She could kill Fallon, in theory. It would be harder to pull off than just killing some random kid or someone without a high profile name or company. Fallon was a target for more than one person; adding Sloane didn’t make a huge difference. I had my suspicions she would try to take out her romantic competition, but to do it for that sole purpose? No way. There was a larger carrot dangling in front of her if she wanted to kill what’s mine.

Playing with a stemmed cherry, she let out a laugh. “She’s so fragile that the shorter list would be what wouldn’t kill her. Plus,” she brushed her hand across mine, “half the fun is watching you unable to do anything about it. You’ll come running back to me in every scenario, begging me to take you back.” That was the Sloane I knew. The evil, conniving one.

Everyone saw her as the bubbly socialite, meeting everyone and shaking hands. She got to know everyone and it was for a reason. Underneath the pink was a dark and twisted core that knew the secrets of a lot of the students around. She played the big sister role well and got people to spill their guts in the form of the biggest secrets, then turned those secrets over in exchange for something else—her place at the table.

If you wanted to remain in our world, you needed to abide by the rules and make yourself irreplaceable.

“You’re playing on thin ice right now. You think because you haven’t been touched thus far that you’re untouchable. Let’s see how far you get throwing stones in your glass house.”

Leaving the bar, I pulled out my phone and dialed everyone. We were all hands on deck if the world was coming for what was mine.

​Chapter 38

Fallon

“Executive summary?” I held up the packet James dropped onto my bed while I was pretending to be normal and studying for an upcoming test.

He sat in the reading chair across the room. “This document outlines your path to leadership, giving you important information in short summary format.”

Evans. That man was up my ass every other day about something or other. Now I had a document outlining my path to leadership. Flipping through the pages,  there were timelines, responsibilities, and expectations. And those were just the first few pages. Very on brand for Evans.

“And here I thought my homework was almost done for the night.”

“Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but I do come with good news.” A paper bag containing my favorite fast food was held proudly in his hands. I had to have been growing on him—even just a little bit.

”Simultaneously bringing the worst and best news at the same time. You’re really something, James.”