Page 62 of A Lesson in Obedience
She pouted, grabbing my hand and pushing it off her knee. “That’s very kind, but I’m in. I’ve been in this the minute you told me about your dad, and I’m not leaving now. A cheating husband, another mysterious murder plot, a cover up and your still unfinished love connections? I mean come on, how could Inotstay involved?” She tapped my nose, doing a little shimmy with her shoulders.
Ike let out an exhaustive sigh. “I sometimes wonder how we share the same DNA.”
Corrin pointed at him. “You have to help find Teresa. We sleuth better together and you know it. Besides, mom and dad would hate for you to let me venture out all by myself.”
“You are the fucking worst,” her brother whispered, opening his mouth again to say more, but I stopped him.
“She won’t be in the coven by herself,” I said, hoping to end their bickering.
They both looked at me, their eyes widening.
“You decided to join?” Corrin asked, tucking her legs under her thighs and settling back on her heels. “Did they send you an invite like I told you they might?”
I tapped my fingers on my knees. “Uh, no. I had a fun conversationwith Chancellor Fowler and that was my best option when it came to keeping him satisfied.”
“You met with him? Oh my god, Riley, why didn’t you tell me?” Corrin shuffled closer to me, placing her hands on my arm.
“It was a surprise attack and I don’t really want to talk about it. I told him I’d join Celica, so that’s that.” I patted her hand. “Witchy sisters, just like we talked about.”
Marianne had prattled on and on about how she planned to rush a sorority when she got to Virgina. She’d promised that none of those girls would ever be more like a sister to her than me, but they could try. She had gotten into the sorority of her choice, but she still made time for me. She always chose our video chats over mixers with fraternities. Marianne was like my sister and I couldn’t protect her because I didn’t even know what was coming. I wouldn’t make that mistake again.
“Your mom can blame both of us if anything happens,” I said to Ike, who just huffed out a breath and rolled his eyes.
He got up from the floor, slinging his backpack over his shoulders. He gave each of us a pointed look before helping his sister off the floor. “If—and that’s a bigif—we find out she’s still alive, do you plan to just casually knock on her door and say excuse me, I’m Corrin, a witch in the coven you used to lead and this is your granddaughter and I know you didn’t really like her mom all those years ago and you probably don’t even like her now, but can you please come back and tell your son to stop doing illegal things and seek therapy?”
Corrin tapped her chin. “Well, obviously not, that’s a terrible introduction.”
I almost snorted, but then I heard a familiar voice, followed by a familiar face peeking around Ike’s body.
“Riley?” Grayson loomed over me, while I sat on the floor, unmoved.
I swallowed, grabbing my stuff that was around me and shoving it into my backpack. “What are you doing here?”
He pointed to where we could see part of the help desk on the other side of the room. “For my work study, you know I’m a library assistant.”
“Yeah, I remember. Is that the truth?”
“What?” He gave me a puzzled expression.
“Just making sure that you aren’t going to go off to make more unwise decisions that could hurt the people you care about.”
Ike pressed his lips together, putting his head down to avoid looking at either of us. Corrin fiddled with a piece of her hair, letting the tight curl spring back when she pulled on it.
Grayson sucked in a deep breath and then let it out, his shoulders sagging. “No, I’m done with that. Youknowthat. I just…” He stepped closer and I stood up, shaking my head slightly. I had told him that he couldn’t get too close, that he couldn’t be that close to me until I was ready to embrace him with everything I had. When or if I did that, that would be it. If he fucked up again, there wouldn’t be a second chance.
He left some space between us, holding onto the straps of his backpack. “You weren’t answering your texts so I’m just letting you know that River is at Asher’s office waiting for you. I have my car, so I’ll be home when my work is done.”
“Okay,” I mumbled more to myself.
“I can probably make the tail end of my meeting. Let’s go Corrin,” Ike nodded his head towards the elevators. There was no denying how incredibly tense and awkward this situation was.
Corrin threw the book into her backpack and jerked me to her in a tight hug. She pulled away, digging into the side of her bag and pulled out two tiny bottles. “Take the purple one first. Then take the teal one and you’ll be set for three months.” I realized they were the elixirs she had promised me and snatched them from her, clutching them in my palm. She faced Grayson, giving him a full closed-mouth smile. “I forgive you for kidnapping my fellow witches. Be grateful for that, because Mateo was very ready to bite your dick off.” She patted his shoulder as she left, earning a grumble from her twin.
He let out a soft chuckle before focusing on me again. I tucked a braid behind my ear, shifting from one foot to the other. He stepped to the side, so I could get out of the aisle. I walked past him, that familiar pull that I’d always felt with him snaking its way along my skin.
I exhaled through my nose, turning back around slightly. “When you get done, um, just get back home safely.”
Grayson nodded. “Yes ma’am.”
