Page 62 of Pin-up Girl

I was all for taking down those assholes any way I could. Milo hadn’t explicitly said they would help me, but they would. Even if it was just to further their own agenda.

“Perfect.” I opened the bar and took a bite. Once I’d swallowed, I laid it all out. “I don’t know as much as you think I do, so I don’t know how helpful this is going to be. Robert Monroe is the only person in Infinity I’ve had any relevant contact with. He manages several of the younger members from families like mine. After we’re too old to be in settings like Wellington, they find other jobs for us, like those fall guys I mentioned.”

Emmett flopped across the next futon, eating his own bar. “So what you’re saying is, there’s an incognito spy ring within the organization? Fucking wonderful.”

“You could say that, because as far as I know, our sole purpose is to keep an eye on their brats.” I shrugged and continued. “I don’t know what made them look closer at you three, but they believe you don’t like the way they run things and think you could do a better job. Milo, I think they’re intimidated by your charisma and ability to win people over. From my brief prior to relocating here, they said you were the one to watch out for, that you were the brains behind the operation. Jules was your muscle, and Emmett was the playboy. Not really a threat, but still needed to be watched.”

“Gee, that’s great. You two are the threats, and I’m just the brainless pretty boy.”

Milo looked at Emmett like he had lost his mind. “Are you seriously getting upset because they didn’t see you as a threat?”

Not giving them a chance to bicker, I moved on. “I don’t think whoever is after you really wants to try and stop you. It felt more personal than that, especially since Robert instructed me to frame you if there was nothing on the surface. This was more of a vendetta than anything, and it seemed to come from the top.”

They exchanged looks, frowning at the information I’d just laid at their feet.

“I don’t even know what to do with that.” Milo sighed and swiped his hand over his dirty blonde hair, mussing it up. “Tell us about Cassidy, where does she fit into all this?”

“She’s like me, hates the group and wants to fuck them up the ass any way she can. I don’t know if you actually paid attention to her last night, but she did not want to be there, and not only because she wascaught.” I couldn’t share all of her secrets, but they needed to know she could be trusted. “She’s been helping me keep Robert at bay, feeding him mundane facts about you guys. He wasn’t happy, which was why he had Cass deliver the threat.”

Which I still hadn’t had time to do anything about. I was going out of my mind trying to figure out a way to get Ellie away from that fucking prison.

“When’s the next time you’re supposed to give any information to Cassidy?” Milo pulled me back to the present.

“Tomorrow. Every other day is when I touch base with her.”

“When?” Emmett exclaimed. “We’re practically up your ass every second, and we’ve never seen you with her other than at Freddie’s and Roosters.”

“Phone. We text in code. Or phone calls when I’m in class or the bathroom. I know you’ve all seen me texting, it was always to Cass.” I wadded up the empty wrapper and wedged it between my thighs.

Jules ground his jaw and looked away. He was going to react this way at every reminder of how I came into their lives. I couldn’t take it back, but I could show him I was on their side. That had to be enough.

Milo stood up, grabbing his keys from a hook on the wall. He must have put them there when I went to the bathroom last night. “We have exactly twenty-four hours to devise a plan, at least a preliminary plan until we know how we want to handle this. I’ll be right back.”

The door closed slowly behind him, but didn’t shut. A chill swept through the room as we waited for Milo to come back. I thought they might try to ask me more questions, but it seemed they could only process chunks of the story at a time.

When he came back inside, he tossed our jackets at us, already wearing his own. “The Caddy’s warming up. Before we leave, tell us about your sister. Where’s your mom?”

I looked at Emmett, he was the only one I’d given even a modicum of information about my family. From the look on Milo’s and Jules’ faces, Emmett must have kept our conversations to himself. Another time, that would have warmed me.

“Like I said, my mother started sleeping with some low-life grunt when I was young. My little sister was already born, about a year old. Let’s just say my mother is practically nonexistent in our lives. After I found out she so happily set me up, I did everything I could to kick her out of our lives. She’s so jaded, she doesn’t even care, as long as she got her allowance and gets to keep her sports car.

“When I turned eighteen and they started sending me around for jobs, Ellie was sent to a boarding school. She’s the chip they happily hold over my head to make sure I stay compliant. If it’s not a sibling, it’s a cousin or a parent. Too many have tried to run away, so Infinity made sure we had a reason to stay. Robert’s known me since I was seventeen and before I knew how he would be involved in my life. He’s always known I wouldn’t do shit for my mother.”

My breathing had sped up at some point during my little spiel. They were being good sports about it all, quietly listening to my story.

“Ellie’s at a boarding school in Montana. Very secluded, very private. The perfect place to hold kids prisoner. I’m pretty sure everyone that goes there is leverage of some kind.” I blew out a harsh breath. “I get a visiting day once a month. I skipped last month, because of the job, but I won’t miss more than that.”

There was no reason for me to miss another opportunity to see Ellie. Now that they knew everything, there was nothing they could do to stop me.

“Sounds like a road trip’s in order.” Emmett stretched his arms over his head.

“Does that mean you want to meet my sister, or you don’t trust me not to run?” Fuck it, if I was going to put any faith in them at all, I needed to know exactly where they stood.

When Emmett relaxed back into his seat, he met my gaze head on, no smile in sight. “To verify there is a sister. And maybe a little bit to make sure you don’t run.”

That put me in my place, didn’t it? Without meeting any of their gazes, I threw my trash away and slipped into my jacket. At the door, I looked over my shoulder at the futon. “I’ll be in the Caddy.”

Would I be more of a threat in the backseat or the front? I wanted to be in the back so I could pretend I was invisible, but no way in hell they’d like that. And they hadn’t said anything else about tying me up, so at least that was a win.

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