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Was Nick afraid of this guy?
She kicked Tyler. “Yeah, ass**le. Get out of here.”
He nodded hard, his hand pulling at his throat now.
And then he was gasping, coughing, his hands on the pavement.
“Come on,” said Nick, letting her go but taking her hand to drag her with him. Probably making sure she didn’t lay into Tyler again.
“Don’t be stupid,” Tyler choked from behind them. “I only came here to talk.”
“Sure you did.” Nick dragged her up the steps to the front door, then jammed his key in the lock.
“What really happened at the carnival last week?” Tyler yelled. “I heard the news about pentagrams. Another Guide came here, didn’t he?”
Nick ignored him and hauled her through the door, then slammed it, throwing the deadbolt for good measure.
Then he put his head against the door and unclenched his fists.
Quinn stared at him. Their breath still fogged in the air as if the heat in the house wasn’t working. Gooseflesh had sprung up along her forearms, and she shivered. “You want to tell me what just happened there?”
“Yeah.” Nick turned his head to look at her. “That’s the rest of my secret.”
CHAPTER 2
Quinn sat backward on Nick’s desk chair and watched him fidget. He was sitting on the end of his bed, twisting his ball cap between his hands. A sudden noise would probably send him sky high.
No one else saw this side of Nicholas Merrick. She’d always thought he had his life perfectly in order, with a college plan and a handle on everything. When they’d first started dating, she’d thought she’d finally found the perfect boy to latch on to.
Then she’d caught him kissing Adam, and there went that.
“I’m still waiting for your secret,” she whispered mockingly.
His eyes flicked up to meet hers. “I know.” He paused, running a hand through his hair. “I’ve never told anyone, and I’m not sure where to start.”
“Wait. Don’t tell me. You’re g*y.”
He flung the hat at her. Quinn uncurled it and pulled it on her head backward. “Why don’t you tell me about the idiot in your driveway. His name is Tyler?”
“Tyler Morgan.” He hesitated. “His parents hated my parents. So much that Tyler grew up hating us. He used to go to school with Michael, but he’s a few years younger.” Another pause. “Tyler used to have a sister named Emily. She was in Michael’s class. She died in the old rock quarry south of Severna Park. There was a rock slide and she drowned.”
“When?”
“Five years ago. I don’t know a lot of the details, but Tyler thinks Michael had something to do with it.”
Quinn sat up straight. “Holy shit. Like . . . how? Like he built a bomb or something?”
Nick shook his head quickly. “No—nothing like that.
Michael has . . . he has . . . we have this affinity for the—” He cut himself off and rolled his eyes. “Jesus, this is impossible.
Everything sounds ridiculous, and I want you to believe me.”
She studied him, trying to puzzle this out for herself.
She was coming up with nothing.
Abruptly Nick stood and seized her by the hand. “Come on.
