Page 34 of The Vipers and Their Vendetta

She presses her lips together and lifts her eyes to mine. “Why should I believe you?”

We hold each other’s gaze for a beat, each of us challenging the other. I wish I had my voice so I could fight our case, but right now it feels like she’s reading my thoughts from eye contact alone. I can’t pretend I’m not pissed that she believes everyone else over us, but then that goes two ways.

How much can we trust our little Venom?

Saint glares at her. “Because we haven’t lied to you. Not ever.”

“We’re not even supposed to be talking about Reagan and what happened,” Lex says. “You know this. Rossi could kick us all out.”

“Doesn’t that strike you as being strange?” she throws at him. “A girl kills herself, allegedly, but we’re not allowed to talk about it? Why? Wouldn’t most colleges use it as a learning point, give the students a safe space to talk about something as serious as suicide? Not hush it all up.”

Saint gives a throaty laugh. “This is hardly a normal college, Vani. I thought you knew that.”

“Maybe you’re right, but it still seems to me that the enforced silence means there’s more to the story. How do I know Rossi isn’t protecting you?”

I shake my head and write,Why the fuck would he do that?

“I don’t know,” she exclaims. “How the hell should I know anything that goes on around here? I’m constantly left in the dark.”

Lex lifts his square jaw and pulls his shoulders back. He asks her the question we’ve all been thinking.

“Why are you even here, Vani? What the fuck does Reagan have to do with you?”

Her gaze flicks between us, fire in their dark depths. “Why the fuck should I tell you anything? It’s not like you’ve been honest with me at any point.”

I sign something to the twins, and Vani’s gaze narrows.

“What did he say?” she demands.

Saint lets out a sigh. “He said we never lied to you.”

“No, but you never told the truth either.”

She crosses her arms over her chest, and it highlights the wound on her arm. The sight of it does something strange to my stomach, and I find it hard to breathe.

“Maybe we should ask Jarl Olsen why you’re here,” Saint throws in.

She flinches. “Jarl Olsen? Why would you ask him anything?”

“I’m sure Reagan’s father knows you’re poking around.”

Her jaw tightens. “He doesn’t know anything.”

Lex arches an eyebrow. “You expect us to believe that? There’s a rumor that we were responsible for her death, and Jarl Olsen won’t be able to confront us directly, because Rossi paid him enough to ensure he won’t be causing trouble on campus. What better way to look into things than send some hot little thing to get under our skin and ask some questions at the same time?”

“That’s crap. I’ve never even met Jarl Olsen.”

“Bullshit,” Saint coughs behind his hand.

“It’s not bullshit!” she insists. “In fact, I don’t even want Jarl Olsen to know I exist.”

I sign,Why not?

She hesitates, seeming to understand what I’m asking. What the fuck is she keeping from us? If it’s not that she’s been sent here to spy on us, what is it?

Saint picks up on the moment. The conflict in her gaze, and the tight set of her mouth.

He stares at her. “Don’t want us to speak to Jarl, then talk to us.”

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