Page 51 of House of Pawns
I turn back to the gathering members of my house, who stand back from the dim light that is pouring in from outside.
“It wasn’t me,” Cameron says, instantly defensive.
“It wasn’t Anna or I either,” Lillian chimes in.
“I made you a promise I have kept,” Markov says as he slips his hands into his pockets and the expression on his face is very angry.
Raheem steps down from the stairs up above, wearing his sunglasses.
“Was this you?” I ask. I make sure to keep all accusations out of my voice.
“Hunting in a town with a House is always frowned upon, threatening too much exposure,” he says as he descends the stairs. “It was not I.”
“That blood looks pretty damn suspicious,” Luke says, his expression angry. “And whoever it was wasn’t near careful enough. Corbin didn’t get a look at who it was that attacked Tony, but he saw his body drop and someone disappear out the window.”
“Can I borrow those for just a second?” Samuel asks, indicating Raheem’s shades. He slips them off and hands them to Samuel, who puts them on and steps outside.
“And who’s this?” Luke asks, looking at Raheem like he’s a dirty sock he found crusted to the bottom of his laundry basket.
“The one who’s been spying on me,” I answer absent-mindedly. I step toward Samuel, watching what he’s doing.
He stands in the snow out in the driveway, sniffing at it. He walks out along the path it creates, stopping here and there to smell. And then he disappears, only to reappear in a blur in the foyer once again. He shuts the door behind him, once again engulfing us in dim light.
“It was Micah,” Samuel says. “I mean, I’ve never met the guy the blood came from, but I can smell Micah all over out there. My guess is he saved some of the blood he drained from Tony and dribbled it all over the place. Jasmine is trying to frame you, Alivia.”
Luke lets out an annoyed breath through his nose and shakes his head. “This is just another move in your sick feud with her. And someone is already dead.”
“I thought we were finished,” I defend myself. “She’s lost. She has to know that. I thought…”
“You thought wrong, Alivia!” Luke yells.
And in a flash, Nial stands between Luke and I. Anna is at my side and every one of them has formed a tight circle around me.
“You better chill out, bro,” Cameron says.
“This is the wrong House to come to and start losing your temper,” Samuel backs him up.
“We will take care of this,” Anna says quietly. She holds Luke’s eyes intensely, and I swear some kind of unspoken conversation happens between them in a total of four seconds.
Interesting.
Luke’s eyes snap back to me. “Do not let this turn into an all-out war.” He’s still breathing hard, his expression angry. “It’s still my job to protect this town.”
“We will handle it,” I say, taking a step forward.
Luke studies me hard, and I think I see something shift behind his eyes. I think his opinion of me has just shifted and it’s something I will never be able to change.
“You know, this isn’t just about you anymore,” Luke says. “The town has turned against the Wards too.”
“What do you mean?” I ask, and everything in me turns to ice.
Luke shakes his head in anger. “Doesn’t matter anymore. I hear Ian’s handling it.”
His eyes dart from mine, meeting all my House members. Finally, he turns for the door. Just before he steps out, he swears and shakes his head.
The second he’s gone, Anna turns back to us. “You do realize what Jasmine is doing, right?”
With Luke gone, the anger is finally allowed to build inside of me. “She’s trying to turn the entire town against me again.”
