How Sinners Fight - Eva Ashwood Page 0,59
I manage to keep my grades up while spending every free second I have trying to get shit on Cliff.
And in the midst of all of it, I haven’t dreamed. Not once.
I’m not sure if I’m happy about the fact. My dreams are never good, but I still can’t shake the feeling that they’re my brain trying to tell me something, trying to help me remember.
“How locked up are his family secrets?” Max grumbles, scrolling on her phone with one finger as the five of us sit at a table tucked into a corner of the cafeteria. “I swear, you can usually find shit on these kinds of people anywhere—rumors, the fucking internet. Cliff is somehow clean and connected to way too many wealthy families. Someone has to know something.”
“They probably do,” Elias says, “but even if they did, they’re sure as hell not going to say anything if you ask them. It’s the way the world works. Cover your ass by covering someone else's ass.” When I give him a questioning look, he shrugs. “The more connected you are, the more secrets you hold, and vice versa.”
“So the Montgomerys are holding a lot of secrets then?” I frown. “Seems to me they’ve got a pretty clean track record.”
We’ve been digging around for weeks, hoping to find something we can use against Cliff, just like he planned to use Melissa’s death against me. The protection the Sinners have offered me seems to be holding Cliff off from using whatever evidence he’s built up that would make me look like a murderer, but we can’t count on that lasting. He’s already proved he’s reckless, stupid, and obsessed with me. That’s a dangerous combination, and it means that at any moment, he could ratchet up his attack on me.
Unfortunately, aside from the fact that Cliff is a lecherous jackass, his family appears to be the perfect wealthy American family. Pretty faces, philanthropists, top donors to every good cause.
“All the more reason to suspect they’re hiding something,” Declan says. “I don’t fucking trust them.”
We all nod in agreement and finish up our lunches, our conversation shifting to lighter topics for a little while.
“You sure you’ve got her?” Declan asks Max as he gets up from the table, a teasing smile playing at his lips.
The guys are still escorting me around campus whenever they can—all three of them, now. And when they can’t have eyes on me, Max picks up the slack. I swear, I feel like I’ve got an entourage of bodyguards.
My best friend rolls her eyes. “You know I’d beat ass if anyone tried to touch her,” she says, giving them a shooing motion. “Get the fuck outta here. We’re gonna talk about girly things.”
Gray gives me a lingering look as the Sinners walk away. Things are getting better between us, but the time we were apart and the bad blood that built up over those weeks still hovers in the air sometimes. I know he wishes he would banish it entirely, and honestly, I do too.
But I think it’ll just take time.
“Girly things?” I ask, cocking an eyebrow at Max once the guys are gone. “We never talk about girly shit.”
“I know. But men are scared of girl talk,” Max says, laughing. “Even those assholes. It’s the quickest way to get them to bail.”
I pretend to be offended. “Those assholes are my friends,” I say, liking the way that word sounds. A lot. “And yours too.”
Max’s eyes soften a little. “Yeah. I guess they are.”
“So…” I draw the word out, grinning at her. “You don’t have any girly shit to tell me?”
“No. Well, yes. Well… no.”
My eyebrows lift even higher. “Huh. That’s convincing.”
She grimaces, chewing her lip as she scoots a little closer to me, leaning her elbows on the table. I mirror her action, and she drops her voice like she’s afraid we’re being spied on. “I think Aaron kind of likes me.”
“Aaron Reeves? The Saint?”
“Yeah.” Her nose wrinkles. “I dunno. I could be wrong, but I’ve been getting that vibe from him. Like he’s interested.”
“Are you?” I question, a little shocked. I don’t know Aaron well at all, but I kind of have a blanket hatred of all the Saints.
“I don’t know.” She looks a little confused, then shakes her head, her expression hardening. “But that’s not the point. The point is, I was thinking maybe he’d be an in. A way to get information about Cliff. They’re friends, after all. So maybe I could get Aaron talking and