Page 40 of Shadows Within

I’m not sure if they were ever humble about their wealth. From a young age, I’ve known that they’d want nothing to do with me until I was ready to work with my grandfather’s tech company. Luckily for me, that time is coming.

“This house is stunning, Callum. I’ve never seen anything like it.” The moon’s reflection glows in her eyes. I hate that I have to look away to park.

“Where are we?” She smiles and faces me.

“This is my grandparent’s estate.” Our eyes finally meet again as I shift the car into park. “I don’t come here often, but I thought you’d like it.” I don’t bother telling her that they aren’t home—she can clue in on that part.

I circle behind the car to open the door for her, but she’s already opened it.So damn stubborn.I lead us along a path to the side of the house and enter a code to open the door, turning the alarm off as we enter. As we pass through the foyer, Scarlett looks around, in awe. Her boots sound heavy on the marble floors.

I lead us into the library. Books line the walls, and scents of lumber mixed with expensive wine fill the room. Scarlett approaches one of the shelves, her fingers trace the books. I lean against a shelf across the room and watch her take it all in. I break the silence.

“I grew up reading a lot, my parents weren’t around, and I wanted to fill the void, so I lost myself in novels.”

She looks up at me, her head falls to the side, like she didn’t expect me to say that.

“Out of all the habits you could’ve picked up, I guess escaping reality in literature isn’t so bad.” She smiles. “Who knew Callum Mercer was a softy.”

I smile back and lick my lip.She’s done it again.The air gets thicker as I step toward her. Suddenly, I feel an urge to break her and protect her all at once. I take a few more steps until I stand directly in front of her. Her breath hitches, while her ocean blue eyes gaze up at me through her thick eyelashes.

“There’s this event next week, would you come with me?” The part of me that wants to protect her comes out first.

I can’t predict her response.

“Like a date?”

I fight with how I should tell her about The Society. I’m not sure how much she’s heard on campus, and I don’t want to get her involved.

“There’s this group that I belong to. It’s mainly made up of high-power men from town, and their sons.” She looks confused but I can tell that she is trying to wrap her head around it.

“So, you’re in it because of your dad?”

I mean, it’s the truth. “Yes.” I don’t want to lie to her.

“What do you guys do?”

Does she really want to know?

I’ve thought about this scenario so many damn times. How do I tell her that I’m involved with the people that tried to hurt her? She can’t know that yet.

“Not all of us are good, Scarlett. But we do different things for the town, a lot of the time we try to fly under the radar.” I don’t know where this is going.

“Like Scouts?” She covers her mouth as she laughs a little.

“No Scarlett, not like Scouts.” A part of me wishes that we were.

I tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. The heat of her skin brushes against my finger.

“Are you scared to be like him?” The question comes out of nowhere, but I know immediately who she’s talking about.

“No. I despise him. If I ever let myself turn out like him, I wouldn’t want to live.”

Her lip curls up at my response.

“That’s a pretty firm statement, Callum.” She frowns.

“If you knew what he stands for, what he does, you’d feel the same, Scarlett.” I can’t tell her everything today, but someday I will. I’ll have to.

“So, will you come with me?” I ask, reluctantly.