“I’m disappointed.” I release a dramatic sigh. “You put all this effort into pretending to be someone else, so the least you can do is be more subtle about it, Maya.”
She flinches, but instead of trying to go on with the charade, she clicks her tongue and says, “What gave me away? Not too many ribbons? Not quick enough sign language?”
“Neither. You could’ve done the outside to perfection, but you still wouldn’t have fooled me. Your eyes are entirely wrong and extremely revolting.”
“Fuck you, asshole.”
“No, thanks. I much prefer your sister.”
She hikes a hand on her hip. “Of all the people who could’ve warranted your deranged attention, why did it have to be her?”
Because she makes me see sides of me I didn’t know existed before.
But I don’t tell Maya that since I don’t owe her shit, and she narrows her eyes. “Just so you know, I don’t approve.”
“Just so you know, I can’t find any fucks to give.” I pause. “Besides, shouldn’t you all learn how to respect her wishes? Ever thought that this excessive overprotection might be suffocating her?”
“We just want what’s best for her.”
“And she doesn’t?”
“That’s not what I said.”
“That’s what you mean. She’s old enough to make her own decisions without your or anyone else’s unwanted interference.”
She opens her mouth, but she looks behind me and her eyes turn into big pools of panic.
I stare back and catch a shadow of two men before they disappear into a side building.
“Maya?” I call her name and snap my fingers in her face.
She startles and the fear spreads to her shaking limbs. It’s similar to Mia’s state when she was scared shitless of the dark.
“I… I have to go.” She runs back to Mia’s car and has to try twice before she can open the door.
I continue staring at where the men disappeared to. Interesting.
I shelve that information for later as I text Mia.
Landon: Your sister just pretended to be you so she could break us apart. I figured her out the second I saw her pretentious eyes. Don’t I get a reward for that?
No answer.
I tap my finger against the back of the phone for a few beats, then type again.
Landon: In my modest opinion (I’m just playing—there’s nothing modest about me), the forbidden love vibes are hitting so hard. But fuck that, am I right?
Again, she reads the text but doesn’t reply.
While Mia gets a kick out of playing the role of a medieval princess who’s into courting and talking about feelings, she hasn’t been ignoring me lately.
Or maybe she was the one who sent Maya over—
No, she’s not the type who shies away from confrontation. If she wanted to tell me something, she wouldn’t hesitate to invade my space and give me a piece of her mind.
My phone lights up in my hand and I stare at her name. Mia doesn’t call, for obvious reasons. She’s not a fan of FaceTime calls either, except for when her parents are involved.
Unless—
I answer it. “Is something the matter?”
“Everything is grand, minus your annoying interference. Mia and I are having a good time, so how about you piss off?”
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
I stare at the screen of my phone as that very familiar—soon very dead—voice rings in my ear.
Fucking Rory seems to have been praying for his funeral.
What am I if not an extremely good sport?
29
MIA
Today has been an epic proportion of completely random events.
First, Maya asked to take my car because hers broke down and she refuses to have her bodyguards drive her in their, and I quote, ‘super-old businessman Mercedes.’
Second, I walked in on Nikolai nearly falling off the balcony in his sleep and had to pull him inside with Gareth’s help.
He asked me if I’m still seeing Landon, and when I didn’t say anything, he walked away without a word.
Niko has always been my and Maya's champion. The brother who walked around school announcing that if a hair on either of our heads was touched, they’d have to start preparing for their lifetime vacation in hell.
He was also the one who hid our troublemaking habits from Mom and Dad, though he did give us an earful about it sometimes. Other times, he joined in.
Mostly, he gave us space to live outside the shackles of our mafia princess lives.
So the fact that he’s both mad and disappointed in me makes me feel like shit. Gareth said he’ll come around, but he didn’t sound like he believed his own words.
To make things even worse, I’m trapped by this asshole as soon as I’m finished with classes and walking down the street.
His name is Rory, if I remember correctly. I know him because I’ve often seen pictures of him with Landon at their tacky Elite parties. The reason I remember him so well is because he’s usually beside Nila, whom I personally researched after I heard her talking in Landon’s room.
I was just curious. Nothing more. Okay, maybe I was a little jealous and wanted to see who I was up against.
At any rate, Rory decided that today of all days was the perfect time to make my acquaintance. He’s taller than me, a bit too lean, and has curly blond hair that looks too big for his head. The most striking feature about him, however, is the bloodshot eyes that could be cast in a horror movie.
When he first interrupted my walk, he was wearing sunglasses, but now, he doesn’t seem to care for his rich English boy image.
Under different circumstances, I would’ve faked a smile and pushed past him, but he went ahead and pissed me right the fuck off.
As I was reading Lan’s message—and cursing Maya for the stunt she pulled—this asshole confiscated my phone, held me at arm’s length, and called Lan to tell him blatant lies.
“You’re welcome.” He dangles the phone in front of me after he hangs up.
I snatch it back, rage building at the base of my belly and a thousand curses tingling at the tips of my fingers.
Rory stares over the length of me with complete apathy and obvious disregard as if I’m a doll in a store window. “I have no clue what he sees in you.”
Excuse you?
I’m about to type that, but he continues, “You’re nothing more than a cunt that he could get in the hundreds if he as much as wants to. What’s so special about yours?”
The audacity of this motherfucker. You messed with the wrong person today of all days.
But before I can type a few choice words, he steps into my space, trapping me against the wall of an old closed pub.
“You’re distracting him from what’s important, and we can’t have that. Without Landon plotting mayhem, our club won’t survive.”
That’s a good thing, if you ask me.
But preppy boy Rory doesn’t seem to agree, because his eyes narrow on me in their bloodshot glory. “If you’re gone from the picture, everything will go back to the way it’s supposed to be.”
I type with jerky movements, then show him. “You sure you want to hurt me? One, your balls will be in jeopardy because they’ll be brutalized by yours truly. Two, Landon won’t take kindly to that.”
“Who said anything about hurting you?” A knowing smirk lifts his lips, completely unhinged and entirely evil. “Violence is never really the answer when something a lot tamer will make a better impact. See, Lan might dote on you, but you are and will always be just a phase, and I’ve figured out exactly how to end his irrational fascination. Do you know the one thing Lan doesn’t care for? No? Let me enlighten you, then. He completely loses interest in soiled goods.”
I’m still processing his words when he leans in, pushes my pigtails to the side, and sucks on my neck like a disgusting hyena.
I shove at him, but he’s surprisingly strong for someone who’s made of bones.
So I lift my knee and hit him as hard as I can.
His howl rings in the air as he falls back. I immediately slap a hand on where his lips touched my neck. Judging by how much it aches, the bastard got me good.
He comes back, face red and fist raised in the air, but before he can attack me, my bodyguard immobilizes him and throws him on the cobbled street.
Rory falls on his ass but quickly stands up, snarls at me with the animosity of an unruly animal, then runs away.