Page 87 of Stone Cold Touch

I rolled my eyes at the derision dripping from his voice. “Uh. No.”

He shifted, angling his body toward mine. “Did he keep you up whispering all the naughty things he wants to do to you?”

Exhaling deeply, I finally turned to him. Roth’s hair was a mess of raven locks and the gray shirt he wore stretched taut across his chest. His jeans hung low on his hips, ripped across both knees. He was the picture of lazy arrogance.

“I’m guessing he didn’t do that either. He’s too good for those kinds of dirty things.” He tapped a finger on his chin thoughtfully, and I realized the nail was painted black. “He probably cuddled with you.”

Zayne had sort of cuddled with me before Maddox had taken a fall down the stairs, but he’d also been not so pure about it. “What is with you wanting to know what’s going on with me and Zayne? It’s none of your business.”

One shoulder rose. “I’m just curious.” When I didn’t respond, he sighed. “So what’s your deal today? Is it because of what happened to our friendly neighborhood witch? Or something else?”

I cringed a little at his blasé attitude. “That and last night...” What was I thinking even confiding in Roth? Was our white flag of friendship cut out for this?

“Last night what?”

Sighing, I ran a hand through my hair. The need to give voice to what was troubling me was too strong. It wasn’t as though I could talk to Stacey about these things, and I didn’t want to involve Zayne any more than he was already by the simple act of defending me.

“Abbot thinks I’m evil incarnate.”

His brows inched up his forehead, disappearing under his hair. “What?”

“CliffsNotes version? There have been some weird things happening at the house. The windows were blown out and then one of the Wardens fell down the stairs.” I tucked my hair back, beyond tired. “Compounded with the fact Tomas—who Bambi ate—is still missing, Abbot thinks I’m behind it all.”

Roth frowned. “And why does he think you’re involved in any of this?”

I waited until a small group of people hurrying toward the cafeteria passed us before continuing. “Because I was present when the windows broke and when Maddox fell down the steps. Not sure how he attributes Tomas to me.”

“Did you do those things?” he asked.

“What?” I threw my hands up. “No. I didn’t do anything. They even have it on camera.” A bit paranoid, I scowled. “Why would you ask that?”

“Why wouldn’t I ask to make sure? You said you didn’t. There’s proof you didn’t, so why would he still think you’re behind it?”

And here came the part that had kept me tossing and turning all night. “Abbot thinks that they don’t know what I’m capable of. That I have superpowers and did all of that with a single thought, I guess.”

“That would be a cool ability—a very demonic ability. An Upper Level one to be exact,” he said, grinning.

An Upper Level ability...oh my God, that’s what Zayne and Danika had said about me, but with all the crazy, I’d forgotten about it.

“Hey.” Roth’s voice softened. “Layla, I wasn’t being serious.”

I lifted my gaze, meeting his, and I saw the truth in his eyes. My heart sped up. He...he was lying now. I knew it deep in my bones. The words came out in a whisper. “Abbot thinks I’m evil.”

Roth drew back and straightened. The longer he was quiet, the bigger the knots of unease grew in my stomach, becoming balls of lead. “Skip with me.”

I blinked. “What?”

“Skip with me,” he said again.

That was so not what I was expecting him to say. “I’m going to lunch.”

“Or you can go have lunch with me.”

I shook my head. “That’s not a good idea.”

“Why not?” The devilish grin was back, giving his features a boyish charm. “Would Stony not approve?”

Uh, that was an understatement.

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