Page 44 of Pretty Lethal
She leans into my touch, sighing. “I have no idea. It just stood out as a massive coincidence to me.”
“She’s right,” Hawk says, drawing our attention his way. His brows are furrowed in thought, and he still looks worse for wear, but at least he’s sober enough to do more than just complain—unlike someone else at the table. “It seems like too big of a coincidence, but equally, I don’t see how they could have orchestrated it either.” He rubs at his chin. “Cam got a swimming scholarship here, and West got one for computer science. That, plus the fact it wasn’t far from Dad, informed their decision to come to Ridgeway. I wanted to be near Hadley, plus after I decided to help Dad rebuild Nocturnal Enterprises, it just made sense for me to come here too, and Wilder… followed.”
“Hadley talked me into it—not that it took much convincing,” Wilder chimes in, finally contributing something valuable to the conversation. “It’s not like I had anywhere else to go or anything better to do.”
“And what about Kappa Epsilon?” Emilia inquires. “How did you end up pledging for the fraternity?”
“I crossed paths with Robbie on campus. He recognized me from an old family photo, and after confirming I was the kid in the picture, he approached me and we struck up a friendship. He told me how all Clearwaters had been Kappas and suggested I pledge.” Wilder gives Emilia an apologetic look before explaining, “He mentioned these epic parties that they threw and the leeway you get on campus by being a Kappa. I was pretty much sold with that, so I convinced Hawk to do it with me.”
Emilia frowns. “Doesn’t that all seem a little too convenient? You just so happened to run into your cousin on campus, who recognized you from an old family photo. Then he encourages you to join this fraternity, which is essentially a front for all this elitist nonsense?”
Wilder tilts his head, staring at her. “Well, when you put it like that, yeah, but it hadn’t felt that way at the time. Robbie had seemed genuine and down to earth back then. We clicked and got along well. I hadn’t exactly been jumping up and down to meet my family, but I was curious enough about my history, I guess, to want to join Kappa Epsilon.”
Emilia gives him a soft smile, reaching across the table to place her hand over his. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for it to sound as though there was a blaring, red alarm going off this whole time that you’ve been ignoring. I’m just looking at all the facts we have now and trying to figure this all out.”
Wilder lifts her hand to his lips, placing a surprisingly sweet kiss on her knuckles. I still find it strange to watch him with her without the hostile glares and snarling teeth. Don’t get me wrong, I still see the shadows swirling in his eyes. He’s as ruthless as ever—possibly even more so now that he has someone to fight for—but he’s an entirely different guy with Emilia. Whatever she said to him after Hawk and I hauled his drugged ass upstairs obviously did the trick and got him over the grudge he was holding on to.
“So the question is, how do we get Wilder out of this mess?” Hawk asks, knocking back the last of his coffee.
I meet his tired eyes with a weary expression of my own. When will this shit end? Haven’t we been through enough? Don’t we all deserve to skip merrily off into the sunset now?
“That’s what we need to figure out.” I search each of their faces. “Let’s hope we find something at the party tonight that can give us the necessary answers.”
* * *
I knockon Emilia’s bedroom door, waiting until she calls out before pushing it open. She’s standing in front of her dresser, putting on her makeup, and she grins at me through the mirror when I walk in.
“Hey.”
“You look beautiful, Blackbird.” She blushes beneath my compliment. “I was hoping you’d come with me somewhere if you were free?”
“Of course. Just give me one sec.” She pops the lid off a tube of lipstick and applies it to her lips before blotting it. “Where are we going?”
“It’s a surprise.”
Her smile only widens as she spins to face me. “Then how do I know if I’m dressed okay?”
Taking that as an invitation, I lower my gaze to take in the cream-colored sweater that clings to her like a second skin, short brown leather skirt, cream tights, and knee-high, brown boots. She looks fantastic in anything, but she’s sexy as hell in that outfit. Sincerity rings in my words when I say, “You look perfect.”
There’s a quiet trail along the river that I came across while exploring the city when I first moved here, and it’s where I sometimes go to think if I don’t have time to go for a hike to clear my head. It’s peaceful, and other than the occasional jogger or person walking their dog, there’s usually no one else around.
It’s here that I bring her, and with the bright winter sun sparkling off the water, birds tweeting as they go about their day, and the trees barren of leaves, it’s oddly tranquil.
I watch Emilia step out of the car, lifting her head to the sun and breathing in the crisp, fresh air. She’s always so busy working or with her head buried in a book. It does her good to get out in the fresh air, and I’m more than happy to be the one to drag her away from everything and remind her the outside world still exists. Especially when I get to watch the wide, easy smile that lights up her face, even more dazzling than the sun set low enough in the sky to blind you.
We’re both bundled up in our coats, with scarves and gloves on to combat the rapidly dropping temperatures now that we’re in the final month of the year.
I slide my gloved hand into hers before we begin our walk along the path. We meander along the trail, Emilia occasionally stopping to watch the swans or point out a flower still fighting to remain in bloom. I have to question how much time she’s spent in nature. Everything is a novelty to her, and she drinks all of it in with those astute eyes of hers.
Meanwhile, I catalog every one of her smiles, keeping them for myself. I love watching her when we’re out here. Her amazement at such simple beauty, her appreciation of small things many of us take for granted. She sees it all. She sees me.
“It’s beautiful out here.” She sighs when we stop to sit on a bench at the side of the path.
“It is,” I agree. However I only have eyes for her. “I have something for you.”
She turns to look at me as I dig into my coat pocket and lift out a flat black box—the same one I gave her before. Only, this time I’m not giving her jewelry to protect her, but because I wanted to give her something that would remind her of me—of us. Something she could look at when she’s in class and think of me and know that I’ll always be here for her; always protect her.
Recognizing it, she gasps, her eyes flicking between me and the box as I hold it out to her. “Another tracker bracelet?”
