Page 64 of Pretty Secrets

“Fine,” Alaric relents. He faces Oliver’s phone camera. “The Knights think I’m back at Carnegie to teach. They’re wrong. I came back for a very specific reason, and it has nothing to do with teaching.” Glancing above the phone at Oliver, he says, “That should be sufficient. You lie to a Knight, they make you pay. You don’t need to know the reason yet.”

“Yet?” I ask. Yet implies he might actually tell us one day.

Leo catches my gaze. He nods, telling me that’s a pretty good secret to divulge. For myself, I liked the other one better—the one where he wants to devour me.

Yes, please.

“Now, your turn,” Leo states.

Ollie and I peer at each other before focusing back on them. “How much do you know about your grandfather, Leo?”

Leo snorts. “I know he’s a devious old fuck, and that’s not a secret. I’d say that to his face.” His shoulders straighten, and he fixes a pair of wild eyes on me. “Tell me you did not see something concerning him up in that room. Was he in that room?”

I nod slowly.

“Fuck,” he bites out. He peers at Alaric, who looks as pissed as Leo.

My heart drops to my stomach. “What?”

“Vincent was there, and he saw us.Allof us,” Leo grinds out. “Vincent’s my grandfather’s next in line. He’s like his little lapdog, so if you saw something you shouldn’t, this could be fucked.”

“Wait, you’re not his next in line. I thought your fa—”

“No,” Leo growls, putting an end to that conversation quickly.

Oliver sighs. “It was Anne-Marie we saw up there. Your grandfather was laid out across her father’s desk, and she was—.” He widens his eyes. “—enjoying him.”

There’s a beat of absolute silence, then Leo laughs like I’ve never heard him before. He does it with his whole body, as if the laughter itself is its own entity that he never lets out to play. Pure amusement threads through his entire being. “That’s all? My grandfather just got head from a girl right after me the other day to teach me a lesson. He doesn’t have game. It’s called being rich. Money talks.”

“Her father was watching,” I add. “The whole thing. In the room with them.”

“I mean, completely naked. Tits bouncing,” Oliver explains, jumping in his seat as if he’s going to do a replay for them. “Her father was just standing there, arms crossed, fucking watching.”

“It was disgusting.” I swallow the bile rising from my stomach.

“Well, that’s interesting,” Alaric agrees, peering over at Leo. “If Kennedy was watching…”

“An alliance of some sort,” Leo agrees.

“Her reward?” Leo offers.

“Old cock?” I gag. “Oh fuck. He’s not going to—” I space out, imagining having to fuck that old guy, and I nearly lose it.

When I come to, Leo’s hand is under my chin, and he’s staring me dead in the eyes, his face as serious as I’ve ever seen it. “That’ll never happen. Understand?”

The certainty of his voice hardens my skin, setting me at ease. I believe him. Inexplicably. He keeps his hand on me as I regain my surroundings again. I peer around the table wondering if this is more than just the group that was thrown together by the Knights. I wouldn’t stake my fortune on it, but it’s starting to feel less like the partners you don’t want in Science class, and more like the people you want to chill with because they mean something to you.

Leo, for all his tough exterior, has been put through the wringer by this world. I can see why he would hate his grandfather and everyone else but be stuck here at the same time.

Alaric… I don’t completely understand yet. His secret does say a lot. Sure, we don’t know why he really came back, but if he lied to the Knights, it’s either something he doesn’t want them to know or it’s something that could hurt him.

Oliver is always on my side. Currently, he’s glaring at Leo like he could rip his arm off, but then he turns to me. “Never going to happen,” he mouths.

Alaric sighs. “What are we going to do about Vincent?”

Leo finally releases his grip on my chin. “I’ll have a talk with him. He may be Grandfather’s favorite, but he’s also a moron. I’ll figure out whether we have a problem or not.”

“Leo, this is—”

---