I swallowed as I ran my hands down my face. Then I typed, How do I know it’s really you?
* * *
I was still riddled with anxiety as I chewed on my nail, rereading the messages, when it showed he had sent another. A spark started in the center of my chest as the next message had a picture attached. It was of him grinning at me. His inky hair was messy on the top, his chin tipped upward showing off the harsh angles. His icy eyes, surrounded by a thick band of black eyelashes, looked playful and not at all like the dangerous, smug boy I’d met just a few days ago outside of his uncle’s office.
Another message came through as another rush of heat swept through me.
* * *
&n
bsp; I’ll be outside your door in two minutes. We need to talk.
* * *
I sat on my bed for another thirty seconds, staring at the empty search engine box as I contemplated ignoring Isaiah. I could slip underneath my blankets and push my laptop away, pretending like everything was fine and that this entire night never even existed, but he was right. We did need to talk.
Butterflies fluttered in my belly as I pictured him outside my room, waiting for me. A small smile tugged on my lips, which I quickly wiped away as I swung my legs over the bed, placing my feet on the soft rug.
Tiptoeing over to the door, I glanced back at my two new friends, making sure they were still asleep, as I gently placed my hand on the iron knob and slowly turned it.
Oxygen filled my lungs with my deep breath as I silently reminded myself there was no other option for me. Isaiah said he’d give me anything if I tutored him, and I knew, deep down, I wouldn’t get another chance like this. I was going to think of this as a transaction. A deal. I would do what I needed to do in order to get what I needed in return.
So what if I found him slightly attractive? So what if my body sizzled like I was on fire when he was near? So what if he made me feel alive for the first time in my entire life? He was also arrogant, smug, and had a niche for breaking rules. Obviously. Isaiah needed me to tutor him and lie to…someone, for whatever reason, and there was no question about it—I’d do it because I had to. I was surviving, just like Tobias told me to. I desperately needed money and probably even a fake ID, and those were two things I knew for certain Isaiah could get for me after hearing his conversation with his uncle.
He and I would strike a deal, and then, when the time was right, I’d be soon forgotten by everyone.
Even him.
Chapter Twenty-One
Isaiah
The wall was solid against my back, and my feet were steady on the firm ground, but my heart rate was anything but. I stood in the girls’ hallway with nothing but small flashes of light from the lanterns flickering with the obvious rising tension.
Even though it had been hours since I found Bain hovering over Gemma’s lifeless body in one of the rooms in the basement, I still felt keyed up. Not only did Bain get me completely riled by just simply being himself, but when he pulled his fucked-up shit with Gemma, I pictured myself strangling him. From the moment she was pulled out from under my arm during claiming time, I felt unnervingly frantic.
The most frustrating thing about it all was that Cade was right: I couldn’t do anything to Bain. My father would go ballistic if I outed myself or our family, and not to mention, I was under probation with the board. I couldn’t do shit—not when Jack dangled in the crossfire. My father knew exactly what he was doing when he had threatened him, and I hated him for it.
It seemed Bain knew that I couldn’t do anything, too. His smug, shit-eating grin nearly caused me to slice my hands open with my nails as my fists clenched together. When he walked past me, after having words about the rules of claiming, I saw the coy glint in his eye, that all-superior, pompous attitude that had him holding his head up high like he was untouchable.
He wasn’t untouchable. Maybe at present, but not in the future. If only he fucking knew who I was.
The door slowly swung open, and all thoughts of Bain vanished right in front of me.
One long, bare leg stepped out into the hallway first, and the orangey glow of a candle flickered at the perfect time to show Gemma’s quiet figure slipping into the hallway. The heavy door shut quietly behind her as she continued gripping onto the iron chain before it bucked against the wood.
Her soft footsteps were silent as she padded over to me. My lips twitched as she got closer. The oversized shirt she was wearing reminded me just how fragile she actually was.
“Hey,” I breathed out, still leaning back onto the wall. I remained casual, but there was definitely something urgent tugging on the inside.
“Hi,” she squeaked, glancing up at me with her doe-like eyes. Her attention shifted down both ends of the hall, and that was when I pushed off and clasped my hand in hers.
Her breath hitched, staring directly at our connected palms. A hot flare of desire punched me right in the chest with the sound of her lips opening, and that was when I began pulling her down the long corridor. Her bare feet shuffled over the dark-red carpet, and I quickly darted my eyes away from the dark polish on the ends of her toes. Even her fucking feet were attractive.
We stopped abruptly, and Gemma damn near ran into my back. “Sorry,” she whispered, a bundle of nerves backing the word as it flew out into the silent hall.
“Shh,” I hushed, gripping her hand a little harder, making our palms connect yet again. There was really no need to grab her hand, but there was a strong part of me that needed to touch her. It was very unsettling.