He taps the end of my nose with his. “No, me.”
Now that our feelings are leaking out, I want to confess everything. To clear any secrets between us. The only way we get through this trial is together. On one side.
“I have to tell you something, Apollo.” I grip his forearms gently. “You told me about your reading difficulties, but… Okay, here it goes. I never stopped taking my birth control. And I never took those pills they?—”
Every strapping muscle he owns tenses.
Then, he grabs my head and shoves it into his firm pecs with a squeeze. “Good.”
“Good?”
“I don’t trust them. The president, especially. We can have kids whenever you want.” There’s a hint of pain in the corners of his eyes. “But I do hope you want them.”
With a smile, I settle into his hold to reassure him. “It’s on my checklist. Someday. Just, not now.”
His shoulders sag with relief. “Perfect. But there’s still no way I want you taking what they’re giving you. We can do what we need to keep them off of us.”
“But?” I ask, wondering what plan he’s got in his mind.
“But we need to figure out who’s after you. And what they have to do with the president. And your friend who was murdered.”
I take a deep, steadying breath of the cold winter air.
“Then let’s start planning.”
thirty-five
“You’re focusedon thewordsand not the concept. But start at the top first. Then read the last. It’s okay.”
I scan the bar. It’s noisy. MyDeltasare clinking glasses and flirting hard withSigmas. The chatter grows into laughter as Oz entertains a few people. Or Nicky snaps a sarcastic remark.
I refused to study in the library. And we decided to avoid our new university grantedhomeunless we feel like being on display. I’m not sure if there are cameras inside. Or perhaps just recording devices. But it feels like the air has been tainted in there.
So we sit in the corner of Westmore, the pub near campus. Scout even dragged a red velvet rope across our corner booth to discourage my brothers from bothering me.
But I still can’t concentrate.
“You’re the one who insisted we come here.” She taps the book in front of her. “Focus,stallion.”
She offered to bring a children’s book, but I gristle at the thought. Would it have been easier? Yeah. And honestly, she’s been so amazing with this that I wouldn’t have been embarrassed if it were just her and I. But I can’t have anyone seeing melearning to read.
I take a deep breath and try again, lining my finger under the sentence. “Like. A. Pony. From the ashes. Pony? Or…”
“Replace a ‘ph’ with an ‘f,’ and you’ll be good.”
I lick my lips. “Yeah, that makes more sense. A phoenix. Don’t they have this on audiobook?”
She chuckles. “Yeah. And you should download it. Then read along. That would help. But tell me what you just read in that paragraph. Theconcepts.”
I clear my throat. “Um…” I have to search back through all the words jumbled around in my brain, but finally come up with it. “The murderer was someone they knew all along and has been hidden for a long time. But he’s coming back to their minds now.”
A seductive smile parts her lips. “You got it.”
My chest warms. “You’re a good teacher.”
“Did you not have good ones?” she asks, taking a sip of her beer.
“They tried. I had a reading tutor in elementary who helped. But as I went on to middle school, things fell behind. I could manage to get by making friends with the right people who finished my work for me, or I copied from. Even convinced my parents I was fine. Plus, I played soccer, and the school needed a great forward. Combined with my athletics and stellar recommendations from the teachers who loved me, I got accepted to NU. But it was a joke. First classhere, I knew I was in trouble. But I had Valen as a roommate. And he did everything for me.”
