Page 28 of The Games We Play

“Yeah. But he’s not exactly my friend either.”

At this, Kasey actually laughs. “You’re conflating things. Whether he’s your friend has absolutely zero correlation with how much a guy wants to bone you.”

She says the wordsbone youjust as the male server puts down the fanciest-looking eggs Benny I’ve ever seen. “Sorry,” I say to him as he quickly hustles away. I narrow my eyes at Kasey. “I get that, but I honestly don’t know what he wants. I know the Iron Outlaws and my uncle have a very fragile truce. But Spark just bulldozes me through shit, like you saw. I was happy with my cinnamon bun, but here I am eating protein that he paid for.”

Kasey shrugs. “So why are we here?”

I think about Spark’s whispered words. “He said they are traffickers.”

“Jesus,” Kasey splutters. “We should call the police.”

“And tell them what? We have absolutely zero evidence of that. But Spark just wanted us to be out of the way. To be safe.”

This silences us both, and we both eat our food.

“What are you going to do about Spark?” Kasey asks, finally.

“I don’t know,” I whine.

“You like it,” Kasey says, waving her fork in my direction.

“It’s not healthy.”

“It’s lust.”

I shake my head, then cut a large bite of my breakfast and stuff it in my mouth so I don’t do something stupid like agree with her. But I’m sinking into the quagmire of feeling protected for the first time in my life, and it feels ... precious.

“Have you seen him since the shooting?” Kasey asks.

“He’s up the street from school sometimes ... follows me home. I hear his bike outside my house late at night. He fixed my porch after it got shot up. We’ve talked. And he showed up at the end of my date with Jason, the driving instructor.” I tell her about that night, how he lectured me on not inviting guys I don’t know home, when he’s been following me home and I barely know him either.

“Wow. It’s a bit messed up, and yet charming.”

“I know. I don’t know whether to call the police or marry the guy.”

Kasey covers her mouth, currently full of food. “Or just sleep with him and get it out of your system.”

I can’t tell her what Cillian asked. I know it’s wrong. I know I shouldn’t. “I wish it could be that simple. But I managed to get clear of that life once, when Dad died. I can’t dip my toe back into it, no matter how impressive the guy asking is.”

But even as I say it, I can’t decide if I’m simply trying to convincemyselfit’s true.

9

SPARK

“Vex got us a lead on the truck they were in,” King says the following evening as I walk into his office. “Found the address it’s registered at. He’s getting more details. While I don’t give a shit what happens to Iris, I care what happens to this town, and I don’t want those scumbags in it. Vex is continuing to dig on Joseph Hosea, owner of the truck and member of a group called Righteous Brotherhood. I’m gonna take a ride. Check him out. I’m guessing I can’t stop you from coming.”

I nod. I had a nightmare last night. Another. Only this time, every dead body was Iris. It’s pissing me off that King has told me to stay away, and it’s affecting the way I look at him now. I hate that I can’t follow his simple order.

Plus, I see the way Clutch is with Gwen. King laid down the law about his sister, and Clutch ignored him. Now Clutch is off fucking Gwen every moment he can and King seems to have gotten over it.

So, I decide to take to the road for a while. “Was just thinking I needed a ride to clear my head. The longer, the better. Where are we heading?”

“Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. It’s only a ninety-minute ride. That long enough for you?”

I take a breath. A calm one this time. “We’ll see. If it’s not, I might take off for a couple of days, unless you need me to do anything.”

“Let me think about it.”