Page 82 of Silent Heart

I nodded, knowing that part.

“And…a whole lot of older cousins live with us. That was why Laurel picked me up, leaving Dani in the car, because Dani knew you would recognize her from up here.”

“And Dani is?” I prompted.

“She came up in May with her husband Kazimir.”

Kash and Elle Johnson, the couple who’d rescued the farm mutt and named her Pepper. This family was full of secrets and deception.

“What are you hiding?” I insisted.

“We’re not! And I swear, I didn’t know you lived across the hall when I moved into the dorm. I recognized you that first night in the cafeteria from a picture Luka took when you were up here with Kolya over the summer.”

There—that name. I hadn’t wanted to ask, knowing it would come up.

Not Kole, but Kolya.

I whispered the name, letting my tongue play with the sounds. Warmth, unwanted and impossibly strong, spread through my veins at the sound. Damn me, but I liked it.

“How are you related to Kolya?” I murmured.

“He’s Luka’s older brother. He’s the son of the man my grandma married. He’s the cousin to the man my cousin married.” Cami Joe gave me a small shrug. “We’re a close-knit group.”

I squeezed my eyelids tight, blocking out the brilliant fall day. My words came out with more of a bite than I wanted, but I couldn’t hold the next question back. “You knew who I was, this whole time.”

It wasn’t a question, but Cami responded. “Yes, you’re Kolya’s girl.”

A harsh breath left my lungs, and I shot to my feet. “I’m not his anything, Cami.”

The deck boards were hot under my feet, a harsh contrast to the cool north breeze. I walked the length of the deck, turned, and stormed back. I paced for several moments before Cami interrupted me.

“I didn’t want you to find out this way, Har.”

“I bet it was really funny to you!” I rounded on her, hands planted on my hips.

In that moment, I didn’t see the friend from school, the keen mind who was as studious as I was. The girl before me was exactly that—a young thing not even twenty.

Sighing, I marched back to my seat and began to tear into my food.

Cami Joe followed my example but kept her head bowed. Each movement of my jaw grinding the food between my molars was an internal stab.

You’re being unfair.The accusation rang through my mind.

“Why didn’t you tell me,” I asked after swallowing.

Cami cleared her throat. “I wasn’t allowed, Harley. You have to believe me, I would have found a way to bring it up these last eight weeks. But when I mentioned it to Luka, he strictly forbade me bringing it up. In fact, I’m probably not supposed to be here.”

I stilled. “What?”

Cami chewed, and while I waited for her polite response, a strange thought popped into my head. Cami never seemed like anormalgirl. It wasn’t her age and smarts. It was her cautious nature, the lack of interest in things that drove normal girls her age. And…some of the comments she made.

“My family isn’t kosher, if you catch my drift. That’s all I can say, Harley. But you have to believe me, everything I did was to keep you safe, to keep me safe, not to hurt you.”

“Are you going to be in trouble for coming here?” I asked kindly, knowing she’d already been gone long enough to be missed. The drive itself around the lake took a bit of time with the back country roads.

Cami waved her hands. “Luka owed me. I’ll be fine.”

We continued to eat in a comfortable silence. Thoughts swirled in my mind.

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