I straighten my back and turn to face him. “What changed, Jagger?” When he cocks an eyebrow, I elaborate. “I know Neo’s seen me as a threat since we were kids, but you and Crew never cared about his dislike for me back then. I’ve had this conversation with Crew already, but why did you turn on me the way you did?”
His shoulders drop in defeat. “It was the games, Scar. I had to.”
“I’m not talking about the games. I’m talking about everything after Maddie’s fall, up until I arrived here.”
Jagger was never as malicious as Neo was, or even Crew. I could tell he always wanted to stay impartial, but it doesn't change the fact that he still went along with the cruelty toward me.
He blows out a heavy breath then looks back at the open doors into the kitchen. I follow his line of sight and see only one girl in there, which means the others are likely attached to Crew and Neo. When he looks back at me, he takes me by the arm, causing me to hold tighter to his sweatshirt that’s wrapped around me. “Come here,” he says, leading me to the end of the porch.
Once we’re out of sight, he drops his hand from my arm. He must be willing to share something important with me if he moved us out of anyone’s prying eyes.
“I never wanted to hurt you, Scar. The thing is, there’s so much that happens behind the scenes for the men in The Society, and even more when you’re made a Lawless member. The guys and I always knew we’d take this role because of our lineage, but when we accepted it, we…or I…had no idea what it truly entailed.”
“I know all that. Crew told me so much, but I want to know what any of it has to do with me.”
He licks his lips, biding time because I know, and he knows, he can only say so much. I’ve learned not to pry when it comes to any member's placement in The Society because it’s sticky, but if I’m involved, I have every right to know.
“Loyalty. We made a pact and we stick to it. Neo changed after his mom died. You know that. After Maddie’s accident, he became irrational—unreasonable. He convinced us you were involved in Maddie’s fall. To what extent, I’m not sure, but he wanted to make you pay, and we followed in line.”
“And what about now? Where is Neo’s loyalty to you and Crew?”
“Honestly? I’d bet it’s nonexistent. Neo only cares about one thing right now and that’s revenge against anyone who hurt Maddie. He doesn’t even care that there’s a threat to the students at The Academy and The Society.”
“Wait. What?” I spit out. “Someone is threatening the studentsand The Society?”
Why am I just now hearing about this?
Jagger’s face drops, and I can tell he said too much by the look on his face. “It’s fine. We’ve got it all under control.”
“Jagger,” I drawl, “tell me what you meant.”
Just as he opens his mouth to speak, the screeching howls of girls from inside rings in my ears.
Jagger and I both look at each other, wide-eyed. “What was that?”we both say in sync.
He heads for the door and I follow behind him quickly. One look inside the open doors shows a pitch-black room. Two girls come barreling out the door, crashing into me and knocking the sweatshirt from around my shoulders.
“What happened to the lights?” I ask them, bending down and picking up Jagger’s sweatshirt. I shake it off, then ball it up and hug it to my chest. The lingering snow on it seeps into my skin and I shiver.
“Someone’s in there,” one of the girls says, and I notice she’s wearing a bikini.
I hand her the sweatshirt because she needs it more than I do. “Here, wrap this around you, then tell me what the hell you mean bysomeone’s in there.”
“Jill and Lucy were looking for a bathroom when the lights went out and they went into the wrong room and saw a man in a black robe with a ski mask over his face. He grabbed Lucy, but when she screamed, he shoved her into some boxes then he took off running.”
Jagger takes me by the hand, pulling me inside, while more girls come out onto the porch. There’s not much light, but it’s a half moon, so it’s more than what they’re getting inside.
“Scar,” I hear Crew shouting, “where the fuck are you?”
“I’m here.”
Crew comes running toward me, his arms wrap around my waist and he buries his face in my hair. “Jesus, Scar. Where the hell have you been? I thought something happened to you.”
“I was outside…” I look over and see that Jagger is now gone. “I’m fine. What the hell happened?”
“Fuck if I know. The lights went out and the next thing I know, some girls are screaming that there’s a creep in the house, which made all the other girls freak out and start running.”
Outside, one of the girls mentioned someone falling into boxes. “My room.” I pull out of Crew’s embrace and head into the living room, where it’s eerily quiet all of a sudden. Someone lit a candle, so there’s a sliver of light, but I pay no attention to who is in here. I make a beeline for the staircase and go up, Crew following closely behind me.