Empire High Betrayal (Empire High #3) - Ivy Smoak Page 0,66

you hang out with all of them. And you’re engaged to one of them.”

“Miller…”

“It’s fine. Just an observation, kid.” He leaned against the wall outside Odegaard. “You should probably get back inside.”

“I don’t want you to hate me.”

He lowered his eyebrows. “I don’t hate you. I just hate seeing you with other guys. And I hate that I don’t have any way out.”

“I asked my dad about you quitting. He said you two had a mutual understanding…”

“A mutual understanding?” He raised both eyebrows. “Is that what he said?”

“Yes.” It came out as more of a question than a response.

“Did he throw the term family around too?” he asked.

“Yeah, actually.”

“I’m not that psychopath’s family.”

I winced. First Mrs. Caldwell was worried about upsetting my dad with the whole Isabella invite. And now Miller was calling him a psychopath? I swallowed hard. They’d never seen the side of my dad that was sweet and caring. This was all a big misunderstanding.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “You know what I meant.”

“No, actually, I don’t. Miller, if you really want to quit I’m sure he’d let you. You just have to talk to him.”

Miller shook his head. “I did talk to him.”

“Well, I can talk to him…”

“You really are trying to get me killed, aren’t you?”

“Of course not. Just let me…”

“There’s no out for me, Brooklyn.”

“But…”

“You saw what he did to me when I let you out of my sight.” He gestured to his face. “I know too much. If I try to leave, he’ll kill me. I don’t know what kind of lies that man is feeding you. But he’s not who you think he is.”

I didn’t even know what to say. I knew my dad was dangerous. I knew that and yet…I didn’t really. I’d seen him be kind and sweet more times than I’d seen him be mean.

“There’s no out,” he said again. He closed his eyes like he was exhausted and rested his head on the wall behind him.

I swallowed hard. I wondered if he was as tired of life as James. And I hated that I couldn’t help either of them. “Miller, I’m sure my dad would listen to me if I asked him to let you quit.”

“Right, because complaining to his daughter is a great way to sway a man like him.”

“A man like him?”

“Brooklyn, what do you think your dad does?”

“He’s a businessman.” That was what my dad had told me. That he owned a lot of family businesses.

“Your father is a mobster, Brooklyn.”

A mobster? I shook my head. “That’s not…”

“He threatens people for a living. He kills people when they cross him. He’s made a lot of enemies in this town. Including your fiancé’s parents. Compared to some of the people your father is mixed up with, Isabella isn’t even that big of a threat.” He kicked at some trash on the sidewalk. “There is no out. Not for me. And definitely not for you.”

I wanted to laugh it off. To tell Miller all the reasons why he was wrong. That he was exaggerating. But actually, that all made a lot of sense. Except for the fact that Miller hadn’t seemed all that scared of my dad in the beginning. “But if he’s so awful…why did you ever kiss me to begin with?”

“I’d never broken his rules before. I didn’t know the consequences. But I never plan on breaking them again.”

So he was stuck here? For how long? Months? Years? Forever? I shook my head. I wanted to tell Miller that I’d talk to my dad. But he’d just told me not to.

“I don’t regret kissing you,” Miller said. “But if your dad ever finds out…I won’t just lose my job. I’ll lose my life, Brooklyn. So you gotta stop looking at me like that.”

I didn’t know how I was looking at him. Like I wanted to hug him? Like I was about to burst into tears? There is no out.

Chapter 22

Friday

“Is everything alright?” Mrs. Caldwell asked.

I looked in the mirror to see Mrs. Caldwell in the reflection as the hairdresser was straightening my hair.

I was worried about James. I had no one to talk to about it. And now Miller’s warning was stuck in my head and wouldn’t go away no matter how much we shopped. I was trying to have fun. But I couldn’t seem to shake the warning. There is no out. I cleared my throat and looked down at my lap. “Mhm.”

Mrs. Caldwell sat down in the chair next to mine. “Was that Matt