Chapter Twenty-One
Ihated to admit how intrigued I was, and the idea of sticking it to the Academy, to all the assholes who talked shit about me, appealed to me. “Any chance you want to team up? I have a little payback of my own to deal with tonight.”
Her slim, dark brow lifted. “You never did tell me why you snuck out.”
My gaze shifted out the window, watching the blur of trees smear by. “Believe it or not, I was on my way to the school,” I said, turning back toward her.
Rubbing the end of her nose, she asked, “Really? What for?”
“Remember that pic I received?”
She made a gross face. “Ugh, don’t remind me. I’d rather forget it ever happened. It would be even better ifyouforgot it happened.”
“Don’t I wish,” I muttered. “But there was more than a photo. He sent me a text.”
Her eyes narrowed, cheek muscles tightening as if she had an inkling just what shit Carter sent me. “What did it say?”
I exhaled, hoping it would release some of the pressure that started to gather in my chest the closer we got to the Academy. I assumed Kenna still had the school as her destination. “He wanted to meet me tonight.”
Her head snapped toward me. “Are you effing shitting me? You aren’t actually going, are you?”
I fumbled with the end of my sleeve. The hoodie had started to fray in a way that I loved, and was worn and distressed. My voice didn’t seem to be able to form the word yes.
The car slowed down as Kenna processed my silence. “Ohmygod. You are. Have you gone batshit crazy?”
“Maybe.”
A light bulb went off in Kenna’s head. Her eyes grew wide. “Shit, that means he is at the school right now.”
I glanced at the clock. It was two minutes until midnight. “Probably. We still have time to turn around.”
“I can’t let you go alone. What kind of sister would I be?” she responded without hesitation.
My hands flattened onto my thighs, fingers pressing into the material. “A smart one.”
“True,” she agreed as we passed a random car on the otherwise-quiet road. “But smart decisions don’t run in our family. Haven’t you figured that out yet?”
My lips twitched, easing some of the pressure that clamped on my chest when I’d thought about Carter. “This is totally a fucked-up idea, but hear me out. I have this plan.”
She sucked in her bottom lip, staring at the road in front of us for a few seconds before replying, “I’m listening.”
I quickly ran over the details as Kenna drove. Nothing about this plan was foolproof. About a dozen things could go wrong. But… if we managed to pull it off, nothing would feel sweeter than seeing Carter humiliated.
When I was done, Kenna grinned at me. “You’re evil.”
“I blame the Elite for my devious ways,” I said grimly.
“I’m in,” she said, just like that.
I blinked, surprised. But should I really have been? She did have a bag of spray paint in her car. It was becoming clear that Kenna had a wild side—that she liked to walk on the line of danger. It made me wonder how much of the adrenaline rush she chased was Carter’s fault. Just another reason to seek justice. It looked like Kenna and I were both tired of waiting around for the proper channels to do their job. Now, it was our turn. It was time to take justice into our own hands.
“Are you sure?” I asked, giving her the chance to back out now. “It could be dangerous. What if Carter isn’t alone?” My creepy-ass stepbrother liked to have backup.
“We’ll scope the school out first. I have these.” She pulled something out of the cup holder and dangled them in the air. It was a set of keys.
God, she was just full of surprises. “I’m presuming those are keys to the Academy.”
“Yup.”