Lilah groans. “I hate this.”
Axel whistles. “I’ve never seen a man his age move that fast. Nearly threw his back out but recovered nicely.”
Charlie laughs at something Lilah’s dad says.
Then she slaps him on the shoulder.
A little too playfully.
“Charlie,” Lilah mutters. “No more slapping. It’s weird now.”
Axel shifts uncomfortably. “Oh, great. Tequila because that creates good boundaries said no one ever.” Charlie lifts a shot to Lilah’s dad’s lips. “He definitely won’t take that as encouragement.” He sighs. “Sorry, Lilah.”
She buries her face in her hands. “You guys sent the pictures, right?”
I pull out my phone.
Nothing.
No email.
No reply.
Then my screen lights up.
One new message.
Three words.
I see you.
24
“The trap was perfect. The timing was perfect. The heart was the flaw.”—The Count of Monte Cristo
JUDE
"Boo."
The word hits me like a sucker punch to the stomach. I don’t move. I don’t breathe. Lilah stops beside me while Charlie goes strangely quiet. My entire world feels like it’s exploding all around me, I reach for Lilah’s hands, and I don’t let go. I can’t.
Axel’s hands are shoved in his pockets, his face isn’t teasing, it’s dead ass serious. He pushes away from my car and shoves both hands deeper into the pockets of his peacoat like he’s searching for something, a soul maybe? A heart? Because what the fuck!
For a second nobody moves. Nobody breathes. I bark out a laugh. It’s not one full of humor. “What the hell is this?”
Axel shrugs. "You asked to see the person behind the curtain."
"The emails?" Lilah whispers. “The letters. All of it?”
"The observatory?" I add. “What about the tips, the warnings? What about fucking bringing me home?”
Axel nods once. "I knew about the Dean's List." The world tilts on its axis a bit. I can’t stay still, but I find I also can’t move. I’m stuck. I grip Lilah’s hand. “You knew?”
"I knew enough," he says.
"You let me think it was my father," I whisper.
He shakes his head. "Nah, man, I let you think what you needed to think in order to get shit done."
