Page 140 of Dare To Live

Ivan shoves me away. “Eli, stop.”

“Shut the fuck up. Miles, look at me.” I pause, waiting. When he doesn’t turn his head, I let out a frustrated half-growl. “Man the fuck up and look at me.”

His head slowly turns, eyes meeting mine.

“Think back. Was Evan alone?”

His throat moves as he swallows. His tongue comes out to wet his lips and then his eyes widen.

“No.” His voice is quiet. “Oh my god, no. No … he wasn’t alone.” Untangling himself from Ivan’s arms, he pushes to his feet. “Eli, he wasn’t alone! Why didn’t I remember that?”

“It doesn’t matter. You do now. Think about it. Do you know who it was?”

He shakes his head. “No. I didn’t see their face. They kept their back to me. They only came out after Kellan fell. But … I’m sure it was a girl.”

We stare at each other and I’m sure he can see my face has the same expression I can see burning in his eyes.

Evan wasn’t working alone. And that meant whoever had been helping him back then is possibly here in the school with us now.

Chapter 79

Arabella

My worry over Eli acting so emotionlessly is thrown into disarray with Miles’ revelation. Evan wasn’t working alone. The knowledge beats through my head over and over at a sickening tempo.

“Who?” I demand. “Who was it?”

Miles shakes his head. “I … I don’t know.”

“What color was her hair?”

“She was wearing a hoodie … I don’t know.”

“Did you hear her voice?” Eli grabs his shoulder. “You must have recognized something.”

Miles flinches under his touch. “No.”

“Think!”

Ivan stands and pushes Eli back, putting himself in front of his fiancé. “Leave him alone.”

Eli’s features contort with frustration. “He has to know more.”

“I don’t.” Miles scrubs a hand over his face.

Garrett rises from his perch on the other bed. “We all need to stay calm.”

I spin toward him in disbelief. “Calm? Evan’s accomplice could be roaming the halls of Churchill Bradley Academy with us. Do you have any idea how fucked up that is?”

“It doesn’t mean it was someone we know!” He frowns. “There were over a hundred and—”

“Bullshit!” I snarl. “You know, just as well as I do, it had to be someone close to him … and that means it’s one of his friends.”

“We can’t go throwing wild accusations around. Not without proof,” Ivan says, still keeping Eli from reaching the man behind him.

“And where are we going to get that?” Eli’s voice is flat.

I hate how he seems to have just shut down to cope. “Maybe we can flush them out somehow. They could still be holding a grudge.”

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