“How do they plan to do that?”
She shook her head, gray eyes wide and shining. “I don’t know. Believe it or not, they don’t tell me shit. I was cut out of the loop the second Kenna left. I thought they were trying to protect me, but I’m not so sure. The four of them are smart, cunning, and too fucking patient. They’ve gotten Carter to let his guard down and think everything is back to normal. Until you.”
“How could I possibly have anything to do with their plan?” I was trying to make sense of all this information and how I fit in. Then to top it off, I had Ava and her crazy ass trying to kill me. It was all too much.
“I think seeing you shook everything up, including Carter. You not only scare him but probably also thrill him. You’re a living reminder of that night. And I wouldn’t doubt the sick fuck would love another chance to recreate that night. What happened after the homecoming game was proof enough for me. The guys must have come to the same conclusion.”
My fingers dug into my palms. “Is that why they suddenly became all alpha around me?”
Her lips cracked into a weak smile. “Most likely. Before you came, I thought they had given up on destroying Carter, but when I saw you and how much you look like her, I knew they were up to something. You do really have an uncanny resemblance to Kenna. It tookmeby surprise. I had to do a double take. For a split second, I thought Kenna had come back, but then I noticed little differences. The way you dressed and held yourself. Your eyes are different colors, and Kenna has a beauty mark just below her right eye.”
“Ohmygod. She’s your cousin,” I proclaimed, suddenly just making the connection.
Mads nodded. “And my best friend.” She chewed on her lip, watching my reaction. “Don’t be mad at me. I swear, the plan, it was to protect you. I know how evil Carter can be. The idea of you in this house with him…” She shuddered. “It fucking gives me nightmares. This was the best idea I could come up with.”
Holy. Shit.
The plan. It made more sense now why she would suggest I become part of the Elite. “And what about the guys? Do they know about your plan?”
She shook her head. “God, no. They’d kill me for interfering, but when I talked to you that first day, everything came flooding back. I know you don’t want to hear it, but I looked at you and I saw Kenna. I couldn’t bear the thought of you becoming Carter’s next victim.”
“This shit is seriously messed up. What am I supposed to do?”
“Let the Elite protect you,” she stated like it was the most obvious answer, and maybe it was.
“But that means I let them use me to get to Carter.” Did that also mean that Brock was in a way using me as a substitute for the girl cared about, loved even? The girl he had failed to protect? When he was kissing me, was he actually kissing her?
Fuck.
Was that why he always seemed so torn up about kissing me? Was it his guilt?
“Yeah, but I’m telling you, Josie, it’s worth it. You don’t want to be involved with someone like Carter. The Elite, believe it or not, is the lesser of two evils.”
A wild statement, but she was probably right. I hoped.
Chapter Nineteen
Iskipped school the next day. And the next.
It had nothing to do with letting my ankle heal and everything to do with avoiding Brock. He was pissed when I sent him the text on Tuesday telling him not to pick me up, that I wasn’t going to school. I half expected him to show up outside my bedroom door, banging on the glass, demanding I get my ass up.
He didn’t.
And I wasn’t sure if I was disappointed or relieved.
Both, perhaps.
By Thursday, I’d run out of excuses and knew I couldn’t continue to evade him. Or anyone else, for that matter, but I’d needed those last few days to myself.
Brock picked me up for school Thursday and Friday, and I did my best to act cool, naturally. I failed miserably, because he kept staring at me oddly and asking what was wrong, to which I replied with a too-high-pitched “nothing.” I’d never seen someone scowl so much in forty-eight hours. It had to be a world record. The other guys didn’t seem to suspect anything about my quiet nature, but that could be because none of them watched me as intently as Brock did.
Mads noticed. She was the only one who knew what was going on inside my head, and I planned to keep it that way, just like I promised.
If Brock wanted me to know about Kenna, then he was going to have to tell me himself, which seemed unlikely.
The two days of rest had helped the pain and swelling in my ankle, but it still bothered me, and I kept it wrapped. The guys returned to taking turns helping me to class, including Brock. With Carter still recovering at home, I wasn’t sure who they were protecting me from.
Ava?