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My head moved, and my cold eyes locked on hers. “Yes. I did.BeforeI ended her. Now that I’ve done what I’ve done, she’s in even more danger. Think about it, Harper. How many kids of Rick’s political enemies go to Crestview? How many of these kids have beendyingfor a reason to go after her because of what we’ve done? We painted a target on her back before, but what I just did?” I shook my head. “I just coated her in fucking honey and threw her in a pit of fire ants. She won’t be safe here, either.”
“She can’t go back to Indiana,” Harper said.
“To throw your words back at you… That’s mighty fucking magnanimous of you to think about thatnow. Why the hell didn’t you think about that before? She wasneversafe in Indiana after what happened. So why do you care now?”
Her arms crossed defensively over her chest, and she lifted her chin in defiance. “None of your business.”
I huffed, as a knowing smile spread across my face. “Because you’re alone for the first time in your miserable life, and you’ve started to understand her. You’ve had to worry about money for the first time in your life, and somehow, in that twisted little black bean you call a brain, you now you think you understand being poor. You’ve somehow managed to link your miniscule, momentary position to her god-awful, dangerous one, and you’ve found common ground with her. Youdocare about her.”
“Shut the fuck up, Damian. You don’t know anything about me or my motivations. I was just saying it’s common sense. She isn’t safe in Indiana. She’s probably safer here.”
“Ah, yes. Surrounded by hundreds of her enemies.”
“At least there’s armed security.”
I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, that saved her from you, alright. They’re ahugehelp. You aren’t even an assassin. You’re just a brat with a grudge, and you pulled that shit off easy as hell. Imagine how easy it would be for someone highly trained, motivated, and paid a lot of money. Make no mistake, those men in that video were mercenaries. They were hired. They weren’t a band of random guys who didn’t like Rick. Those men were trained, hired guns. Temperance is in danger—so are you and Rick. The only thing saving you both—while leaving Temperance vulnerable—is the person clearly wants to be subtle. Go after Rick without making it obvious.”
She sighed, her eyes falling to the floor as she realized how right I was.
We both sat in silence again as we each became lost in our thoughts. I had no way to know if my father was involved in this or not, and honestly, digging into it sounded like a death sentence, even if I was wrong.
The fact was, she was no longer safe at Crestview. I hadn’t talked to her since what happened in the cafeteria, but I’d seen the look on her face, and I still had hope she’d leave. But she’d more than likely try to go back to Indiana, back to where things were simple and familiar. Where she no doubt had friends.
That couldn’t happen.
I groaned as I thought about talking to Justin. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone found me dead in my apartment in the morning. If they did, it would have been at his hands. I don’t know much about him, but I know there’s something there, and I wouldn’t put it past him. But letting my potentially irrational uneasiness over him get in the way of her safety wasn’t an option.
I needed to talk to him. When he threatened Eric, he’d said he had the resources to do some nasty shit, and I believed every word. It made me wonder if he had the resources for other shit. Could he protect her if she left? If I hired a team to stay with her or even follow her around and stalk her place to keep her safe, Sebastian could find out. If he did and he tracked it back to me, and hedidhave something to do with what happened to her, it could be bad,badnews. But with Justin, there was a chance it could work.
“I have to go,” I said suddenly before heading toward the door.
She grabbed my bicep with both hands, her eyes wide. “You have a plan. What is it?”
My brow rose. “Like I’d fucking tell you. You might have found a melting spot in your heart, Harper, but I know it hasn’t been melted enough to do any good.”
“You’d know all about that, wouldn’t you? Youarein love with her, aren’t you?”
My instinct was to say no, but when I opened my mouth to say it, it felt wrong. Like a betrayal. So instead, I said something that completely surprised even me.
“And I truly believe that’s the second worst thing ever to have happened to her.” I yanked my arm from her grasp, and her expression softened. “Stay out of my way. I’ll take care of this.”
“We’ll talk when this calms down. I want to help. Whatever it is. I may hate her. I may want her as far from me and my family as she can be”—She sighed—“but Idocare if she lives or dies.”
I considered her words for a moment before I finally nodded and walked out of the bathroom. Yet again, I had an alliance with Harper. This one was even more confusing than the last, but at the very least, I knew what was going on. There were no more lies.
I needed to get Temperance the fuck away from Crestview, from my father, from Rick, and especially from me—but I needed to keep her safe, too. If my plan worked, she’d be packing her bags. But if she was as stubborn and as strong-willed as I’d always known her to be, she wasn’t done. Not by a long shot.
Temperance Wilder, you’ll be the death of me.
EPILOGUE
My brain seemed to be under a constant fog over the last few days. I couldn’t believe what had happened. I couldn’t believe he’d done that. He’d foundeverything. He swore he would, and he did. He vowed to find the truth, and he succeeded. But Damian hadn’t just succeeded; he’d excelled.
Justin said Damian and his friends held everyone inside the cafeteria, forcing them to hand over their phones so they could delete the video from their watch history in their YouTube apps, and anywhere else it could easily be found. They also checked for any screen recordings to make sure it didn’t get leaked again.
Luna and Justin both checked multiple times, and they couldn’t find any evidence it was ever on Crestchat. It appeared Damian had gone to great effort to scrub away what he’d done, but it didn’t make sense. Why would he do that? He’d beendyingto get rid of me, especially the last few weeks, and he finally got it. So why the hell did he care?
I hated him. I cringed every time I thought of anything positive between us. That weekend I spend with him and Asher plagued me, and I couldn’t get it out of my head. Had I not spent that time with them, would all this still have happened? Would Damian have felt so desperate to put me back in my place and get rid of me?