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“Oh, she threatened it, but then she had some crap on methat I didn’t want anyone else to know and between her and that fuc…TJ, it became clear that I wasn’t going to be able toexplain anything to you.”
“What did she do?” She wasn’t angry. Curious. It was a dayfor curiosity. She understood exactly what Kala had been doing. She’d seensomething that would have hurt her best friend, and she took care of it.Sometimes she thought Kala would have done well on her mother’s side of thefamily. The one that ran a syndicate in Moscow.
“She blackmailed me. Which on the surface is bad enough, butthen I found out the reason she had shit to blackmail me with…”
Lou could finish that sentence. “She baited you and thenused it against you. It’s classic Kala. And I’m kind of glad I didn’t knowpeople were betting on my virginity then. Today I can roll my eyes and notcare, but I think it would have hurt then. I would have felt everyone laughingat me.”
“No one laughed at you, Lou.”
“Oh, they did.” It hadn’t been easy always being yearsyounger than the people in her class. Maybe that was why she’d been so drawn toTJ. He’d looked at her, talked to her, included her in things. Made her feelspecial. “I assure you there were girls who laughed at how awkward I was andboys who thought it was fun to fuck with me. Until Kala explained what shewould do to them if they didn’t leave me alone.”
“No,” he corrected, “that was TJ. She might have talked tothe girls, but I assure you it was TJ who threatened to beat the shit out ofanyone who looked at you sideways. Sometimes I think I took that bet just tohave a reason to go after you. I could say I was standing up to a bully.”
She stared at him.
“Yeah, now that sounds dumb,” he admitted, “but you knowthings look different from the outside. It always felt like TJ was protectingyou from everyone when most of us only wanted to know you. Maybe not when wewere freshmen, but by the time we were seniors, everyone was kind of in awe ofyou. And terrified of the twins. I know Kenzie seemed sweet, but she couldthrow down when she wanted to.”
She still could. It was funny how everyone underestimatedKenz. It was something she used to perfection in their job.
“I’m kind of glad I never have to see them again,” Denniscontinued. “Do you know whatever happened to them?”
“Yes, they work for their dad,” Lou replied. And rundangerous missions on the regular. They were part of Lou’s team. Her family.
But more and more she was realizing the friendships she hadweren’t enough. She wanted what her mom had with her dad. What Uncle Ian andAunt Charlotte had. What Tasha and Dare had so recently found.
“I heard he was a psycho, too, so I’m not surprised.”
And she wasn’t going to find anything special here. “Well, Dennis,it was good to see you. I should get back to the office.”
He winced. “You’re still friends with them.”
“The best of,” she replied.
“I’m sorry. I suppose it still stings,” he said, “and beforeyou point out what I did would have stung like hell if you’d known, I’m trulysorry, and I don’t want you to go. I won’t say anything else. I’m sure they’vechanged since high school. We all have.”
Adulthood had refined Kala’s personality. And she had accessto way more weapons now.
“Hey, how is your dad?” he asked. “I remember how cool hewas.”
Dennis had met her father a handful of times and they’dgotten along, but then Boomer Ward got along with everyone. Still, she had toadmit Kala did piss a lot of people off. If she refused to talk to anyone herbestie had bulldozed at some point, life would be a very quiet place.
The real question was why TJ had threatened him. Sheunderstood Kala, but she remembered how TJ had acted that day. Which made herwonder. “He’s good. He’s volunteering with a bunch of animal rescues, and I’mpretty sure he’s why my brother wants to be a vet. When did this thing go downwith Kala? The one where she blackmailed you. You don’t have to tell me what itwas. I’m sure she caught you cheating on an exam.”
Kala liked having intel on people she viewed as potentialenemies, and that was the majority of the population. The thing was she neverused that to her own betterment. Only her friends. Sometimes Lou wondered ifKala buried herself in her sisters and friends so she didn’t have to look inthe mirror and acknowledge Cooper McKay was the love of her life.
“That morning before first period.”
Then it had to have been before she’d run into TJ and madethat dumb joke about him not calling her sweetheart. He’d known, and he’d lether walk into it.
And then he’d gallantly offered to take her instead.
Kala had probably strongarmed him into that.
She hated this feeling. “That tracks. I kind of still wish Ididn’t know.”
“That I was an asshole? Sometimes I wish they’d told youbecause I think I could live with being the guy who made you angry. It’s beenreally hard being the guy who broke your heart. I didn’t go with anyone. Iskipped because I didn’t want to walk into that hotel ballroom and see you withTJ.”
“I didn’t go with him.”
