Page 64 of Whispers of Wisteria

“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, but he didn’t give off ‘bad person’ vibes.

If anything, he was more like a sleazy salesperson. I was confident we could reach some understanding that would be of mutual benefit.

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

Brayden, however, was perfect the way he was.

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

“Don’t worry.” I patted her arm. 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 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 saved hisbutt far more often than he’s helped me.” I shivered and rubbed my palms over my thighs. “He’s sucha 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 still stuck on whatever she’d been talking 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 grossed out by medical stuff.”

“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. I 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 need to. For our plan.”

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

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

She pulled back, and her hand lowered. “What?”

“If you tell him, he’ll want to know how I connected with Ernesto in the first place. Then you’ll have to admit your part in The Plan and that you took me to an illegal fighting ring.” I shook my head. Did she not think this through? I pointed between the two of us. “This is our little secret.”

Maria stared at me with a mixture of horror and admiration. While I was answering my question, she put her hand on my heart.

“Wow,” she said finally.

Did she hate me now? I was only stating a fact. Besides, we’d reached the point of no return. Now, we had no choice but to goall in, sans one exception.

“I’m not sure how to feel,” she continued. “I’m both frightened and proud.”

This was no time to be uncertain. “Do you want to beat things up?” If she said ‘no’—if she’d changed her mind—that would be my only reason to back out. I refused to take advantage. “Are you happy where you are now?”