Page 19 of Where We Promise

I glared at her, raising my brow.

“You’re not getting out of this. Who was that?”

She let out a heavy sigh before falling back onto her bed.

“You can’t say anything to anyone, okay?”

I nodded. “We’re friends now, I’ll keep your secrets. You keep mine.” Hopefully she understood that meant I didn’t want a ton of people to know that I had nearly been run over by my own club.

Natty sat up, wisps of her hair going all over the place. “He’s my friend…the one I told you about.”

My eyes went wide. “That you grew up with?”

She nodded, biting down on her lip.

“He’s…well, we’re…” She let out another sigh. “It’s complicated, but he’s sort of a taboo subject with Callie and especially Laura, so definitely don’t mention that he was here.”

My mind was slowly piecing different little elements together.

“He’s not part of the club?”

Natty continued to tug on her lip, now spiraling her hair around her finger. “No…he’s not. He’s a Death Raider.”

“A Death Raider?” I sank down on the edge of her bed, fully confused by how he would have been allowed into the clubhouse, and not killed on sight. Unless he was just a prospect, or maybe someone who wasn’t around much.

“The leader actually. Do you want some water or juice?” Natty jumped up and walked over to her small kitchenette.

I wanted to chase after her, but I had to settle for following her by spinning my legs in her direction. “The leader?”

“That’s as much as I’ve told anyone, Pen. It’s a really dangerous situation…Silas has almost been murdered twice for threatening the club on my behalf. I have no idea how he was in here without being killed.”

“But you were passing notes and speaking another language…”

She shrugged, ducking her head to reach into her small fridge.

“We grew up together. His mother taught us Latin…it’s a dead language, and well Death Raiders dealt in death and deadly things, she thought it would be helpful to learn a dead language we could use as a way to secretly communicate when needed.”

I sat back on my palms, looking up at the green vines twisting along her ceiling with a dopey smile on my face.

“You have a secret love.”

Natty made a noise that sounded defeated. “We have to change the subject. I feel like I’m about to break into hives.”

I laughed, then rubbed my stomach.

“Just think, Natty, this just sped up our bonding process by a thousand percent. I’m your girl now, and I’ll share secrets with you.”

Natty poked her head over, bringing over a bottle of water before curling her knees under her and getting on the bed.

“Okay, tell me what’s going on with you and Jameson.”

That reminded me… “First, I have to ask you if there was anything between you and Jameson…you two seem…friendly.”

She tossed her head back and laughed, making her shoulders shake. “I just told you that I’m somehow bound to the leader of the Death Raiders. No, nothing is happening with Jameson. He met with me to ask about this club, to make sure it was safe for you. That’s all.”

My chest felt like a valve had been released so air could finally get back in.

“There’s no story with Jamie. I’ve known him since I was thirteen…he’s always looked out for me, and when my mom passed away, she made him swear to take care of me.”

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