Page 111 of Terror Tuesday
“You’re Olivia, right?”Why can’t I stop talking?
Does she recognize me?
If I give her my real name, this whole thing could fall apart. The society and the board know me as Valen Von Dovish. But she can’t know that, or else it’d be like another Abby Meyerson situation. Or she could figure out I’m Vanq, andthat, she cannot know about.
Notyet.
Her brother knows… Ryan Cardell figured it out, the fucker. But he hasn’t seen me without my mask. I should be safe there.
“Elliot,” I say quickly, my ears heating. “I’m in your stats class.”
I’m not. Doesn’t matter. I could be… I guess I’m taking that course tomorrow.
She buys it. Flirts back. She’s magnetic and brilliant and far too fucking observant. Notices everything. Even the blush on my cheeks I can’t hide.
But I don’t run.
As I hand her the bourbon, our fingers touch, and my brain short-circuits. Yeah—I’m hard, like an idiot. I lean against the desk to hide my erection, pretending I belong here. Making believe I’m not here for any other reason…
I pretend I’m the kind of guy she could want.
And when the server sneers at me, I offer a smirk. “I’m a rich prick.” It’s not a lie.
That makes her laugh again. And damn it, I’d burn down this whole building to hear it one more time.
When someone calls for her, I think she’ll vanish, and my chest aches to talk with her again. But she glances back. And I raise my glass in silent worship.
She just decimated my entire world and doesn’t even know it.
Turning, I place my hands on the desk and sip deep inhales to clear my head. Guess I’m Elliot to her now. This could work…
What if… What if I could be Elliot around her, but during the day? Thedork. Not the one having to deal with the society’s bullshit. The vigilante behind a mask.
What if I could be me around her and she’d still like me?
But…would she acceptallof me? Even the dark parts? The ones even I don’t like?
Ten minutes later, I step out and almost lose my shit. She’s cornered by him. Blackwell. Her body goes rigid. Her eyes glaze. Her smile fractures.
I want to kill him on the spot. My fingers twitch. I drift through the crowd, hand already brushing the hilt of the knife in my pocket…
But instead, she lifts his watch. And I exhale. Relief. Awe. Fucking pride. She’s craftier than she even knows. Just needs the right direction to show her how strong she really is.
In the corner of the conservatory, I sip a drink to calm my nerves, and there she is…dropping that monster’s watch into the koi pond.
And for the first time since I was a teenager, I fall fully in love all over again. But this time, it’s for real. I raise my glass as she looks my way, celebrating the moment she evolved.
She has no idea…
But I’ve been waiting years for her to take flight.
Present Day: Valen
Somehow,this beautiful creature chose me. Darkness and all. We catch our breaths after the heated confessions, and I swipe my hair off my sweaty forehead.
With a careful swivel of her neck, she inspects our surroundings. “Home?”
I clear my throat. “Yeah.”
