Page 117 of A Twisted Arrangement

Youhappened.

I yank my arm back, hoping to God she can’t see the blush crawling up the back of my neck. “None of your business.”

Like fuck I’m going to tell her I cut it just because some asshole old man touched her and made her uncomfortable.

“Another fight? You are such a delinquent.” She narrows her eyes at me, nose scrunched up, and I can’t help myself from thinking she’s adorable like this. So much better than the serene calmness she’d worn before. I press her further, wanting to see more of the fire she tries to hide.

She can pretend all she wants, but she can’t hide it from me.

“Is that what you think I am, a delinquent?”

She rips the flask from me with a huff and takes another sip. Her pink lips capture my thoughts as they wrap around the opening. This time, she doesn’t cough, giving me a small smile in triumph.

“You might want to take a closer look at yourself before you go calling me names?”

“I’m not the one who’s slept with half the girls here.” She snaps her mouth closed, and her cheeks flush a deeper shade of pink.

I don’t bother denying, stepping closer as an invisible thread pulls me toward her. I close the distance between us until she’s forced to tip her head back to look at me. “Are you jealous?”

“Never.” Her voice is breathy as her blue eyes meet mine, pupils blown wide in the shadows. Black lashes fan over her alabaster skin each time she blinks as her chest rises and falls in time with mine.

“Liar.” It’s as if I can’t get enough oxygen, like the only way I’ll survive is breathing her in. A voice in the back of my head screams at me that I shouldn’t be doing this, but I can’t for the life of me think of a reason why.

Our lips nearly graze each other’s when my father strides out of the side door, causing the temperature to dip even lower. He’s on the phone, his voice angrier than he normally lets on, and I thank fuck I’m not the one on the receiving end.

I push Scarlet behind me, shielding her more.

“Who’s there?” My father spins toward us like he has some kind of sixth sense or X-ray vision, and I swear under my breath.

I press my finger to my lips, telling Scarlet to be quiet, and point her to a path, hidden from sight by trees, that leads to another door. Her eyes are wide on mine, her body stubbornly stiff.

“Go,” I mouth and push her until she starts moving.

I wait until she’s far enough away before stepping out of our hiding spot and making a show of tucking my flask into my pocket. He’ll make me pay for it later, but it’s enough of a reason for me to be out here, that he won’t question it more and look behind me. Scarlet had taken her own risk being out here. It would be social suicide for her to be caught behind there with me. Unlike normal people, the women of the Order are expected to stay pure until marriage. Even the thought of the word makes my stomach churn. Who the fuck still believes in that?

“You’re supposed to be responsible for your brothers.” He uses the same tone he’d had on the phone, and dread fills my gut.

I swallow hard, looking at my feet. “I checked on them. They’re fine. I’m going back in now.”

“We’ll speak about this tomorrow.”

Chills run down my spine, but showing fear will only make it worse.

My muscles don’t loosen until he gets into his car, his driver already ready with the door open, and he closes it behind him.

It’s going to hurt like a bitch, but the memory of Scarlet’s body near mine makes me think I won’t regret it.

The squeal of tires fills the air as a Range Rover crashes through the steel gate.

My attention goes back to my dad, but none of his coldness is there. Instead, panic is written in his wide-eyed expression. He’s struggling to open the door, but he can’t get out.

A sick, coiling dread buries deep in my stomach as a sharp click comes from the car milliseconds before it detonates into splintered pieces. Heat flares against my skin as I’m thrown back, crashing against the marble steps leading up to the entry with a thud.

Ringing in my ears dulls my senses, and I heave, desperate to suck in a breath as the world turns to chaos around me.

Flames take up the space where my father’s car was, their heat causing sweat to drip into my eyes.

Thank fuck, Scarlet’s long gone.

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