Page 100 of Reading Between the Lines
Duke seemed to slowly recover his wits. He grabbed his backpack and slung it over his shoulder as he backed away, face contorted in anger. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Awfully suspicious how quickly you moved in on Weston’s girlfriend. Someone might think you needed him out of the way because he had something you wanted. In my line of work, that’s called a motive, but you would know that already with all the studying you’ve done on writing the perfect mystery. Here’s the thing. There is no perfect crime. In the end, everyone makes mistakes.”
“Fuck you, you freak.” Duke spun on his heels and darted off toward the front of the school.
The minute we were alone, my fearless boyfriend clenched a hand around my jaw and dragged me to his level, ignoring the flash of pain the movement caused. His hazel eyes were glacier. “You donotget to throw your weight and size around and pin people against walls. I don’t care how much you hurt or how angry you are. You just don’t. Do you hear me, Diem Krause? That is not okay.”
I opened my mouth to speak, but Tallus moved a finger to my lips, shushing me. “Even if they’re a slimy little prick of a teenager with an attitude problem. Even if it’s highly probable they rigged a tree branch to fall on us. Never. Again.”
“I wasn’t going to hit him.” No matter how intensely my insides burned, no matter how much someone might deserve it, I’d promised myself years ago that I would never raise a fist to a person again. “I swear.”
“I know, D, but you still can’t do that.”
Disappointment was written all over Tallus’s face. Disappointment at my actions. And I deserved it.
The floodgates of shame let go, and my face crumpled. I tried to pull away, but Tallus caught my hand and wouldn’t let me go anywhere. What had sent me flying toward the kid and taken over my brain in the split second I’d had to think was how close to danger Tallus had been the previous day. “It could have been you.”
“But it wasn’t.”
“But it could have been.”
Tallus tugged me against his chest and engulfed me in a tight hug. I didn’t resist and wrapped my good arm around him, squeezing back and kissing his head. If I could have packed him up and sent him home, I would have, simply to keep him safe, but Tallus wouldn’t go for that.
Clapping sounded from a short distance away. It shattered the intimate moment, and Tallus and I both turned to find Atlas leaning against his beat-up Civic, cigarette between his lips as he applauded.
He removed the cigarette and called, “Very sweet. I caught a vibe at the restaurant, but here you are, openly advertising. No judgment here. Carry on.”
Atlas blew a cloud of smoke into the air as we approached. My fingers twitched with muscle memory, and I could almostfeel the tingling sensation that came with the first haul after not having smoked in a long time.
I’d have killed for a smoke but knew better than to fall down that rabbit hole again. No matter how stressed I was. No matter my pain level.
Atlas grinned at our arrival. “Saw you give Duke a little shakedown. Guy’s a dumbass.”
I narrowed my eyes. “You don’t talk too highly of your friends.”
Atlas shrugged and took a drag off his cigarette. “We’re not that close.”
“You’re kind of the odd man out in your little group, aren’t you?” Tallus said.
Atlas didn’t respond and glanced toward the school as the end-of-the-day bell rang.
Knowing our time was limited—Londyn had likely run off to tell Daddy we were harassing her boyfriend—I moved the conversation in the direction we needed. “We found your clubhouse in the woods, and Loyal painted a lovely picture of what your group is all about.”
Atlas shrugged. “So?”
“Hugh Abercrombie doesn’t know what you guys were doing out there, does he?”
“Not my concern.”
“He seemed shocked when I suggested it the other day. I didn’t realize at the time that Loyal and Londyn were his kids. No wonder he isn’t happy about us poking around, especially since it means pointing a finger at all of you. I hope I didn’t get you guys in trouble, seeing as your group has been sneaking around, running a highly suspicious club, and writing highly suspicious stories.”
Atlas huffed. “Mr. A wouldn’t give a shit about the cabin. Loyal’s his prodigy, and Londyn’s got Daddy wrapped aroundher baby finger. They’ll weave him a nice tale, and he’ll go with it. Besides, he would probably commend the creative spin we take when writing our books.”
“What about Sonya? Would she be happy to know what you guys are up to?”
“Who?”
“Sonya. The twins’ mother.”
