’ Deano needed to stay the fuck away from her. There were plenty of chicks that he could pursue, but not her, anyone but the Boleyn girl.
“Yeah?” he fell silent, and I could almost hear the cogs of his brain mulling it over.
“In his office,” I added to see how he’d react. There were several beats of silence, but I knew he didn’t like what I was saying.
“You don’t think,” he began, handing me back the blunt, “he’s in on it?”
“In on what?” I was curious to see where he was going with this.
“Like her and him…maybe they were acquainted before she came here and are planning something together,” he explained.
“I don’t think so,” I reasoned, watching the stars twinkle. “When I stumbled into them, she seemed uncomfortable in hispresence, like she was unfamiliar with him. But that doesn’t mean they’re not going to fuck around, you know.”
“If he’s noticed her already, then it could be trouble,” he agreed, then argued, “But she could also be acting uncomfortable to make you think they don’t know each other. It’s just…”
I turned to look at him, and he was staring at Adina’s window because he peered out again, checking on us as we checked on her. “You were saying?”
“The fish hooks were well organized, you know,” he asserted. “She’s not dumb.”
“I noticed,” I quipped, thinking of her little pull-the-knife trick earlier.
Lev continued with his point, getting chattier the more he smoked; normally, he’s the opposite. “So maybe she’s got allies here that we need to be aware of.”
Like the Yorkies, yappy little fluff lap dogs? One of them was quietly talking to her, probably trying to flirt, but she didn’t look happy about it.” My chest tightened again. “Fuckers.”
He groaned. “Bro, I don’t wantthemanywhere near her, but they’re practically related to her stepmother, being their aunt.”
Yeah, but does she know that?” I contended, annoyed. The dope was supposed to relax me, but every time we talk about men paying Adina some attention, my blood boils a little. “I didn’t hear what he was saying to her, but whatever it was, he’d be using her to get back at us. Guaranteed.”
“Guaranteed,” he parroted. “So, there are two men after her. Farrk.”
