Page 12 of Forever Relentless

I nodded, but Savvy was having none of it. “No way. She said it’s Holmes, like Sherlock Holmes. There is no way she is at our school, where her brother got kicked out for something he didn’t do, and she isn’t investigating. I don’t care who’s the oldest, I do know she’s lying. She faked her name, and I want to know why and how.”

“Or there’s that,” Dante murmured with a small smile.

They started discussing it again, but my attention wandered back to Mason. He was innocent of any wrongdoing toward Tiffany Preacher. What else was he guilty of, though? I recognized the look in Mason Sterling’s eyes too well.

I’d seen it every day in my own reflection.

I knew what it looked like when someone had been handed a reason to be angry but never given a clean way to set it down.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket and texted my brother, Tate.

Me: Hi, you got any geek wizzes in your classes?

I didn’t need to wait long before his reply.

Tate: I AM the geek wizard in my class

I grinned as I read it.

Me: How easy is it to fake your birth certificate for a job interview at a college?

Tate: Do I want to know why you’re asking, or should I just assume it’s simple curiosity?

Me: Assume

Tate: Oh boy

The dots came and went, and then he replied.

Tate: It’s not that hard. No one really looks. Unlike when working with minors or little kids, the measures are much stricter. But college? We’re all adults, or almost adults, for us who come straight in at 17. The internet can make you anything these days if you know how to use it right and what your employer is looking for.

That’s what I suspected. She didn’t need fake documents like a spy film;, she just needed a little know-how. Her employer had stated exactly what it needed in the job application.

Me: Thanks

Tate: No problem. You need me up there yet? Finals are just around the corner

It’d be good to see him, but I wanted him as far from Wrighton U as I wanted to be.

Me: I’m managing

Tate: Never doubted you

I sent him a ‘speak soon’ and shoved my phone back in my pocket. I felt Dante’s stare and glanced over. The others had quieted down, and I wasn’t sure if I had missed something.

“You good?” Dante asked.

“Yeah.”

He didn’t push, and I didn’t offer more. So maybe there were a few more creases in the friendship that still needed to be ironed out than I thought.

When we got back to campus, I was grateful to get out of the car. Dust was only four inches shorter than I was, and I felt a slight pang of guilt when I heard his groan of relief at being able to stretch his legs.

“No more road trips,” he grouched, flexing his legs. “I need these babies to run.”

I turned away when Hadley offered him support and whispered something in his ear that made him grin and, seemingly, instantly recover.

“Food?” Savvy asked. “Shall we go get some?”