My stomach twisted, but I pushed on. I’d been going in circles all by myself. I needed an outsider’s thoughts, and MJ was cool. Even he was at a loss.
“Someone—I found two trackers in my car.”
“When?” Mac didn’t look surprised but thoughtful.
“A couple of weeks back. I can’t trace it to anyone yet. But M—I know they were planted by two different people.”
Mac pulled me to the side and led us into an empty classroom. “And you suspect one of them was planted by the kings?”
I nodded. “The following week after it was taken out and turned off, I noticed Samson around a lot. And not just at school.”
Mac held out his hand. “Do you have them on you?”
I stared at his hand. Was I about to place trust in someone else? My pulse thrummed loudly, drowning out all noise. Air froze in my chest, making it nearly impossible to breathe.
“Kee?” Mac touched my shoulders, and I shook out of the momentary daze.
“Fine. Here.” I took out the trackers and placed them in his hand. I’d already crossed the line of no return.
Mac stared at me before he looked at the trackers. His dark brows furrowed as he squinted at the tiny things. “I’d need to take them home to really look them over.”
My stomach twisted with unease.It shouldn’t be so fucking hard to let people in and trust them.
“My family owns one of the leading tech companies,” Mac said.
“And you’re considered expendable?” I shook my head. “Sorry.”
He shrugged. “No big deal. I’ve known it my whole life. I have two older siblings. So even if my oldest brother weren’t the genius he was, my older sister would take his place.” Mac placed a hand on my shoulder. “I can tell this is hard, Kee. So how about we do a trade?”
The tension in my stomach eased a bit. I could trade favors. It was far more reasonable than having someone do something for free. I nodded.
“Then you will attend any function I have.”
I groaned. “Like a party?”
Mac nodded. “You guessed it.”
“Will they be like the last one I went to?”
Mac opened his mouth and closed it again, his shoulders lifting in a shrug. Just fucking great.
I’m going to regret this.“Alright, deal.”
We shook on it, and Mac put both trackers in his backpack. “Should have something for you in a week, maybe two, depends on how high grade they are.”
My stomach took that opportunity to growl, letting us both know it was over the conversation. Heat rushed to my face as Mac’s head tilted back, and he laughed. We headed for the cafeteria.
Stepping through the door, I sought out the two, maybe three restaurants I would have. Before I could make it further inside, my phone buzzed.
“Popular?” Mac joked.
“Not on purpose.” I checked the message and wished I hadn’t.
Samson: Library now.
Before I could message back, another one came through.
Samson: There will be a quiz in biochem. You aren’t prepared.