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“My dad thought the same thing about his best friend. Now he and the rest of his family are dead.”
I nodded thoughtfully to that and glanced between my brothers who did nothing but offer me skeptical looks.
What happened to the Whitmore family wasn’t a secret to us. Father had told us everything when he was preparing us for this deal. Whether it was true or not, I hadn’t a fucking clue. Nor did I really care. All I cared about was helping my father with getting us back on track.
“I’ll discuss it with my father and have his people get in touch with your people.”
That seemed to be good enough for Lucian because he instantly accepted the deal.
Twenty-Four
Samara
“Youdidgoodtoday,”Kinsley said as she grabbed a towel out of her gym bag and began drying herself off. “Much better than yesterday. I think you might actually have a shot at surviving this thing.”
I wanted to answer her but couldn’t, since I was still in the process of trying to catch my breath.
I worked hard these last few days with Kinsley. Even though she was a petty, prissy bitch, and despite how much we argued and came close to strangling each other, she did teach me a lot in such a short window.
I’d mastered holding my breath underwater for at least a minute—more than enough time to get me from Point A and B. And after watching what had to be a hundred demonstrations on how to dive to the bottom, kick off the floor, and get back to the surface, I’d finally faced my fears and gave it a shot. Treading water was still a bit of a challenge, but I was able to keep myself afloat long enough to doggy-paddle poolside without going under.
The first trial was tomorrow. I was nowhere near ready for this, but I had to take what Kinsley taught me and run with it as best I could.
“Are you going to the clearing tonight?”
Breathing in again, releasing the short breath I’d been holding, I finally replied with, “Thanks, and yeah. I’m about to head back to the dorm, shower, and start getting ready.”
Kinsley nodded to that. “Yeah, same here. I wonder what the hell they’re gonna do about the DJ now that Brian is, you know,not here.”
Brian’s disappearance had spread around campus like a raging forest fire. First thing Wednesday morning, the police were back to interview Brian’s friends and anyone else who may have been associated with him. Their presence had struck fear amongst the student population, and by the time the police were gone, everyone knew that Brian was missing, or worse, dead. Now there was an endless tale of rumors and some disgustingly creative theories spreading around campus faster than a roach infestation.
“I don’t know. I guess we’ll find out.”
I finished drying myself off and put on my clothes, looking up to see Kinsley fully dressed and ready to go.
“I guess I’ll see you later, then.” She turned to walk away, then promptly twisted back around to face me. “And FYI, this doesn’t mean we’re friends or anything. I still don’t like you. I helped you out, and that’s it.Got it?”
It was an odd thing for me to do, but for some reason, I just couldn’t help but smile at her. “You’re a real pessimistic bitch, you know that, right?”
And just like I knew she would, she lifted her brows and grinned right back at me. “Bye, Samara.”
After sliding on my shoes and tossing my backpack strap over my shoulder, I followed Kinsley’s path and made the semi-short trek back to the dorms.
As I approached the door, I slid my bag around so I could grab my key. When I was in, I shut the door then flicked on the lights.
I jumped back with a shriek as I turned and found Sky sitting on the couch, glaring at me like some deranged psychopath.
“What the fuck, Sky?” I blew out a hard breath and shot her an unbelievable look. “What the hell are you doing? Better yet, where have you been? And why are you staring at me like that?”
Sky never did come back from that so-called littlewalkshe’d taken Wednesday night. I hadn’t seen her in days, not in school or around campus. All I’d gotten was that note she’d left me and one snippet of a text the next day that saidI’m okay, and that was it.
“It was you, wasn’t it?” she asked in an angry, hurt tone. “You killed Brian.”
Fuck me. How many more fast balls to the face do I have to take before life will cut me a fucking break?
“What are you talking about? You know I—”
“I’ve been at Brian’s,” she cut in, overlapping me. “I needed some space. Some time to think and reflect on everything.” She paused a short breath to wipe under her tight, swollen eyes. “I didn’t realize it at first, probably because I was still in shock and trying to wrap my head around things, but now that my head is clear, I think I know exactly what happened.”
