Page 110 of Tell Me Why
“They won’t,” I assure her, though I have no way of knowing that. “You’re not even on their radar.”
With a sigh, she glances back out at the ocean, but I can already see I’ve got her. “What’s in this book that’s so important?”
“It’s a blood ledger with names, dates, basically every crime the Burning Crown has committed over the last hundred years.”
Her eyes widen and she whispers, “Fuck.”
“Exactly. Now you see why I need it.”
“Are you going to hand it over to the police?”
I should, but I can’t do that to Christian. “I’m only using it as leverage—unless they step out of line.” I shrug. “Then I’ll do what I have to do.”
She nods again, but this one is sharp. “Okay. I’ll do it. I owe you this.”
I push out a breath, but the relief I feel is quickly chased by guilt. I know I’m putting her in danger. That I’m using her just like Christian did. The only difference—my brother’s life is on the line. Christian had a choice. I don’t.
I pull the office keys out of my pocket. I never gave them back, and Christian never came looking for them. I hand them to her.
Skye stares down at them like they might reach up and bite her. “What am I looking for?”
“A large leather book with a crown emblem on the front. It should be on a chair, unless Christian moved it.”
“Okay,” she says, the breath leaking from her lungs. “When are we doing this?”
“Tonight, after nine. The campus security guards change shifts at 9:15, and there’s a fifteen-minute window when no one’s patrolling that section.”
“Wow, how on earth do you know that?”
“I asked around,” I reply. I casually asked Lowe, actually. The guards at Rush House know everything there is to know about the security on campus. It’s their job to know. “Now, listen, once you have the book, bring it to the music room at Rush House. The Sacred Sons have a meeting tonight, so they’ll be occupied.”
She slips the keys into her pocket. “If we manage to pull this off…will it fix things between us?
I pause, caught off guard by the wobble in her voice. Will it? Can I ever really trust her again? She looks scared of what my answer will be. More scared than betraying the Burning Crown and possibly getting caught.
I flash her a faint smile. “It’ll be a start.”
She smiles back. “I’ve got you.”
As I walk back to the car, where Christian is waiting for me, I wonder if Skye knows—or if any of them know—that my birth mother was a Rush. That my blood ties me to the same society that’s torturing my brother.
It’s still hard for me to wrap my head around. But the irony isn’t lost on me. I’m half Burning Crown, half Shadow and Ash, torn between two societies that have been trying to rip each other apart for generations. Maybe that’s why Christian and I are drawn to each other, despite everything. We’re both caught between two worlds—loyalty and love…
* * *
“You okay?” Christian asks when I get back into the car.
“Yeah,” I say with a shrug. “I just wanted to clear things up with her, that’s all.”
His blue eyes search my face, looking for my tell—that thing I do when I lie. “You two worked it out?”
“Yeah, I mean, it’s going to take time,” I say. “But we’re headed in the right direction.”
He glances at his phone. “Shit, we need to get to campus. If we miss another lecture, Professor Sanders will drop us.”
“I doubt that. You have the facultyandadministration at your whim.” My head falls back against the headrest. “But, you’re right. If we miss any more lectures, we’ll never catch up.”
His warm hand slides over my thigh. “Before I forget—I had someone from Exeter House deliver your things to Rush House this morning. Lucas is staying at Wyn’s apartment for now, so we don’t need to worry about him.”
