“What the fuck is going on now?” he muttered. “And if you’re about to lie to me, give me the courtesy of trying harder than usual.”
I pulled out my phone and showed him the message.
I NEED MORE.
Dev’s expression didn’t change—but his aura did.
A cold ripple of lethal intention rolled off him.
He snatched the phone out of my hand and typed a response before I could stop him.
NEW NUMBER. WHO DIS.
“Smartass,” I muttered.
Three dots flashed.
Then:
DON’T BE A DICK DEV.
Dev’s lip curled. “So Elliot wants another drop. Already.”
“He’s getting restless,” I said quietly.
“He’s getting sloppy,” Dev hissed. “And if he drags you any deeper—”
“I’m already neck-deep,” I snapped. “We both are.”
Dev’s jaw flexed.
We held each other’s stare for a long, long second.
“When will you talk to Seph?” Dev asked suddenly. “I told her to come tonight. You might get a chance.”
“Dev.”
“She deserves to know at least some of it. She has been through hell thanks to her own fucking father. She deserves to know something about what happened to you.”
This pissed me off. “You think I don’t know? I was there for three fucking years beforehand. I saw what that motherfuckerdid to her! Do you know what I would have done? If not for Sable warning me—”
“You were there and you did fucking nothing!” Dev yelled.
Around us a couple of people looked up at the sound.
I shoved Dev hard into an empty classroom and closed the door. “Lower your fucking voice.”
“No! Why should I? That girl out there is a fucking angel who didn’t deserve a single bit of shit she went through. And you were there, K. Why didn’t you save her?”
Something inside me ruptured so violently I saw white.
“I TRIED!” I roared.
Dev went still.
My chest heaved.
My hands shook.
