Page 52 of Pin-up Girl

“Come on, Elise.” I touched her arm, but she sobbed louder. “We’re going to talk about what’s going on and what’s caused your tears, but not here. This is the worst place to have a heart to heart, and I’d feel much better if we were behind safe walls.”

The alley muted the outside world, but she hadn’t seemed to hear anything I said.

Like a switch had been flipped, she stepped away from the circle of Jules’ arms, smoothing her hair down and wiping away the tears. It was dark, the light too dim to see her clearly, but dark smudges ringed her eyes.

“You’re right. Not here.” She turned and walked with her head held high toward the Shack, waiting for no one.

The three of us easily caught up to Elise, not touching her in case that wasn’t what she wanted right now. The mood was somber, and the distant sound of cars was enough to kill any conversation we might have had.

The only thing on my mind was the reason behind the tears. It had to have been that bitch that caught her arm, Super Model. But that didn’t quite fit… Anytime she was texting, it had to be to her—she had never talked about any other friends. Elise nailed a girl at Freddie’s for her, and I couldn’t see her putting herself out there like that for someone who didn’t mean something to her.

Fuck, that’s the exact kind of someone that could do the most damage.

Lucky for them, no one bothered us on our way to my room. In fact, the house was uncharacteristically quiet. I wasn’t going to complain, these nights were rare, but very needed tonight. It would be nice to have this conversation without the constant yelling from the first floor.

By the time we all stood in the center of my room, Elise was completely composed, only a little bit of mascara under her eyes told her secret. I had no idea what to do, she had been so strong until tonight, ready to battle the world and carve her name in it. Literally.

It was true, I was shit at this boyfriend stuff, but this felt important, like we needed to talk about it and figure out how to fix whatever was wrong.

“I don’t want to talk about it. In fact, I’d like to pretend tonight never happened.” She walked right past us into the bathroom, slamming the door.

I couldn’t have pulled my gaze away from her as she walked away if I’d tried. I liked to pride myself on being a quick thinker, solving difficult and tenuous problems in minutes. Fuck, I could smile and talk my way out of anything, but the confidence that held up my spine for so long wasn’t here tonight.

“Fuck, man. Pin-up is all woman, but she never really acted like one. This emotional business scares the shit out of me. Think she’s on her period?” Emmett ran both hands through his hair, staring at the door as if any second his parents were about to bust through.

Jules scratched his chin, then signed,No, this is bigger than that. And she’s not on her period. We’d know.

Too true.

“Do we try to chat about it, or let it drop? I just don’t fucking know what to do.” I said as the water kicked on in the bathroom.

That’s a first.

A startled laugh bubbled out of me. “Jules has jokes. Funny.”

The dire mood broke for a moment as we smiled at each other. It’d been too long since we just laughed together.

“I say we try to see what Super Model said to make her lose it. Because we all know that had to be it. I doubt it could be anything about being our whore or something like that. She’s dealt with that plenty already and never even blinked.” Emmett moved to the door to toe his shoes off, then grabbed a pair of his sweatpants lying over the back of the couch. He continued as he changed, “Nah, that girl must be a close friend to be able to hurt her.”

The water from the shower turned on, so she would be a while. Another new thing we were learning about Elise—when she was upset, she closed herself in.

To pass the time, I called my dad, anxious to at least get that part of the evening over with. It rang a few times before his gravelly voice came down the line.

“Son, it’s been weeks.” Condescension dripped from his tone.

“Yes, Dad. I’ve been busy with school and Alpha Delta Omega business.” AKA, jobs for Infinity, but he knew that. He was usually the one to send down jobs. I’d receive a text from a burner number with mundane chatter to give away who the target was as well as the offense. At least with that, I didn’t have to actually speak to him. A simpledonewas enough of a response.

“Don’t be such a smart ass, I raised you better than that.” He must have been tapping his whiskey with his fingernails, as high-pitched clinks came over the line rhythmically.

“Ah, but you didn’t raise me, did you Dad? You were more of an overseer.” I gave nothing away, and I never did. From a very early age, I’d learned that any show of emotion from me was a win for my father. And this was something so simple, it was within my control, so I learned to hide everything away and locked up tight so he could never touch it. It was the small ways I took back my life that gave me the will to keep on this insanely dangerous path.

“Fine, if you want to think of it that way.” He paused, then said, “This weekend, I’ll be at the estate. I want you home for dinner. You’ve avoided me long enough. You can even bring your friends and that new girlfriend of yours.”

Fear like I’ve never felt before gripped my heart in a tight fist. How did he know about her? And why would he even care? He had never taken an interest in my sex life before.

“You have someone watching us?” The words burned my throat as I forced them out. That could be the answer to the Maseratis creeping around. Marsten Kingston was one of the most dangerous elite members. Needless to say, this did not make me feel better.

The one unanswered question is why would he have tried to have Emmett and Elise hurt, or worse. Not only that, but on school grounds. Their style was much more incognito. It didn’t make sense.

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