Page 302 of Blood & Betrayals

“Yes,” Luke nods, “but why? And how did you find out?”

“I’m not sure how much you know about everything that’s going on, but there have been things posted that could be helpful in the investigation into the murdered fae. I have a friend who is good with technology, and he found your IP address.”

Luke’s brows draw.

“He won’t say anything either.” Luke relaxes a little more again. “Can you print them out?”

Luke whirls in his chair and opens his laptop again. He types furiously, and then the printer whines into motion and starts churning away. Luke grabs the printouts and hands them to me. I scan them but decide it’s not the best time to do this. Folding the stack of paper, I stand.

Luke is watching me, caution and fear shadowing his eyes. My chest aches for him. I know what it means to have a secret you are sure will destroy you if people find out, but I won’t leave him alone in that place. I cup his cheek. “Luke?”

“Hm?”

My lips twitch at how similar he sounds to Connor when he does that. “We love you. Just the way you are. We all do. Butthis,” I place my hand over his heart, “this isn’t my secret to tell. So I will keep it for you. As long as you need.”

Luke’s chest heaves. Then he stands and pulls me into a hug, whispering shakily, “Thank you, Summer.”

I squeeze him tight. “If you ever want to talk. You know where I am.”

Luke pulls back and nods. The fear has gone from his eyes, but the sadness lingers. I stroke his cheek with my thumb before leaving the room.

111

Summer

Iclimb out of Connor’s bed and pull on my clothes. Connor watches me, the sheets hanging low on his hips. “You really have to go?”

I nod, pulling on my yoga pants and my sweater. “Alice is home tonight, and we’re hanging out.”

Connor sighs heavily and dramatically drapes his arm over his face. “But baaaaaaaaaabe…” he groans, drawing out the word.

I laugh and kneel on the bed, bending to kiss him. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

I pull back and sit on the edge to put my sneakers on.

“You want me to walk you home?”

“No, I’ll be okay. I’ll text you the whole way, and Alice is waiting, so I’ll be fine.”

“Promise?” Connor asks. I can tell he’s feeling uncertain about it, but he’s trying to give me the independence he knows I need.

I nod and get up to pull my jacket on. Connor climbs out of bed and slips on his boxers. I open his door and walk into Luke, whose fist is in midair, obviously about to knock.

“Oh, sorry, Summer. I didn’t think you were still here,” Luke says, a flush touching his cheeks. He probably does trust me, but it’s a vulnerable thing that hangs between us, and he will naturally have nagging doubts.

I smile at him. “I’m just leaving.”

Connor is pulling on his jeans behind me. “Hey, Luke. What’s up, Brother?”

“I was wondering if you wanted to play video games with Rafe and me. We ordered food.”

“Of course.” Connor smiles, slinging his arm around me. I kiss his jaw.

I press a kiss to his jaw. He’s such a good brother. He smiles down at me and leans in to give me a very heated kiss goodbye. When he breaks it, Luke is gone. I lick my lips and whisper, “I’ll see you later, big guy.” Connor nods and swats my ass as I leave.

I decide to stop at the headmaster’s office before I go home, wanting to drop off the list as soon as possible. If it holds clues, I want to make sure he has it as soon as possible. Whoever this person is, they need to be caught before someone else gets hurt. I knock on his office door, silently praying that this weird daily ritual will soon be a thing of the past.

“Enter.” Though I came here expecting to see him, I’m still somewhat surprised to find him in his office on a Sunday afternoon. I step in, but he doesn’t even look up as I approach. “Miss Tuatha De Daanan.” I inwardly cringe at that. Who fucking else would it be?

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