Fraud (Antihero Inferno #2) - Lily White Page 0,159

little surprising this war between them has gone on for so long. As far back as I can remember, they’ve been at each other’s throats.

What’s also surprising is that neither of them have figured out yet that they’re secretly into each other. The entire school sees it clearly. But if you were to ask Ivy or Gabe, they would swear it’s only hatred they feel.

Ivy isn’t one to hide, though.

Just as Gabe approaches his locker, she pushes past the crowd around us to ensure she’s front and center for whatever is about to happen. And when it does, she’ll be the person Gabe seeks out because he always knows it’s her.

“Oh, fuck,” Ava laughs, both of us moving past the small crowd to stand next to Ivy. “What has she done now?”

Laughing at something Tanner said, Gabriel’s green eyes slide Ivy’s direction for only a second before he dismisses the sight of her.

He should know better by now, should suspect that if she’s waiting patiently nearby, his day is about to get a hell of a lot worse.

Still, it’s not Gabe that steals my attention right now.

Already I’m flicking secretive glances at the two boys behind him, my gaze skating down one of the twins before riding up the other. I can’t make heads or tails of them, but then one set of amber eyes seeks me out, the intensity of that stare teasing my pulse to go faster, my heart a fluttering bird in my chest.

Ezra.

It has to be him.

So absorbed by him, I miss what happens that causes the entire hallway to burst out in laughter.

Gabriel is cursing up a storm, already threatening Ivy by the time I can drag my attention to his locker to see something shiny and wet spilled out, the puddle so slick that Gabriel is sliding around in it.

He attempts to get up but only falls back down, everybody laughing so hard they’re holding their stomachs and leaking tears from their eyes.

Even Tanner can’t control his laughter, yet Ivy stands solemn among the crowd, her blue eyes locked on Gabe with only the faintest smirk curling her lips at the corners.

“She is so dead for this,” Ava says beside me. “What the hell did Ivy put in his locker?”

“Sex lube,” Gabriel Carter says at our back. “That’s why it’s so slippery.”

Most of the time, I don’t even want to know how Ivy manages to pull off the pranks she sets up. What I do know is she spends a fortune on them. But that’s not a problem when she has her own unlimited credit card that her father pays off with no questions asked.

Despite how entertaining it is to watch Gabriel struggle, so much so that the only option is for Tanner to grab his hand and slide him away from the mess, my eyes still dance back to one particular person who smirks in my direction.

There’s an offer and a warning in the way he looks at me now, his head angling toward the bathrooms, just enough so nobody but me will notice it.

Cocking his brow, Ezra grins again before walking off with the silent invitation for me to follow.

I shouldn’t.

He’s trouble with a capital T.

All of the Inferno boys are, but especially the twins. There isn’t a day when one of them shows up clear of the scrapes and bruises they wear, proud markers of the fights they always start and always win.

My fingers tighten over the strap of my bag, indecision cementing my body in place.

I watch with unblinking eyes as Ezra walks down to hall to slam a hand against the bathroom door, his gaze flicking my direction once more before he disappears inside.

Around me, everybody is still focused on Gabriel and Ivy. Not even Shane or Damon noticed that Ezra walked away, and I could simply slip through the crowd and follow without a single person noticing.

My pulse pounds harder as my teeth chew the inside of my lip.

I shouldn’t.

But I find myself sneaking around all the people gathered around me anyway.

Quiet as a church mouse, I walk down the hall, my head angled down and my red hair covering my face.

When I reach the bathroom door, I have another moment of indecision, just a few seconds where I can rethink what I’m doing and remember every reason it’s a bad idea.

This is stupid.

I can’t do this.

I don’t even make it one step away before the door pulls open and a hand locks over my bicep. I’m dragged