Page 56 of Change

“What?” Maria’s high-pitched shout cut through my head, and she jerked at the wheel.

My stomach churned. “Maybe we should pull over,” I muttered.

To my surprise, she did, swerving onto the curb and parking the car on the side of the two-lane country highway. “You can’t call him!” she said, turning in her seat to face me.

“I’m not going to call him,” I conceded. “I’m going to text him.” There was a difference.

“Butwhy?” Maria clasped her hands in front of her in a pleading motion. “What possible reason would you have to be on a friendly basis with Ernesto Lucciano?”

“I don’t know.” I shrugged. “He might be the connection we’re going to need forThe Lone Lioness.”

“Wait, we’re seriously calling it that?”

That had never been in question, so I ignored it. “And he doesn’t seem like a bad person.”

“He’s in a gang, Bianca.” Maria was pinching the bridge of her nose. “An extremely high-ranking member to boot. He’s a bad person.”

Was he though?

I pressed my finger to my mouth, considering. Sure, he needed to wash his hair and lay off the heavy cologne, but, outside of that, “I don’t think he is.” I couldn’t explain it exactly, but he didn’t give off ‘bad person’ vibes.

If anything, he was more like a sleazy salesperson. I was certain we could reach some sort of understanding to our mutual benefit.

“He called me a ‘lady’,” I pointed out. He was well-mannered too—like Xavier. It must be only my family that were the uncouth ruffians of the fae world. Bryce, Uncle Gregory, and Uncle Caleb could certainly learn a thing or two about how to treat a girl.

Brayden, however, was perfect the way he was.

Maria was now rubbing her hands slowly down her face. “Oh my God…” Her voice sounded pained. “How are you still alive?”

“Don’t worry.” I petted her arm. Despite all of that, she had nothing to be concerned about. He was fae, which made him my subordinate anyway. And he wasn’t even an officer, which meant that basically everyone in my circle was stronger than him by default. “I’m a very good judge of character.”

She slowly opened her eyes. “It’s Finn,” she said, looking me up and down. “Finn is the reason you haven’t been murdered.”

Well, now that was just demeaning.

“I’ll have you know that I’ve savedhisbutt far more often than he’s helped me.” I shivered and rubbed my palms over my thighs. “He’ssucha drama queen.”

“Is that so?” It didn’t look like she believed me.

“Yes, he’d never have passed Biology without my help.”

Maria’s eyebrow raised and her expression remained torn. I could tell she was stuck on whatever she’d been on about before but was also very interested in this newest development.

“Okay.” It wasn’t long before her curiosity won out. “I need to hear this.”

“Finn loathes the way formaldehyde smells.” I wrinkled my nose in remembrance. “It makes him nauseous, and he gets really grossed out by medical stuff—especially blood and guts.”

“So, he fainted during dissections?” Maria leaned forward; her brows drawn together in abject interest. “You can’t leave me without details.”

“No.” I shook my head. “We were always lab partners. I let him sleep and did it for him—filled out the paperwork and everything.”

“That’s…” She seemed torn. “Fascinating. But honestly, we’re getting way off topic here. You cannot text Ernesto.”

Not this again. “But I have to.”

“I’ll tell Titus,” she warned, wagging her finger at me.

And now she was bluffing. “No, you won’t.”