Page 13 of Hidden Lies

I managed to contain my eye roll as I nodded. “Ca—”

“Camilla,” he cut me off, his smile widening into a grin. “Sorry, I assumed everyone has been leading with that observation, so I didn’t want to feel left out. I’m Devan.” He held out a hand, and, feeling slightly taken aback, I took it, his calluses rough under my palm as I shook it. “It’s good to meet you,” he said, releasing my hand.

I blinked. How…surprisingly normal.

“Is everything going okay for you so far?” he asked. “No one’s giving you any trouble?”

“You say that like you expect people to give me trouble,” I observed.

He shrugged. “The kids here get bored easily. New students are a novelty, especially new seniors.”

“Yeah, I’ve noticed that,” I conceded. “But no, it’s been…fine.” More or less.

His answer was cut off when the teacher announced, “Handouts are coming around. You have the rest of the period to work with your lab partner on the first experiment—synthesizing aspirin from salicylic acid. All the steps are detailed for you. You’ll do the first half today, then tomorrow you’ll come back to weigh the results and write up your lab report. Come to me with any questions.”

I took the papers as they were passed back and skimmed through the instructions, hoping the chemistry classes I’d taken before would be enough to prepare me for this. A lot of the classes here seemed to be on par with what was expected from a college freshman, rather than high school seniors, but I supposed when parents were paying this much money, they expected their kids to get an education. I guessed I’d find out quickly if the California public school system was up to snuff. And if not, well, I’d be gone soon enough anyway. My grades here would hardly matter.

Fortunately, the instructions were pretty clear, and it didn’t take long before Devan and I were hard at work, answering the study questions and measuring out reagents.

To my relief, he seemed to be nothing like his friends. He was friendly and easy to work with, and despite his size and appearance he was turning out to be the least intimidating of the three. He joked with me as we worked, but was efficient and respectful, and I liked him immediately. I almost found it hard to believe he was friends with the other two.

Things were going well, and I was beginning to relax and let my guard down when I felt a presence at my shoulder. I looked up in time to see Micah pass by me on the way to the front of the class. He spoke to the teacher briefly, nodding when she answered his question, but on his way back to his table he stopped by my side and leaned down. I froze as I felt the heat of his breath on the shell of my ear and an involuntary shiver ran the length of my spine.

“I like the purple,” he said softly, the words a caress in my ear, and it was only when I felt his fingers circle a lock of my hair, pulling down the length of it and letting it slip like silk through his fingers, that I even realized what he was talking about. In the next second he was gone, back at his own desk.

I shivered again, tucking the loose strand behind my ear, and turned to find Devan watching me with a curious look.

“I didn’t realize you’d met Micah,” he said.

I shrugged. “He was in my art class this morning.”

His gaze grew slightly intense, and his words seemed to carry a kind of forced nonchalance. “Oh yeah? You like art?”

There was humor in the thought that art was just a class, just something I ‘liked,’ rather than being an integral part of who I was, but I nodded. “Yeah. He sat next to me.”

“Did he say anything?” Devan asked.

I raised an eyebrow, unsure of what he was getting at. “We didn’t really talk. He drew my portrait though.”

“What?”

I had his full attention now. Shit, should I not have said that?

“Uh…yeah, it wasn’t a big deal. We were just supposed to draw something, anything, to warm up.”

“And he drew you?”

I glanced toward the table behind us, where both Micah and Garrett were bent over their experiment.

“Is that…a problem?”

Devan’s towering, muscled frame almost seemed to grow larger, his deep set blue eyes boring into mine. My breath stuttered as I remembered that he hadn’t been safe from Nora and Frank’s speculation either. What had the rumor been? Something about his involvement in the disappearance of his parents. I felt a chill chase up my spine.

But then he blinked, and the illusion was gone. “Nah, only wondering. Micah doesn’t usually talk much.” His easy-going good humor returned with his smile.

I glanced behind me again and found that while the guys still had their heads down, I could see the faintest hint of a smile on Micah’s face.

I narrowed my eyes, but suddenly I felt a shock of cold and then a hand on my arm and my gaze jerked forward again.

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