Page 196 of Dare To Live

“Okay, okay!” Kevin is sniveling when we walk back over. “Fine. I’ll tell you.”

***

“Are you ready?”

I glance over at the girl standing beside Bret. We’re in his dorm room, where I agreed to get changed for the prom, just in case Arabella decided to get ready in the room we were sharing.

“Do I look fucking ready?” I snap.

My knuckles are bruised from punching Kevin one time too many before Bret and Ivan hauled me off him. But he’d said a few things I didn’t like. And it should be noted that neither of the other men moved quickly to stop me knocking a couple of his teeth out or breaking his nose.

But once we got the information we needed, Bret had called in for two of the officers posing as school security to come and take him away.

“Eli, you need to relax. If you pick Arabella up like this, she’s going to know something is wrong.”

“Something is wrong.” I button up my shirt and pull on the jacket. “This is fucked up.”

“You’ll be fine. You have to act like you don’t know about Evan. If you can’t do that, then this whole thing will be a waste of time.”

I glare at him. “I’ll be fine.”

“Eli—”

“Don’t fucking Eli me. I said I’ll be fine.”

“We’ve got people watching the grounds. If we think anything looks suspicious, we’ll pull everyone out.”

I glance at Bret, but don’t reply.

“We don’t think he will try anything tonight. There are too many people, but she might try to do something to Arabella. Be ready,” the girl said.

Bret hadn’t introduced her, and I hadn’t asked. I don’t give a fuck who she is. She’s not Arabella, therefore she’s not important.

“What time is it?”

“Six fifty-five.” Bret hands me the sleek black box holding the corsage I picked up for Ari. “We’ll have eyes on you at all times.”

My laugh is dry. “Make sure they’re all legal age, then, because they’re going to see things. If there’s any risk of Evan making a move, I’m going to make the most of my last night with Arabella.”

I walk toward the door, then stop and turn back. “What if he doesn’t turn up?”

“Then we go to plan B, so prepare for that.”

I rake a hand through my hair. “Fuck’s sake.”

I take a deep breath, square my shoulders, and throw open the door. Arabella should be with Miles and Ivan, whose room is a few doors down from Bret, and it takes me barely any time at all to reach it.

I fiddle with the front of my shirt, and then rap on the door. It swings open almost immediately. Arabella is framed in the doorway and at the sight of her … I lose the ability to speak.

Chapter 113

Arabella

Eli is standing in the hallway, staring at me without blinking. He looks handsome in his black suit. His hair is brushed back, and his jaw is cleanly shaved. For a second, all I can do is stare at his sharp cheekbones and those turbulent eyes and remember the boy who walked into my life all those years ago and turned my world upside down.

I bite my lip, feeling ridiculously shy. Like I’m eighteen all over again. “Hi.”

He blinks and swallows. “Hey.”

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