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I felt numb.

Every memory I’d ever created with Luke was now a lie.

The entire time we were together—he’d been with Krystal?

“That explains why she never liked me,” I laughed bitterly, shaking my head. “All those secret meetings between you. They were nothing to do with the fucking cheerleading team, were they?”

“You’re in no position to say fuck all to me—” Luke barked, walking forward and gripping my arm. “You did it with mycousin. Youfuckedmy cousin, yet you didn’t even let me do that with you.”

I wriggled my arm away from him, stepping forward and poking him in his hard chest.

“You said thiswasn’tabout us. So, you’ve been cheating on me this entire time. So what? We’re over. Tell me what you want to say so I can go.”

His chest heaved with every breath; his nostrils flared as he gritted his teeth together.

“HasLoverboytold you anything about himself? Or do you not talk?”

I scrunched my eyes up, counting to ten in my head.

I’m so close to losing my shit with this asshole—

“Do you know why Cal moved here?”

I didn’t want to hear this from Luke, of all people.

“Luke, don’t you think Cal should tell me?” I exhaled with exasperation, my head already aching from the fuckstorm that was Krystal and Luke.

Our whole fucking relationship was a lie!

Luke laughed then, nodding his head enthusiastically. “Absolutely. He should have told you by now. The thing is, he’s family. So, you will hear it from me, and no one else—because no one else will know. If he thought anything of you, he would’ve told you that you could be in danger,” he fixed his eyes on me, and they soften slightly as his shoulders sag. “I do care about you. I didn’t think for one second you would have left me to be with him, so it would have remained a secret. But you did, so now you need to know.”

I frowned as I watched him kick the floor with his foot.

I’d have left him a year ago had I know he was fucking Krystal behind my back.

Cal is my saviour in more ways than one.

“He took part in a robbery. They got away with a fuck load of money and jewellery. There was a girl there. She ended up in hospital.”

I felt like I couldn’t breathe, my heart hammering in my chest as he continued.

“The problem was, she was the daughter of a very important gangster in New York. Cal got arrested, sure. But then there was money on his head, and all his family.”

I blinked furiously as I stared at Luke, my mouth suddenly dry. “They want to kill him?” I whispered; my words carried away by the breeze.

Luke looked at me with annoyance. “He is abadfucking person, Gretchen. His family had to go into witness protection and move here. His name isn’t evenCalfuckingFallon.”

Chapter Eighteen

GRETCHEN

My head spun.

This isserious.I’m a eighteen-year-old girl in love with a criminal.

I scolded myself; a criminal, according to Luke, who had many reasons to lie to me. I had a sinking feeling he wasn’t lying though.

My phone flashed on my desk, and I picked it up when I saw it was Cal.