Total pages in book: 164
Estimated words: 157308 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 787(@200wpm)___ 629(@250wpm)___ 524(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 157308 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 787(@200wpm)___ 629(@250wpm)___ 524(@300wpm)
Levi didn’t have a comeback for that. Silence smothered even the singing cicadas.
“What’s his name?” Wesley rasped.
I had something left to fight for until he took it from me. Owen, Levi, Giovanni, and Wesley were my bullies, but my killer is Ashton Scott.
“Ashton Scott,” Rafael said clearly.
The blowback was immediate.
“What?!”
“Ashton?”
“You have it wrong,” Giovanni cried.
“I don’t have anything wrong,” Rafael returned. “It’s your fellow Royal. Sits three seats behind us in statistics. What did you do to piss him off?”
“I knew it,” a low voice hissed.
“Owen, hold on—”
“I knew it,” Owen shouted. “Didn’t I say it made no fucking sense that they were coming after us while Scott kicks back—”
“Owen, shut up,” Wesley growled.
“—shooting the shit! I said it didn’t smell right.” Owen would not be stopped. “Could’ve saved us thousands if you listened to me! That fucker is cleaning up. Getting rid of us so he can have it all for himself.”
My forehead wrinkled. “That fucker” was Ashton, but I didn’t understand the rest he was accusing him of. Owen accepted the final name on my list with scary quickness because he believed Ashton wanted something for himself. What?
“Shut up!”
“We have to—”
“Enough,” Levi bellowed. “Dumont, here’s your money and...” Shuffling, then a thud. “Another two grand for you to forget that name and erase everything you found. You don’t say a word about this to anyone.”
“That’s standard, Thompkins, but if you’ve got an extra two grand you want to give me, I’ll take it.”
“Good. We’re done here.”
“Gentleman,” Rafael said. His footfalls faded, and only his. The four hung back.
“Are we pretending we don’t know what this is about?” Owen hissed. “The four of us and Sinclair. I should’ve called it from the beginning.”
I pressed in as close as the wall would allow, straining to hear.
“Ashton coming after us?” Giovanni repeated in disbelief. “Doesn’t make any sense. He has the most to lose.”
“That’s exactly why he’s coming after us.” Levi’s tone was steel. “Don’t you see? If he ruins us, our reputations, and our families, we’re nobodies. We’re Dregs. No one will listen to a thing we say against him.”
Come on, my mind screamed. Come on! Say something important. Why does Ashton have the most to lose? What do you think he’s taking from you?
“We weren’t going to say a thing against him,” Giovanni said. “He kicked this off for no fucking reason! Now Annika’s in the hospital, Gabby won’t talk to me, I’m out almost four hundred thousand dollars, and the professors found out about the truth lists. Professor Stone wants to meet tomorrow to discuss the Dreg who does my assignments.”
“He kicked it off unprovoked, but he had a reason,” Levi said. “We all know what’s at stake. The question is are we letting Scott get away with this?”
“Fuck no,” Wesley hissed.
“Then let’s go. Everyone, back to my place.”
I could’ve screamed as their footsteps got further away and their conversation with them. They knew exactly what connected the six of us together, and believed Ashton turned for a reason. What was going on here, and why did Levi, Owen, Giovanni, and Wesley know more than me?
I STEWED THE WHOLE night—waking and sleeping. Poor Cato endured my tossing and turning, doing his best to soothe me back to sleep. It worked only for me to fall into nightmares about voices chasing me through the woods.
I was not my usual cheery self when I trudged into the kitchen. Wilder sat at the kitchen table, finishing up a bowl of cereal.
“Where’s Rafael?”
“You mean where’s his cooking?”
“That too,” I muttered, checking the time. I had class in half an hour. If Rafael wasn’t here, there went my plan to tell him what I overheard while we scarfed down his Nutella-stuffed pancakes.
“Ready to head out?”
“Yes,” I replied. “I’ll grab something in the café. Somehow I have a full day today. Katie is driving me back and forth to her place between classes, and then kidnapping me for another sleepover. We’re getting ready for the party tomorrow night.”
“The Royal hive is banging on about the party.” Wilder and I grabbed our things and left the Gallery. “Almost every Royal got an invite and even a few Dregs. Which makes it a scandal that Piper, Everleigh, Gabriella, and Saylor didn’t make the list.” He tossed me a look. “I have no idea why you gave me one.”
I shrugged. “I told Katie if I was planning, setting up, and attending this party, I got to invite my friends.”
“You know I’m not going to this, don’t you?”
“Why not?” I arched a brow. “Some of your hookups might be there. You can get some more ass.”
He sighed. “This is why a gentleman never kisses and tells. It’s not worth the regret.”
I rolled my eyes. “How do you know the hive is buzzing? Still monitoring their communications?”
“All night and day.”