Page 74 of Sweethearts and Savages
“...they said it was a bomb. Deliberately....”
Their voices dropped low again and I missed it. But judging by the tenseness of Bohdie, he’d heard it too.
The front door squeaked open and whoever entered purposefully kept their voice so low that I could only pick up hints of words, never quite grasping them.
But one word made me jolt like I'd been electrocuted.
Arborson.
Kell was here.
I was out of the bed before Bohdie could grab me, marching into the living room. Walker, Nico, Brody and my mom all stood there, their eyes shooting to me.
“Where is he?”
My mom just looked at me, wide-eyed. “Who?”
I narrowed my gaze at them all. “Cut the crap. Kell. Where is he?”
They looked around at each other, before settling on Nico. Guess he drew the short straw. “X was walking the perimeter of the Academy, and found him and Cedric Frostmore in the woods together. Looks like they were conspiring to blow up Eden Academy.”
No.
No, they wouldn’t.
I didn’t realize I was shaking my head until Bohdie came up behind me, pressing me back against his chest. “Seems circumstantial,” he said softly, though he didn’t outright deny it.
Walker snorted. “The Academy blows up, nearly killing your mate, on the same day Arborson appears?” He shook his head. “Use your head, little one. There are coincidences and then there is evidence. Why was Frostmore down there to rescue Stacey anyway? He wasn’t injured anywhere.”
I worried at my bottom lip. “They’re friends.” It sounded weak to me as well. “Where are they now? Are they dead?” I would have known if Kell was dead, but maybe the bond was malfunctioning. X wasn’t known for his leniency.
It was my mom who stepped forward. “Apparently, X is getting soft in his old age. They’re over at the jailhouse. One abducted you, the other tried to kill you—don’t expect leniency where it can’t be given.” Her voice was harder than I’d ever heard it before. Usually she was the soft one.
I looked between them all. “I want to see them.” I didn’t stomp my foot, but I wasn’t far off.
They did that thing where they looked at each other and had some kind of silent conversation, but finally Walker nodded.
“Get dressed. I’ll take you.”
I was gone before he’d even finished his words.
38
Frost
Kell glared at me from the other side of the jail cell. He was even more fucking sexy than I’d imagined, and I’d imagined it a lot. I’d stalked his socials, found him on security cameras—hell, once I’d hacked his cam on his computer before I taught him how to clean up his digital footprint. But nothing had prepared me for how smolderingly attractive he was in real life.
“Why are you mad at me? I did what youtriedto do.”
Actually, I’d done what my family wanted me to do, but Kell didn’t know that. Didn’t need to know that.
He just glared across the concrete floor at me. “Have you met her?”
I didn’t need to ask who he meant. I knew in my very soul. She was a fucking obstacle that I’d found myself banging into again and again, until I realized Iwantedto collide with her. When I craved being in her presence, I told myself I was ingratiating myself with the enemy. But then she’d smile at me, or wrap her arms around me, and I’d forget that she was anything but Enit. How she could be anyone’s enemy was beyond me.
Their whole little Pack was disarming, affectionate and inclusive, even thoughIwas meant to be the enemy. I bickered with Stacey, which I knew was her way of showing affection, but Bohdie and Enit? Their affection was far more tactile. I’d received more hugs from Bohdie than I’d ever had from my entire family combined, and he had nothing on the affection of Enit.
When I’d finally been able to get online and see the private channel that was made for me to communicate with my superiors, even reading their orders had made me ill. Human Purity was a grandiose way of saying Humans Only. A way for evil people to do evil things and then be lauded for it. Until Enit, I’d believed them.
