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Prologue
“Are you sure I can’t kill him?”
TJ Taggart sighed because he should have known it was a badidea to bring his cousin Kala into this particular scheme of his. It had beensuggested by several members of Johnson High School’s senior class that a new“most likely to” category be created just for Kala Taggart. Most Likely to MurderSomeone.
Luckily the administration had shut that right down.Probably because, like the rest of the world, they were afraid of Kala. He’dheard some talk about how relieved the entire staff would be when all theTaggarts were off to college and they never had to deal with that militarymafia family again.
Their description, not his.
They would be waiting forever. His family was massive, andthere always seemed to be a new addition.
“If I thought I could get away with it, I would do itmyself,” TJ said under his breath as they both watched the boy in question walkacross the quad toward the main building. Unfortunately for him, Kala was theonly way to go when it came to taking down an asshole. His sister, Devi, wouldtry to kick the guy in the balls, but Kala understood they needed somethingtruly awful in order to end this thing between Lou and that fuckwadwalking across the quad like he owned it.
“I can get away with it,” Kala returned.
“I think Lou’s been through enough without losing her bestfriend to juvie.” Dennis Sims walked up to a group of soccer bros. Assholes,every one of them. He wasn’t sure why the boys’ soccer team seemed to onlyrecruit jerks he wouldn’t leave alone with a girl for a single second, butthere they were.
“I thought you were her best friend.”
An ache went through him. Louisa Ward was…everything. Louwas his whole heart. Sometimes he wished he’d never met her because before hehad, he’d never thought he was lonely. Now when she wasn’t around he felt hissingularity. “I think she’s my best friend. I don’t know that I’m hers.”
Kala wore her normal uniform of ripped jeans, combat boots,and a leather jacket, even though it wasn’t cold enough for one yet. Her hairwas shiny blue, and she sighed in a way that reminded him of his uncle, herdad. This was Uncle Ian’s patented “dumbass said something and now I gotta fix things” sigh. “You could change that. All youhave to do is say Lou, let’s get down and dirty. She’s in love with you, TJ.”
She thought she was, and maybe it was true, but she was agrade ahead of him, and Lou Ward was an academic force of nature. She was sofucking smart, and he was…TJ. People got excited when he made a C instead of aD. People praised him for finding out he’d read an actual not-comic-book book.He’d only read it because Lou was reading it. “She’s going to college, and Idon’t think she needs to be stuck with a boyfriend who won’t go to college atall.”
“Tell me you’re not still thinking about the Army.” Kalafrowned his way. “You’re not dumb. I know I say it all the time, but insultsare my love language. You can go to college. You can go, and then if you stillfeel the need to get your ass shot off at least you’ll be an officer.”
He’d gotten this lecture from more than one person. “I don’twant to. I want to get in, learn some things that will help me get a job when Iget out, and start my life. Lou is going in a different direction. She needsway more than I can give her.”
Kala’s head shook. “Your loss, man.”
Yes. It was his loss because he would never be the man whokissed her and touched her and slept beside her. He wouldn’t be the man tosmooth back her hair and hold her hand.
But fuck all, neither would Dennis asshole Sims.
His cousin was being something of a hypocrite. “And why doyou always give me shit about the Army? You’re planning a whole career at theAgency.”
“Not the same thing. The Agency is cool, and no one willyell at me all day. Well, except Kenzie.” Kenzie Taggart was Kala’s twin, andwhile they seemed different on the surface, he happened to know they had a lotin common. They both wanted to be spies.
But his Lou would end up at some think tank or working at anelite university. She would be safe in her ivory tower surrounded by people whocould keep up with her. She would change the world someday, and he would be soproud of her.
He would still be in her life. That was the important part.He fucked up all of his relationships. He hadn’t kept a girlfriend for morethan three months. Lou was too important.
So he was going to keep his hands off her because hecouldn’t lose her.
It would be easier when she was in college. She started atMIT in the fall. He would call her and text her and miss her like crazy, but itwould be easier to not fuck things up if she was hundreds of miles away.
Kala’s eyes narrowed. “They’re breaking up. We can catch himon his way to first period. He’s got a class in the east wing. Let’s go.”
Naturally Kala had everything planned down to the second. Itwas precisely why he’d gone to her when he’d found out what Dennis had done. Hewould have simply jumped the fucker and gotten suspended. Kala understood thatrevenge was a delicate art form.
But the most important thing was to get him to break thingsoff with Lou before she got hurt.
“You can’t kill him.” Cooper McKay jogged up, one hand onhis backpack. He was taller than TJ by a couple of inches but didn’t have TJ’smuscular build yet. At seventeen he was still all long limbs and odd angles.“Kala, let me handle it. TJ, don’t you dare jump his ass. You get caughtfighting again and they will expel you, and your mother will be the one doingthe murdering.”
Cooper had been the one to tell him what was going on.Cooper played baseball and had some of the same friends as Dennis the Douche.
“I’m not going to kill him, but he’s not taking Lou toprom,” Kala stated resolutely. “Not after making that bet.”
