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I swallowed. Goosebumps immediately erupted on my arms.

Damn it, I had wanted to erase those images from my mind...

“What's wrong with your friend?” it came out almost automatically and far too suspiciously.

Emely looked at me in surprise, as if she hadn't understood me.

“Wheeler.”

Realization dawned on her face.

“Kieran is fine. I'd put my hand in the fire for him.” She took another piece of meat in her mouth and took her time chewing. “But he hates your kind.” She looked directly at me. “That's why I'm begging you not to mess with him.”

Was she serious? I shouldn't mess with him? He was the one ambushing Miles and me and threatening us with the most ridiculous things.

“He threatened me, damn it,” I hissed with rising anger.

Bayla gave me a confused stare, while Julie looked up from her screen.

“He doesn’t care about the treaties of Blairville,” Emely sighed. “And I’m sure he could make you disappear if you or your arrogant brother pushes him too far.”

Of course she was on the side of this... this... What was the name for idiots like him?

“At first I thought you two were a couple,” I confessed, and Emely's eyebrows shot up. “But then I saw him making out with that girl in one of the goddamn courtyards, as if he didn't have a home where he could do that.”

Julie's eyes widened, and Bayla had to grin.

“Kieran is the epitome of a womanizer,” Emely replied. “But he would never take anyone home with him,” she laughed and fed Buddy a piece of meat. “He doesn't even let me into his lake house.”

My distrust of this guy intensified instantly.

“A lake house?” Bay asked curiously. “There's something like that here in Blairville?”

“You mean the Pavati housing project toward Noya and Oneida Beach, right?” Julie asked, and Emely nodded.

“He has his own house and he won't let you in?” I snorted morosely. “I thought you were friends.”

If I had my own lake house, I would invite Bayla to chill with me on the dock every day. I would have packed all her suitcases long ago and rescued her from Diana's clutches.

Oh, how we used to rave about moving into a shared apartment together back in high school...

“I don't know. He enjoys his privacy,” Emely replied with a shrug.

The more Emely told me about this guy, the stranger it became.

No matter how much I valued my privacy, I would never leave my guests standing at the door.

On top of that, I actually knew guys like that. If they had their own house, that was where they always took all the innocent high school girls or threw their drug parties.

What the hell was he doing in this house?

A buzzing sound came from the living room. Emely's head immediately turned around, and I followed her gaze to the TV.

It had actually been turned off. Now signal glitches flickered across the black screen, and a purple jagged eye sat enthroned in the middle.

“What the...” Bayla exclaimed.

Julie closed her laptop.