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Tovah

I was on my way back to my apartment, desperate to take a freezing shower before getting into bed and screaming into my pillow, when my phone buzzed with a text.

Meet me at my apartment. I have the info you need.

“Oh my god,” I said in my car, excited and afraid, as I made a U-turn and headed back the direction I’d come in. If this was the evidence I needed to blackmail Isaac, I’d kiss my source, even though Sebastian and I weren’t remotely interested in each other.

Reaching the fancy apartment building that only the wealthiest Reina students’ parents could afford, I found a guest spot and parked. I shook my head as I got out of my car and locked it. Compared to all the nice, expensive cars that surrounded it, my car looked like a trash heap. There was no reason to lock it; no one was going to steal it. Still, old habits die hard, and I never, ever risked that one of Abe Silver’s “employees” could be waiting in my backseat. It was unfortunately more than possible.

Walking down the sidewalk to the front of the building, the back of my neck tingled, like someone was watching. I pivoted around, scanning the street once, twice, three times. There was no one and nothing there besides the already parked cars.

“Tovah,” Sebastian said in the shadows, making me practically jump out of my skin.

“You scared me!” I gasped.

He shook his head, a small smile playing across his lips. “Sorry. I wanted to wait outside for you to make sure you were safe.”

I shivered, still feeling like there were eyes on me. “I appreciate that.”

Glancing behind him, he wrapped an arm around my shoulder and guided me inside his building.

“Did you see someone?” I asked, still on alert.

“No, but you can never be too careful,” he said.

Sebastian should know. He was in a secret society on campus, not to mention connected to the Gold dynasty—the Silver crime organization’s biggest enemy. He had a lot to watch out for.

I finally relaxed when we reached his huge, modern apartment and he locked the door.

I took a seat on a bar stool in the kitchen.

“Want anything?” he asked.

“Water,” I said, realizing how thirsty I was. But then the stress of thinking I was being followed and spending time with Isaac “Jones” would do that to a girl.

Nodding, he grabbed a bottle out of the fridge, handing it to me. I gulped greedily, before capping the bottle and asking, “So what do you have for me?”

He smiled slowly, teeth flashing like a shark. “Video footage of one of the Kings dealing Vice and Vixen at a party. It’s old, from the beginning of the semester, but it’s solid.”

My throat tightened in anticipation. Vice and Vixen were two black market sex drugs, one for men, and one for women. They didn’t work the same, but both drove the people who took it into sexual frenzies. For guys, it was like an aphrodisiac—they were fully aware of what was happening, just hard and horny. For girls, it was glorified roofies—lost in a sexual daze, they had no sense of what was going on.

I’d had a hunch that the hockey team participated in Vice and Vixen’s distribution, based on some things Aviva had said, but I didn’t have proof.

Until now.

“Is there any evidence that Isaac’s involved?”

My stomach hurt. I needed Isaac to be involved to blackmail him, but I didn’t want him to be—because I hated what that might say about his character.

“Silver?” Sebastian scowled. He knew Isaac’s true identity. “There’s no footage of him dealing, but one of the guys in Fire and Hail was a dealer and can testify to working with Isaac Silver and Jack Feldman last year.”

Disappointment filled me. That wasn’t enough. “Will he testify?” I asked.

Sebastian nodded. “I have a recording of his statement.”

He handed me his phone, and I watched the video, excitement bubbling within me. This was it. This was exactly what I needed. Proof that would destroy Isaac and Jack’s future hockey careers, as well as their team’s. For a moment, guilt raised her timid head: Messing up Jack’s hockey career would hurt Aviva, too.

As if he sensed my hesitation, Sebastian reminded me, “What’s more important, that Feldman and Silver get to go to the NHL, or that your mom gets to be safe…and you get to be free of this bullshit?”

As if she’d sensed him talking about it, my phone flashed with an incoming call from “LOML” (love of my life). It was both true—I loved my mother most in the world and owed her everything—and a way to keep her identity hidden. Aside from Sebastian, everyone thought Hana Lewis was dead…and that Tovah Kaufman was an orphan.

“Mom?” I said. “What’s wrong?”

She never called unless it was an emergency.

“I don’t want you to panic, honey,” she began, of course making me immediately panic. “There was a black Escalade outside of work yesterday. Now, I work at a big hotel, so of course there’s going to be an Escalade every once in a while.” She laughed, but it sounded forced. “I’m sure it’s nothing, but I just want you to be careful.”

Her voice broke at the last. My mother was as tired of running as I was. It had been a fight to convince her it was okay for me to go to Reina U—and she didn’t know that there was a Silver on campus.

The Silver. The most dangerous one, the primal wolf in a sheep’s designer clothing.

Isaac.

“Tovahleh,” she started, using the diminutive of my name. “I think it’s time for you to leave Reina and come back to California. It’s warm, and you can take online journalism classes…” she trailed off, knowing what I’d say.

“No, Mom,” I interrupted.

“Honey, I know becoming a journalist is your dream, but my dream is that you’re safe. I’m worried for you. For both of us.”

I sighed, but kept my voice steady. “No, Mom. I’m not leaving. I’m an adult now, and I need to see this through.”

“See what through?” Her suspicion and worry came through the phone.

Shit. That gave too much away. “College,” I said.

She sighed. “You’ve always been so stubborn. Please, think about it.”

“I will,” I lied. “Be careful, okay? Make sure no one’s tailing you on your way home.”

She laughed shakily. “I know, honey. I taught you, remember?”

Oh, I remembered . The long, dark, terrifying drives on highways, trading in one shit car for another, leaning on old friends for new identities, always on the run. It wasn’t until we got to California when I was in high school that it seemed like the Silvers had forgotten about us, but I always watched over my shoulder.

I liked LA, and I knew my mom loved it. She’d even felt safe enough to send me to summer camp as a scholarship student, which was where I’d met Aviva. She made some friends. Settled in.

But we were living on borrowed time.

And now it was my turn to do everything in my power to make sure my mom never had to run again. That we were safe, and I could live out my dreams as a journalist who traveled the world, and she could discover hers, whatever they might be.

“I love you,” I told her, and after she said the same back to me, I hung up, sliding my phone into my jeans pocket and rubbing the back of my neck.

“Assuming that was Hana,” Sebastian said.

“Yes,” I said. “Can you send me the video?”

He seemed concerned. “You know it’s a major risk.”

I nodded. It was a risk, but I had no other option than to trust my plan and my ability to think on my feet.

He sighed, relieved. “Good. I’ll watch out for you the best I can, and so will the rest of Fire and Hail.” That shark-like smile reappeared. “We’re going to finally take those assholes down, aren’t we?”

“We are.” Although, in reality, I was. But I didn’t tell him that.

From my memories, and from all the investigating I’d done, I knew Isaac loathed his father. He was only involved in the Vice and Vixen distribution game because he had to be. His team came first, always. So, if he had to choose between Abe and the Kings, he’d choose the Kings. I’d bet my life on it.

This was my only option. I squared my shoulders, took a deep breath, and committed myself to my plan. Based on my mom’s call, our time was running out.

I needed this to work.

Our lives depended on it.