Page 78 of A Lesson in Deceit
“You aren’t allowed to look too deep into it?” I demanded.
He lifted his hands. “Of course not. Shoot.”
“Did your dad ever talk to you about mine?” I actually wanted to close my eyes when I asked this, not knowing how to anticipate his reaction.
River pursed his lips, rubbing the back of his neck. “I already asked my dad questions about what happened and he told me what he could. I don’t like talking to the guy that much, so I must love you a lot if I tolerated speaking with him enough to question him on things.”
“I don’t mean about what happened, I mean like did your dad ever mention mine at all. Even before we started dating?”
“Uh, no. The relationship I have with him now is exactly the same as it was then, so I don’t have any new information for you. Why are you asking?”
I narrowed my eyes at him and he waved his hand, as if he was trying to erase his question. “Right, not looking too deep into it. Got it.”
“What exactly did your dad tell you about what happened anyway?”
He gave me a skeptical look. “I told you all this. He reiterated pretty much everything the police said. He said there were no suspects, and I think he was found by one of the school’s probably underpaid security guards.”
My spine straightened as my ears perked up. “Security guard?”
River nodded, placing a hand on my knee. “Yeah. He moved on to another topic after that and as per usual I stopped listening.”
Oliver St. James lied to his own son, which meant that him finding my dad had more to it than I thought. My phone buzzed loudly in my hand. I looked down at the screen seeing Corrin’s name flash.
I lifted my finger up, telling River to give me a minute. I stepped out of his room and into the hallway. I answered the call, putting the phone to my ear.
“Hey, anything?”
Corrin’s voice sounded like it had a smile in it. “We are a go for tomorrow night. I don’t know how this shit will taste, but it should work. You’ll be able to mimic Pen’s gifts long enough to solve this bitch.”
“Perfect. So, I’ll see you tomorrow night at the northside courtyard.”
“See you there.”
She hung up and I jumped when I heard Asher’s door close.
“What’s in the courtyard?”
I shrugged. “If I said none of your business, would you leave it alone?”
He smirked, his beard looked as if he had trimmed it recently. “Is that a real question?”
“Grayson wants to know if you want to go to a movie tonight…” River started, staring down at his phone while he came out of his room. He noticed both of us, looking back and forth between us. “What’s happening here?”
“Absolutely nothing.” Asher walked past me down the stairs, his arm brushing mine. Our fingers touched and I had the overwhelming feeling that I wanted to wrap my fucking pinky tightly around his and never let go. No idea where that idea came from. If I hadn’t been the center of all their attention the other night, I wouldn’t have believed it ever happened.
“Hmmm, I would have thought that all the bonding we did would have brought you guys closer,” River said, sounding a little disappointed.
“We are a millimeter closer than we were before.” I threaded my fingers through his. “So, a movie?”
He snapped his fingers. “Yes, a movie. Let me text him that we are on the way.” River walked ahead of me down the stairs, grabbing his motorcycle keys.
Asher eyed me from the kitchen, but I said nothing else. I was far too close to let new people into the plan now. I had what Ineeded and who I needed. I had to make sure it went off without a hitch.
38
Riley
Isilenced my phone, not wanting any mishaps before I went to meet Corrin. I had gotten a text from both Marianne and my mom, but I could answer them later. I passed by a few teachers heading towards the auditorium and attempted to look as uninteresting as possible. An email had gone out this morning about what transpired in the courtyard.
