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Hedeon Gray has been digging for clues about his biological parents.
I could tell him everything he wants to know.
Instead I have to pretend to be his friend, his confidante, while secretly blocking him from ever discovering the truth—yet another task assigned to me that I loathe.
Dean hears my footsteps on the padded mats and turns.
“Morning,” he says, nodding to me.
“Working hard as ever,” I say.
“That’s right,” Dean says, hitting the bag again. “I used to come in here to blow off steam . . .” he grins. “Now I’m just trying to look good for Cat.”
I laugh.
“I don’t think you have to worry about that,” I say.
Cat can’t take her eyes off Dean—she melts like butter every time he comes near her. Leo and Anna are likewise completely besotted with each other. Zoe moved to Los Angeles with Miles. I barely see Chay outside of class hours because she sneaks away to talk to Ozzy on her contraband cellphone.
All my friends have paired off. It’s just me left alone. Always alone.
And now I’m supposed to make a new friend—the last person on the fucking planet I want to spend time around.
Sighing, I descend the stone steps to the underground pool beneath the Armory.
The pool is a massive sinkhole in the limestone, full of salt water. The cave in which it resides shimmers with green light. Deep ridges and folds score the chalky walls.
I don’t hear splashing, so for a moment I think I got up early for nothing. Then I see the long, sleek form cutting across the pool, swift and soundless.
I’ve already seen her athleticism in the gym.
That’s nothing compared to how she moves in the water.
She kicks off from the wall, flipping over and swimming below the surface for ninety yards before resurfacing for breath. Her legs move in fluid tandem like fins, her arms scything through the water without leaving a ripple.
Her motion is hypnotic. I watch her pass back and forth a dozen times before I realize I’m supposed to be getting in the pool myself.
I strip off my shirt, leaving it puddled by the steps on top of my shoes. Then I wade down into the water.
It’s cold, but I know I’ll warm up soon enough. I begin swimming laps, while keeping Nix in my peripheral view.
The underground pool is several times standard size. Nix and I are far apart from one another, yet it seems unspeakably intimate to be alone together in this private place beneath the school. I can hear her slightest splash in the cavernous space, and even her breathing. I’m sure she can hear mine, too.
I could grab her and drag her under the water. Hold her down while she kicked and thrashed and clawed at me. Keep her under until she drowned.
That would be justice. The ultimate revenge against her father.
You can capture a man. Torture him. Maim him. Kill him, even. But when the violence is over, the pain stops.
But if you kill the only thing he loves . . .
That pain is unending.
I know this for myself. When someone you love is torn away from you, the ache torments you every minute, every hour. You never stop thinking about them. You never stop regretting.
Marko Moroz has no love, no loyalty.
Except for this girl.
