“Bestfriends. Now, how do you feel about helping me destroy Rory’s entire existence for what he did to me? I'd love your input.”
I smile and tuck the papers into my satchel. I can hear the sounds of teachers breaking up the beating, and Avery’s eyes have that wicked glint in them. A shot of excitement shoots through my blood. This could be fun.
“I have a few ideas, actually.”
* * *
“Let’s just agree that from here on out, we only ever tell each other the truth. If we can’t discuss something, then we come out and say so.”
I’m sitting in Avery’s room and watching while she packs. It took me three minutes to pack my entire room up, and Avery had moaned about how jealous she was I was finished. I was kind enough to point out that she actually has the opportunity to own things, which is something I’m more than jealous of. It’s utterly ridiculous how quickly we’ve fallen into a relaxed hang-out.
There are boxes everywhere, suitcases full of clothes, stacks of boxed-up shoes that are taller than we are, and still Avery is shoving random items into bubble wrap. I expected her to pay someone else to do this.
“I guess I can handle that,” I say, shoving a fistful of popcorn into my mouth and flicking through her record collection. It’s mostly classical music and scores from ballet recitals, but she also has every single Vanth Falling record, first editions and signed, and I’m trying not to tuck them under my arm and make a run for it. I put one on, and she cackles at me from the bathroom where she’s trying to pack the equivalent of an entire Sephora store’s worth of makeup and hair care products. Ash wasn’t wrong; she has a lot of stuff.
Avery arches an eyebrow at me and grins, “I don’t expect you to tell me all of your secrets tonight. I was thinking while we’re on break, we can text each other one secret a day. When school starts again in the fall, we can do the same each morning. It’ll be a fun little bonding experience.”
I shrug in return as I tap my fingers along with the song. Some things can’t be sent digitally; texts and emails can be hacked. I’m sure I don’t have to explain this to her and I guess it’s a way to ease into things. “I’m not sure you’ll ever know it all. There’s stuff I’ve done… I’m a dangerous person to be around. You need to know that from the get-go, so you can tap out now if you need to.”
She flops back on her bed dramatically. Her face is no longer the blank mask I’ve seen every day; it’s open, and a little vulnerable. “My cousin is a mobster’s son. My brother is a sociopathic murderer. My father is… my father is true evil. Whatever you have following you, we can sort out together, the same way I’ve worked at sorting everything out for Harley. I’m all in, Lips.”
I sigh and crawl up to sit on the bed beside her. Maybe we will get there. Maybe I’ll offer her the same protection as I’ve given Harley. Ugh, thinking about him makes my chest ache and leaves me with too many questions. Seeing as this is my first opportunity to get some answers, I ask her, “Where does Harley go during the summer break?”
It’s Avery’s turn to sigh. “He goes back to his grandfather’s place for two weeks each year. It’s part of seedy deal the old crook cut with a dirty judge. Then he either stays with Blaise, touring or whatever, or I get him a hotel. He can’t come to our house; my father would never allow it.”
“Wouldn’t he know you’re helping him, though? Where else do you get your money?”
She laughs and pulls out a black nail polish from the box she was just packing, tugging my hand until I let her paint my nails.
“My mother and Harley’s mom were twins, did you know that? Twins run pretty strongly in our family. They were heiresses themselves. If you trace our family line back far enough, you hit Russian royalty. My grandparents disowned Aunt Iris when she ran off with Éibhear O’Cronin; they were horrified their blue-blooded daughter had been seduced by the handsome degenerate.” She fluttered her eyes and pretended to faint, and I giggled for probably the first time in my life. “So my mother was the sole heir. Now my father, the asshole, had a prenup to say that all finances were to stay separate, because her hundreds of millions were nothing compared to his billions. When my mother died, her will said the money was to be split and shared three ways.”
“So you and your brothers each have a share of the millions and no parental supervision on how you use it? Fuck, you are the luckiest kid in this school.”
She grins and tips her head back. “My mother left her money to Ash, me… and Harley.”
My jaw drops.
Avery grins and nods. “Best day of my life was seeing that murderer’s face when he realized he was getting nothing.”
“So then why doesn’t Harley have the money?”
“His grandfather stole it. Sort of. His grandfather had custody of Harley when my mother died, so he it put in trusts and bonds and offshore accounts, then told Harley he could have it the moment he swore in. He’s using the money as leverage to get Harley to join the family business.”
Liam O’Cronin is not the brightest man.
One of the very first lessons you’re taught as a sponsored candidate for the Twelve is that loyalty can only be given freely. Yes, you can hire someone, but there’s always the risk someone will offer them more money. You can torture and break someone, bend them to only serve you, but there are limits to what a broken person can do. Blackmailing Harley into the family would only succeed in letting a bomb tick in your organization.
Fucking dumb.
“Harley can’t go to his grandfather's house anymore.”
Avery looks up from where she’s blowing on my nails to dry them. “Oh? Is this part of your little agreement? His grandfather will kill him if he doesn’t.”
I don’t want to talk about the mess I’ve made to protect Harley. I need some time and space to figure it out before I discuss it with her. Now that I know a little more about the situation, I can make a plan. So, instead I say, “He can’t kill him. I’ve tied the old fuck’s hands for the moment. Now that I have a little more information, I’ll see what I can do about getting Harley out of there permanently.”
Avery swallows, and her eyes grow glassy. “I started to come around to the idea of being friends when you started messing with Joey. No one has even been brave enough to take him on. When Harley showed up with his mom's necklace and told me we were done messing with you, I knew you would fit in with us.”
“I think Ash would disagree with you strongly there,” I mumble. I’m still smarting over his dismissal of me and how easily he believed I was sleeping with Joey.
