Page 88 of Heirs of Havoc

She rolls her eyes. “I know we’re not exactly besties right now, but I still care about you, Mia.” Taking my hands in hers, a warmth I’ve been craving floods me. “So when I heard those gunshots, and your name, I thought the worst.” Her hands come to my shoulders, a frown as she eyes my crushed outfit. “You didn’t answer my question. Are you okay?”

Physically? “Yeah.” Emotionally? Far from it. “Are you? Are you hurt? Where were you?”

“In my dorm. Our dorm. But I thought I heard Vlad, or Lev. And I thought I heard your name, but it might’ve been another Mia? I don’t know. I’m still trying to digest it all.” Chaya looks shaken, but I’m grateful she’s here. A sting comes to my eye, travelling to my nose. “Are the guys okay?” And that does it. Like she’s triggered a hurricane of emotions, tears stream from my eyes. The body bags replay in my mind. The gunshots. Lev inside the police cruiser. It all makes my knees buckle. “Mia?” Chaya’s arm catches me before I fall. But all I can do is sob against her chest. “Okay, okay, let’s get you out of here.”

“I have nowhere to go.” It’s hard to even understand what I’m saying, tears making my words warble. “I don’t want to go home. I can’t.”

“Don’t worry, Mia.” Chaya’s voice sounds so confident it soothes me. Despite everything, maybe I have family here after all. “I got you. And I know just the place.”

Chapter Thirty-Three

“I can’t be here.”

Chaya’s hoodie over my head and her scarf around my face aren’t enough to stop my heart from drumming against my chest.

“From the sounds of it, you have nowhere else to go.” Chaya ushers me through the dorm hallway.

“Hey!” It’s easy to bump into another student with my lack of vision, Chaya’s massive sunglasses over my eyes.

“Sorry!” I call back.

“One step at a time,” Chaya reassures me, hooking her arm in mine.

“Chaya?” My eyes widen behind her shades, Eve’s voice coming from a distance. “What’s up with your friend? Are you smuggling in a stray?”

My body stiffens, Chaya steadying me.

If Eve notices me, I’m done for. And I’m bringing Chaya down with me.

Think, Mia. Think!

“New nose job,” Chaya responds before my heart explodes. “You know how it is.”

“Oh, right,” Eve responds. “No, wait—”

“Gotta run!” Chaya pulls me down the hall, leaving a babbling Eve behind us.

The smell of a cinnamon candle tells me we’re in her dorm. But that scent only makes my insides clench, the sweet to the twins’ bitterness.

Chaya pulls the sunglasses off my face, locking the door behind me. “There.” She greets me with a smile. “Easy peasy.”

“Easy for now,” I remind her, my back falling against the door. “If Dean McQueen finds out you're housing me, he’ll kick you out.”

Chaya shrugs. “What am I supposed to do? Leave you out on the streets? Not a chance.”

“Even after—”

“Say no more.” She holds up a hand, gold rings on her fingers. “I know things got heated between us, but you’re still my girl. I still got you. No guys are coming between us. We’re not that basic. And honestly, I’m offended you thought so.” A small smile comes to my face as one appears on hers, but the mention of the boys fades it as quick as it arrives. Like a genuine friend, she reads my mind. “Haven’t heard from them?”

Shaking my head, I let my body slide to the floor, pulling my knees to my chest. “It’s all my fault, Chaya.”

“You can’t keep blaming yourself for everything.” She brings her butt to the cold wooden floor, her arm coming around me. “This was one hell of an event, but you had nothing to do with it.” When I don’t answer, her face comes closer to mine. “Right?”

Glancing at Chaya, I don’t know if this will get me kicked out, but it’s time I come clean to the people that care for me. “Those men that came here? With those guns?" My heart pounds before I push the words out. "They were looking for me.”

The room goes quiet, Chaya’s head pulling back. “Merlo? You’re Mia Merlo?" Her eyes widen and I know she already knows who I am. "Isn’t that the guy? The big scary mobster dude?” Most people know the Merlo name, even if for all the wrong reasons. Chaya takes a deep breath before rising from the floor and hell, this is it. This is the point where I lose the one friend I have. “We’re gonna need refreshments.”

Wait.

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