“Russ said the funniest thing yesterday,” I said.
Jen raised a brow at me. “I highly doubt that.” Apparently she shared my private estimation of his brainpower.
“He said the only reason you guys hang around with Cam is because he’s got a big house and his parents are gone a lot. Is that true?”
The other girl shrugged, her eyes going to Allison, as if to tell me I couldn’t trust her. Well, duh. I’m counting on that. Regardless of where it came from, this home truth should start a rift between Russ and Cameron. If my observations on social interaction held true, eventually the guys would take sides. And this was only the beginning.
Allison didn’t repeat what she’d overheard until just before the warning bell. Wisely, she waited until Russ went to the bathroom and then she leaned over and whispered to Cameron while staring at me. He fixed me with a look that was part confusion, part dread; I met his gaze squarely and smiled. In some deep, dark part of his lizard brain, he recognized me as a threat, but he couldn’t reconcile it rationally.
“Talk to you guys later,” I said.
After school, as I headed out, I glimpsed Russ and Cam arguing near the guys’ bathroom. Russ shoved him, hard, against the lockers, and I smiled. Tomorrow there would be some blowback on me, but not as much as Allison expected. I pressed through the crowd and strode toward the front gate, where I was astonished and relieved to find Kian waiting for me. Pointedly I stopped, checked my phone, then shook it at him; I was tempted to throw it.
He crossed the road toward me. Every time I saw him, it was a shock all over again. On closer inspection, though, he’d definitely looked better. Dark shadows cradled his eyes, and his clothes looked like he might’ve slept in his car. Before today, I’d never seen him unshaven; scruff prickled along his jaw, giving him a surprisingly rugged look. My fingers itched to touch the copper streaks in his hair, and despite my misgivings about his trustworthiness and his story, I wanted to hug him and then kiss the crap out of him.
“Before you yell at me, exhibit A.” His phone was a hunk of melted metal. “I ran into trouble after I texted you.”
“I can see that. Why didn’t you pop in to see me?” But as soon as the question emerged, I recalled how awkward it had been, the last time I saw him. In his shoes, I probably wouldn’t have risked a surprise visit either.
“You said you prefer if I don’t do that. I think the word ‘creepy’ might’ve been thrown around.”
“That was before.”
“Before what?”
To my aggravation, I didn’t know what to say. Our non-relationship was confusing, especially when he gave me a light kiss for the benefit of anyone who might be watching.
I eventually muttered, “How hard could it be to buy a new phone? Or e-mail me.”
“Come on. We won’t settle anything standing here and I have things to tell you.”
“Me too,” I said, thinking of the guy in the subway.
“You go first.” He opened my door with careless courtesy and then jogged around to hop in on the driver’s side.
I summarized the weird subway encounter and when I finished, Kian wore a ferocious scowl. “So I was right. They’ve already found you.”
“Who has?”
“The company is called Dwyer & Fell. They mask another faction in the game, just as Wedderburn, Mawer & Graf does.”
“Game?”
“From what I hear, Wedderburn and Dwyer have been competing for centuries.”
Pondering the implications, I spoke before I was sure. “But that means—”
“They aren’t human.” Kian likely saw my uncertainty and filled in the blank.
Understandable. We had too much ground to cover for him to wait for me to make logical deductions when he could supply the answers. But that didn’t address the fact that he looked terrible; something bad obviously went down during his long silence.
“So what happened? Are you all right?” I couldn’t restrain the expression of concern and he shot me a grateful look.
“A bit singed here and there, no life-threatening injuries. There’s no proof Dwyer & Fell are involved, but it’s no coincidence that my place burned last night.”
Muttering a curse, I shifted in the seat to take a more careful inventory of him. Now that he’d mentioned it, I could see a smear of ash he’d missed on his temple and when I breathed in, I pulled hints of soot and smoke.
“Why are they targeting you?”
“To weaken you,” he said quietly. “They’re not permitted to go after you directly, but they can attack people close to you. Pawns like me are always the first to go.”
“Whereas I’m the queen in play?” I joked, trying to lighten the mood.
I couldn’t believe how serious he seemed as he glanced over with grave green eyes. “At the moment, yes.”
“I don’t understand. WM&G pays you well and trusts you with special assignments. How does that make you a pawn?”
He wore an inscrutable look. “If I’m eliminated, it doesn’t hurt Wedderburn. True, the company is out the cost of my favors, but when you consider the scale they operate on—”
“It’s a drop in the bucket,” I guessed.
“So, to them, my chief value resides in my connection to you. The game can change at any time, you understand, but right now, you have a vital, viable future to protect.”
“I’d give a lot to know what future-me achieves and why it’s so critical.” I sighed. “Seems like it’s past time to visit you at work.”
“Agreed. That’s where we’re headed, in fact. Wedderburn asked to meet you.”
My heart stuttered in my chest. I’d asked to tour the place, but this was different. His boss wanted me there, and it made me nervous. “Any idea why?”
“He has a proposition for you.” Though his tone was matter-of-fact, he shook his head ever so slightly.
Right. Whatever Wedderburn wants, I say no. Provided that I believed Kian had my best interests at heart. I wished I could be sure he did. I can’t let myself be taken in by good looks and a pair of sad eyes. That would make me quite an idiot.
“I hope I can remember not what I’m not supposed to know,” I muttered.
“Just listen and act appreciative. Wedderburn has a thing for humility. And when he makes his offer, tell him you need time to think about it.”
That didn’t sound ominous or like bad advice. I might’ve done the latter without Kian’s guidance. I sat quiet for the remainder of the drive, though I stole periodic looks at him, unable to stop reassuring myself that he was really here. Absently I touched the infinity symbol on my wrist. Though it looked like a tattoo, the raises felt more like a brand.
“Does it hurt?” he asked.
“No. It just…” I couldn’t explain it, but it felt as if the thing were alive on my wrist and operating independently of me, like it might, someday, force my right hand to do things I didn’t want.
More crazy. But if I can’t share it with Kian …
So I took a deep breath and blurted all of that out. I expected him to stare in shock or even laugh. Instead he swore. “It’s happening too fast. They’ve accelerated the timetable, hoping to push you into burning your favors.”
“It’s not bothering me enough to make me ask you to take it off my arm.” But I stared at the symbol, quietly horrified, like it was an alien using me as its host.
“That’s not something I could do anyway. That mark is part of you now.”
Before I could ask what he was talking about, he pulled into an underground parking lot. The place was dark and creepy as the car went down, down, down, and it wasn’t better when Kian pulled into a spot that had his name painted on the wall. It made me think he was more important than he was telling, and I couldn’t escape the possibility that he might’ve been lying about everything, from his age to his name. While I was sure there had been a Kian Riley, it didn’t mean he was that person. None of the stories I’d found online had included a picture.