His eyes narrow at me, nostrils flaring, then he punches the accelerator and takes off into the wind, spraying gravel.
I stare after Kane’s jeep, when, out of nowhere, a sharp crack slices through the air.
My head snaps toward the house, cigarette slipping from my fingers, burning a hole in my leather boot. Birds explode from the oak tree, screeching into the gray sky.
The sound, like a car backfire. Only it wasn't.
That familiar, unmistakable sound was my grandfather’s shotgun.
Fuck.I really hope Ma shot that decrepit grandfather clock and not the Grant family coat of arms hanging above the fireplace.
6
EVA
My one-nightimpulsive adventure ended with being escorted out of The Vault by four guards.
Another day ending in another humiliation.
Am I on some sort of a list? Whoever is up there, treating my life like their personal torment simulation, can you take a coffee break, please?
“What are you doing here?” Thea whisper-yells.
I drag my eyes from the desk tucked into the far end of the library, where I've been anchored for hours since my last class.
“Hiding,” I mutter.
“From who?” She crossed her arms over her chest. “Obviously not from me, since you know I volunteer here. So, are you hiding from Jack, or did you piss someone off? Is that why you’ve been sneaking out at the crack of dawn?”
My lips purse. The idea of Thea majoring in psychology scares me. She is a legit telepath already.
I would not have survived one day in Fort without Thea. Which is shocking, given how we met—with her opening the door to the sound of running water and finding me curled up on the shower floor. The grief I couldn’t shed at the funeralcame crashing down that night when I was finally alone, my first day in Fort.
Thea didn’t ask questions, didn’t call for help.
No, this girl wrapped me up in towels and blankets, then perched across from me and introduced herself by sharing her darkest secret.
I sat there staring at her with my mouth hanging open, with Earl Grey tea in one hand and a red velvet cupcake in the other. Then we laughed it off, and I swore on everything sacred I would never share her secret with anyone.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Thea takes the seat across from me.
“Not in the slightest,” I mumble, tidying up my notes for next week’s assignment.
My degree in Politics and International Relations was a breeze at Manchester University. Mostly because I could share notes with Caden. At Kingsden, I have no study groups, so I have to be self-reliant.
Thea’s eyes narrow. She makes a face, but doesn’t press.
Trusting Thea is a no-brainer. She wouldn’t breathe a word to anyone if I asked her not to. But I don’t want to risk putting her in the crosshairs. Not after what she told me.
I almost ate my fingers, along with the croissants, the next morning, when I finally got her talking about the Grants. She’s been at Kingsden for four years and is now a Master’s student, the same as Mason.
Apparently, ego and muscle are not the only weapons in Mason’s arsenal. If rumors are to be believed—and for the record, I believe every single one of them— violence is a strength of his. Not only is he actively involved in the shady side of his family’s business and leads many of their operations, but he is also personally responsible for people’s broken bones and disappearances. Recently, a fire at a nearby pub, which belongs to the Grants, was ruled as arson, and the suspects behind itdisappeared overnight. What’s more? The Fort Council operates alongside his maternal grandfather, who is one of the leaders of the Italian Mafia.
That’s right. In a country where knife crime is the worst possible risk to the public, I have pissed off the one person linked to thefreakingMafia.
Am I the unluckiest person on earth, or what?
I found my phone in a box outside the flat the next day. I may or may not haveaccidentallyleft it on the hood of Jack’s car.
