Page 95 of Liars

I lifted my chin. “Maybe the real question is—why the hell do you think I give a shit about any of you? Have you ever stopped to consider that I’m using him? All of you?”

His expression flickered.

I stepped closer, my voice a whisper. “Don’t underestimate me, Maddox.”

His eyes flashed with something I couldn’t quite name, but there was no mistaking the amusement curling at the edges of his bloodstained smirk. “There she is. I knew you were in there somewhere.”

My stomach pitched, and I shoved at his chest, knowing Maddox wouldn’t move unless he wanted to. Relief washed over me when he stepped back.

“Maybe we can pick this up at home, menace. Leave your door unlocked tonight.” He winked. “Not that a locked door would keep me out.” With those lovely parting words, Maddox turned and sauntered off down the hall.

“Asshole,” I muttered, taking a moment to calm my racing heart. My fingers shook as I turned the dial on my locker, putting in the code, but the damn thing didn’t unlock the first time. It took me two more attempts before I got the blasted thing open. I cursed Maddox. And myself for letting his words get to me.

He hit a nerve, and I hated to admit it.

Perhaps I did have another side to me, a dark element. Perhaps it was why I was so drawn to Kreed. Perhaps the whole good girl act was just that… an act.

Who the fuck am I?

Who was Kaylor Steele?

The locker creaked open, and as I reached for my books, something white fluttered down, landing at my feet. Frowning, I bent to pick up the slip of paper. It was small, the edges crisp like it had just been placed there.

A phantom draft slipped beneath my skin. When I unfolded it, my eyes locked onto the single line of text typed neatly in the middle of the page:

They Won’t Stop Me

A sharp inhale caught in my throat. My grip tightened on the note, the paper crinkling slightly as my pulse pounded in my ears.

I whipped my head around, scanning the hallway, but there was no one suspicious lingering nearby. Just students going about their day, talking, laughing, and shoving books into lockers like nothing was out of the ordinary.

But this? This was far from ordinary.

I suddenly wished I hadn’t run Maddox off. My eyes found Evan at the corner of the hall, standing rod straight, expressionless, and hands folded in front of him. He had a littledevice stuck into his ear that he used to communicate with the other guards.

Someone had put this in my locker. Someone who knew where to find me.

The man from the club—the one who had tried to take me—was he the one behind this? Or was it someone else?

A fresh wave of unease rolled over me. I needed to tell someone.

But who?

Kreed?

I shook my head, pressing the paper against my palm.

Could I trust him?

25

KAYLOR

Thanks to Maddox, I had another reason to toss and turn all night as if I needed another problem to worry about when the moon came out. I already saw too many things in the shadows. And on top of it, the note in my locker weighed heavily on my mind.

I hadn’t decided if it was wiser to keep the note a secret or confide in Kreed. I didn’t know Raine well enough to consider him an ally. Maddox and Mason weren’t exactly a helpful duo. Unless it involved embarrassing or hurting me, they were useless.

My fingers clenched against the weight of the note crumpled in my fist as I sat in bed, wide-awake. Sleep was impossible with my mind racing in too many directions.

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