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That distinct memory of what Cole had told me once about Eli pushes back to my forefront. Did I not understand Eli like I thought I did?
“Perfect,” Madison mutters, even if the words echo, detached from her body. A cold glint settles in her eye that doesn’t quite match Eli’s but is still lethal as it moves between us.
I briefly wonder why they chose this area and then I realize how perfect of a spot it is. Concealed, they’re completely hidden from everyone else down this empty corridor.
The hairs on the back of my neck stand at attention. The atmosphere is thick, charged with… frustration? Tension, maybe?
“I was leaving. Heading out to my car.” Mutely, I stumble through an explanation. Why do I do this? They certainly aren’t in a rush to do the same.
A shadow crosses Eli’s features and then he blinks once and it’s like some sort of force snapped him from whatever’s plaguing him. “You said you were headed to your car? I can walk you.”
That normal eased voice I’d accustomed with Eli falling right back into place as he speaks directly to me.
I hear Madison’s deep inhale, but that’s the only sound she makes in the otherwise suddenly too congested space.
“Wait,” Eli says like he’s remembered something. The gesture neutral, like how Madison is trying to keep her facial features.
Fake, one of them is lying. Or maybe they both are?
About what, I have no idea.
“You had something you wanted to say. Right, Madison?” he bites. Dragging her name through his teeth.
Her nose naturally points up in her defiance. The lift causes the gleam in her eyes to shine as more light dusts them. The redness on the bottom of her lashes confirms her dismay the longer that single light above reveals the truth.
She’d been crying.
“I’ve changed my mind. I want to help you guys.”
My gaze swims between them.
Is she serious? Why the swift change of heart?
I choke down the dispute. I knew when to question things and when to shut up and just be grateful. Asking would only offer up the chance to change her mind and none of us could afford that.
“Tomorrow.Don’tbe late.”
thirty-six
Rory
Wehavetheentirecrew tonight as we step through the bank vault.
Hailey demanded to join the hellhounds after I told her about the bazaar interaction between Madison and Eli.
She says she’s here as additional support but I know her, and I know she’s as curious as the rest of us. Gossip is one of her favorite obsessions. Unless it’s her own and then she’s as tight lipped as they come.
Mostly I know she wants to see what I told her about them for herself is true. Cole and this entire thing with Hardin is only a bonus.
An even bigger score is that at least according to Madison, Silas hasn’t been able to get in. Why she’s become more willing to break the law for us I’m not sure about, but it got us here, so I won’t complain.
The atmosphere is heightened but I’d be a fool not to expect that. The biggest imbalance of it all is the fact that we need Madison to do it.
She leads us, while Eli takes the very back. The rest of us file in somewhere in between. Interesting.
I’m not the only one who thinks so, Hailey mouthing, “they’re totally banging.”
My eyes roll back to my skull, this girl.
