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“I had nothing to do with it. I’m done with The Pact. It ruined my life. I clearly took it more seriously than any of the rest of you, and I’ll pay for it for the rest of my life.”
“You’re in for life?” I hadn’t been aware of his sentence.
The line between Will’s brow deepened. “Once you’re in jail, that’s a stain that doesn’t wash away.”
“I don’t know,” I said. “It seems like if you try to move forward, you should be able to build a decent life for yourself once your time is done.”
Will’s brow hardened. “You think I still have a chance at a decent life?”
“You’re only defeated if you’re done trying,” Duncan said.
This coming from the logical one among us was huge.
Maddox and I both nodded our agreement. Giving up was never an option, not even when you thought you were at rock bottom.
“We’re letting go of The Pact,” I said. “That’s why we came here. We wanted you to know.”
“We want different things than we did ten years ago,” Maddox added.
Mischief entered Will’s eyes. The smile on his face was derisive as he centered his attention on Maddox. “What does Ruby think about that?”
Maddox’s fist clenched. The tension in the air became palpable. “I don’t care what she thinks. About anything.”
I wondered if that was true, but what business of it was mine?
Maddox and many of the other guys had had a thing for the fraternity sweetheart. They’d all claimed to just be having fun, but from the puppy dog eyes Maddox had made over her, I’d always suspected there was more to it.
Especially since the two of them had gotten engaged and had since broken it off. He’d clearly hada thing for Ruby then; how come nothing had happened to either of them for it?
Was it because they’d agreed not to single themselves off? Or were they just not in love?
“So you don’t know anything about this most recent attack on Ella Embers?” I asked. “You don’t know who the masked man her stepsister was meeting with is?”
“I don’t,” Will said, crossing his arms over his chest. “But it sounds like someone else is out to make sure you all keep your word. As for me, I’ve learned my lesson. Maybe this guy will, too.”
“Darn right, he will,” I muttered, though I didn’t like the sound of this.
If Will was telling the truth and one of the other fraters was behind this, who was it?
Was that why Knox, Henrik, and Hunter had neglected to join the meeting?
Or—
The thought spread chills down my arms.
What if the culprit was someone who’d beenon the call?
I peered at Maddox and Duncan. I couldn’t believe it was either of them, not with the way they’d stepped up to Ella’s rescue or the adamant support they’d given for disbanding The Pact.
It had to be one of the other fraters. Who else could it be?
“We just wanted to make ourselves clear,” Maddox said, rising and stepping back away from the glass pane separating us from Will. “We’re disbanding The Pact. Once ourlawyers finish with the new paperwork, it will no longer exist."
Will analyzed him. “Then it sounds like you’d better find out whoever this other person is and make sure they know it. Not me.”
My hands fisted. “That’s exactly what we intend to do.”
We bade Will goodbye. The minute we were back in my Jag, I pulled out my phone and dialed Adrian’s number.
