“No. That just happened like normal. I have early classes.”
“Oh.” He sounded disappointed and then shrugged. “I thought maybe you were really selling all the new changes. Really dedicated, ya know?” He winked at me as he stuffed a forkful of eggs into his mouth. Eating around it, he said, “I was coming to warn you. Kian has definitely made it known that he wants to see you. He wants to talk to you.”
My mouth went back to being dry. It was the damn Sahara Desert in there now. “And if he finds me?”
He took a big bite of his toast, ripping it off, and he pointed the end at me. “Don’t tell him anything. You remember what I’ve always told you. Don’t trust anyone. Got it?”
“Even you?”
He grunted. “That’s probably a good idea, too.”
I sighed. Right before I went into hiding, I asked Snark for advice. That was Snark’s last words to me. Don’t trust anyone. It wasn’t hard to follow his advice, but it wasn’t funny when he said I couldn’t trust him. I had to trust someone. Right? An old emotion was starting to settle on my shoulders again. I didn’t want it there, but I knew once it got there, it wasn’t going away.
Hopelessness.
“If he shows up…” He swallowed his food, jerking his head up and down. He took a sip of his water next before clearing his throat. “And we have to face the fact that he’ll probably find you.”
“But you just said—”
“I know what I said, but his family are some rich bastards. Powerful, too. They’ve got the means to find you. Hell, they might’ve even tracked me here. I could’ve led them right to you, for all I know, but I’m telling you…” He stuffed the rest of his toast into his mouth and went right back to pointing at me. “If that happens, if he shows up, you don’t say a word to him. I don’t want you to incriminate yourself. You got that?”
“Incriminate myself?” I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t even remember what day it was. “How could I do that? I didn’t do anything wrong.”
“I know that, they know that, but you don’t know what his lawyers are thinking. Trust me, Jo—”
He was going to say my name.
I pounded on the table in my rush. “Joslyn.”
“What?”
“Joslyn. That’s my name.”
“I know.” He frowned at me, swallowing the rest of his food. “You go by Jo, right?”
“Oh.”
His eyebrow lifted. “You’re strung tight.” A look of approval flashed in his eyes. “That’s good. You might get through this without too much damage then.”
The way he’d said that was like I was preparing for battle.
“What?”
I lifted my head. “Huh?”
“You made some sound. What’s wrong with you?”
“Just…this.” I waved at the table, gesturing to my eyes and then to the coffee in front of me. “I got free of Edmund, but I’m still hiding. I’m starting to think I’ll always be hiding.”
“Probably.”
I was scared. Right then, I was really and truly scared. I didn’t want to hide for the rest of my life. I didn’t mind my life as Joslyn, but hiding and always looking over my shoulder? I didn’t want to do that. And for what? Why? Was Kian really that much of a threat?
“Yes.” Snark’s hand fell to the table.
I had said that last thought out loud, but I didn’t take it back. I couldn’t. I was really thinking that. What danger was I really in?
“Listen to me, Jo.” He had his hand back up, pointing right at me, as he spoke with urgency, “Whether the kid helps them or not, he’s got an entire team behind him. His father wants him back in the family and back to being groomed to take over that entire empire they run. They don’t have another son for that global enterprise. If they could blame all of this on you, his old man will die a happy man. Maston’s team wants your head. They have another chance at a future for Kian, and they’re going to do everything to make that happen. You got it? They don’t give a shit about you. Who are you?” He almost spit at me from across the table.
“You’re no one. Literally. You’ve got no father, no mother, no siblings. You’ve got no one. You took a new name and a new life. They’re going to use that and say, Why is she hiding? They don’t care that your life was turned upside down or that you’re hiding because you’d like to live normally, like they do every day.
“Their son was worshiped and declared a hero. People want to say he didn’t know what he was doing. They want someone to blame as the villain, and you—a girl who grew up on the wrong side of the tracks in poverty—are the perfect scapegoat. If they can find you, they will do everything in their power to serve you up on a silver platter.”
“Well…” I had nothing to say to him. My God. I was already strung tight, and now, hearing that, I was close to losing it. A shrill laugh started to bubble up my throat. “A week ago, my biggest problems were my final exams.”
“Yeah.” He grew quiet.
Hiding from a media storm was one thing, but being blamed for what Kian had done for me was a whole other thing. “Could they convict me somehow?”
He shook his head, but his eyes were sad. Those dead eyes—I had only seen one other emotion in them, and that was a flicker of approval—just now looked depleted as he said to me, “I don’t think a DA would charge you, but I won’t lie to you. If Maston’s legal team is successful with spinning everything on you, however they might do that, your life could be utter hell.” He waited for one second and then added, “And that’s the best-case scenario if they do what they want to do.”
I was screwed. That was what he was saying. “I should’ve gone to college in Panama.”
He looked around. “I don’t know why you picked this school. This was where he wanted to go, right?”
Because I wanted to go here. It wasn’t just because Kian wanted to go here or because the media wouldn’t think to look in the most obvious place, but now, I realized how stupid it was for me to come here.
I didn’t say any of that to Snark. All I did was ask, “Will you give me a ride back to my place? I took the bus here.”
“Oh.” He sounded disappointed and then shrugged. “I thought maybe you were really selling all the new changes. Really dedicated, ya know?” He winked at me as he stuffed a forkful of eggs into his mouth. Eating around it, he said, “I was coming to warn you. Kian has definitely made it known that he wants to see you. He wants to talk to you.”
My mouth went back to being dry. It was the damn Sahara Desert in there now. “And if he finds me?”
He took a big bite of his toast, ripping it off, and he pointed the end at me. “Don’t tell him anything. You remember what I’ve always told you. Don’t trust anyone. Got it?”
“Even you?”
He grunted. “That’s probably a good idea, too.”
I sighed. Right before I went into hiding, I asked Snark for advice. That was Snark’s last words to me. Don’t trust anyone. It wasn’t hard to follow his advice, but it wasn’t funny when he said I couldn’t trust him. I had to trust someone. Right? An old emotion was starting to settle on my shoulders again. I didn’t want it there, but I knew once it got there, it wasn’t going away.
Hopelessness.
“If he shows up…” He swallowed his food, jerking his head up and down. He took a sip of his water next before clearing his throat. “And we have to face the fact that he’ll probably find you.”
“But you just said—”
“I know what I said, but his family are some rich bastards. Powerful, too. They’ve got the means to find you. Hell, they might’ve even tracked me here. I could’ve led them right to you, for all I know, but I’m telling you…” He stuffed the rest of his toast into his mouth and went right back to pointing at me. “If that happens, if he shows up, you don’t say a word to him. I don’t want you to incriminate yourself. You got that?”
“Incriminate myself?” I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t even remember what day it was. “How could I do that? I didn’t do anything wrong.”
“I know that, they know that, but you don’t know what his lawyers are thinking. Trust me, Jo—”
He was going to say my name.
I pounded on the table in my rush. “Joslyn.”
“What?”
“Joslyn. That’s my name.”
“I know.” He frowned at me, swallowing the rest of his food. “You go by Jo, right?”
“Oh.”
His eyebrow lifted. “You’re strung tight.” A look of approval flashed in his eyes. “That’s good. You might get through this without too much damage then.”
The way he’d said that was like I was preparing for battle.
“What?”
I lifted my head. “Huh?”
“You made some sound. What’s wrong with you?”
“Just…this.” I waved at the table, gesturing to my eyes and then to the coffee in front of me. “I got free of Edmund, but I’m still hiding. I’m starting to think I’ll always be hiding.”
“Probably.”
I was scared. Right then, I was really and truly scared. I didn’t want to hide for the rest of my life. I didn’t mind my life as Joslyn, but hiding and always looking over my shoulder? I didn’t want to do that. And for what? Why? Was Kian really that much of a threat?
“Yes.” Snark’s hand fell to the table.
I had said that last thought out loud, but I didn’t take it back. I couldn’t. I was really thinking that. What danger was I really in?
“Listen to me, Jo.” He had his hand back up, pointing right at me, as he spoke with urgency, “Whether the kid helps them or not, he’s got an entire team behind him. His father wants him back in the family and back to being groomed to take over that entire empire they run. They don’t have another son for that global enterprise. If they could blame all of this on you, his old man will die a happy man. Maston’s team wants your head. They have another chance at a future for Kian, and they’re going to do everything to make that happen. You got it? They don’t give a shit about you. Who are you?” He almost spit at me from across the table.
“You’re no one. Literally. You’ve got no father, no mother, no siblings. You’ve got no one. You took a new name and a new life. They’re going to use that and say, Why is she hiding? They don’t care that your life was turned upside down or that you’re hiding because you’d like to live normally, like they do every day.
“Their son was worshiped and declared a hero. People want to say he didn’t know what he was doing. They want someone to blame as the villain, and you—a girl who grew up on the wrong side of the tracks in poverty—are the perfect scapegoat. If they can find you, they will do everything in their power to serve you up on a silver platter.”
“Well…” I had nothing to say to him. My God. I was already strung tight, and now, hearing that, I was close to losing it. A shrill laugh started to bubble up my throat. “A week ago, my biggest problems were my final exams.”
“Yeah.” He grew quiet.
Hiding from a media storm was one thing, but being blamed for what Kian had done for me was a whole other thing. “Could they convict me somehow?”
He shook his head, but his eyes were sad. Those dead eyes—I had only seen one other emotion in them, and that was a flicker of approval—just now looked depleted as he said to me, “I don’t think a DA would charge you, but I won’t lie to you. If Maston’s legal team is successful with spinning everything on you, however they might do that, your life could be utter hell.” He waited for one second and then added, “And that’s the best-case scenario if they do what they want to do.”
I was screwed. That was what he was saying. “I should’ve gone to college in Panama.”
He looked around. “I don’t know why you picked this school. This was where he wanted to go, right?”
Because I wanted to go here. It wasn’t just because Kian wanted to go here or because the media wouldn’t think to look in the most obvious place, but now, I realized how stupid it was for me to come here.
I didn’t say any of that to Snark. All I did was ask, “Will you give me a ride back to my place? I took the bus here.”
