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“Who all these people are. I told you the Hourglass did consult jobs and mentoring.” He pulled out the chair beside mine and started to sit down. I gave him the evil eye, and he put his foot on the seat instead, resting one forearm on his leg as he explained. “You saw last night how big the house and grounds are.”
“I did.”
“Dune’s from Samoa, Nate is from New York, and Ava’s from California. They’re boarders who came here to go to the school Liam set up.” He kept his eyes on mine. “Other kids go there, too, but most of them moved here with their families.”
“There’s a school attached to the Hourglass?” I asked, liking the idea but not happy about the timing of the discovery.
“Liam staffed it. Being educated by teachers who understood us was the only way a lot of us are able to get a decent education. Nate and Dune were asked to leave school after Landers figured out they weren’t going to go along with the way he ran things. That’s when they moved in here.”
I couldn’t fathom it. Never having to explain anything because everyone around possessed qualities as strange as yours. Not needing to make excuses to leave a classroom because a flapper girl from the 1920s chose to perform the Charleston beside your teacher while he lectured on the reproductive qualities of frogs.
“The place must be amazing.”
“Most of the time. That many varied abilities in the same square footage …” Michael grinned. “I’ll tell you some stories sometime.”
After meeting Ava, I didn’t foresee a lot of time with Michael in my future. Of course, he knew way more about the future than I did, not that he was sharing the information. “Nate called this the Renegade House. Why?”
“It’s his name for those of us who were booted out by Landers. Since we’re working against him, we’re renegades.”
“But Ava didn’t get the boot? And did the two of you hook up before or after you started living together?”
“Whoa.” Michael pulled his head back in surprise. “It’s not like that. I only asked her to move in a couple of weeks ago.”
“Oh.” I chewed on the inside of my cheek, concentrating on keeping my face expressionless. “Well, then.”
“I mean,” he backpedaled, “she was still at the Hourglass trying to help Kaleb, but I didn’t want Landers to have access to her anymore. I needed to keep her away from him.”
“Aren’t you just a knight in shining armor?” My voice dripped syrupy sweetness, and any warm, fuzzy feelings left over from last night completely disappeared into a vacuum. “Wherever do you keep your horse? And who scoops up the crap it leaves behind?”
He hurried to explain. “No, no, no, it’s not the same thing as us—”
“Stop.” There was no us. “You don’t owe me the particulars, Michael. You really don’t.”
“But Em—”
“Don’t. Really.” I tried to rein in my emotions. I had no reason to be so pissy. If anyone had a right to be mad, it was Ava. Apparently, I was now the other woman—poaching in her territory.
Cat stuck her head around the corner, effectively putting an end to the conversation. “Are you ready to talk now, Michael?”
“He’s ready. I’ll go outside.” I stood and walked toward the back door.
“Wait,” Michael said urgently.
I stopped but didn’t look back. “What?”
“The thing I gave you yesterday … did you bring it with you?” he asked.
“You told me not to let it out of my sight.” I glanced at him over my shoulder. “It’s in my bag.”
“Would you get it and bring it down? And”—he paused, looking at Cat from the corner of his eye—“take your time.”
“Sure.”
I hurried up to Michael’s room but descended the stairs quietly with the binder, coming to a standstill just outside the kitchen door.
“Did you find her?”
“It’s more like she found me,” Michael said softly. I pressed myself against the wall outside the kitchen.
