The Peer and the Puppet (When Rivals Play #1) - B.B. Reid Page 0,27

me, searching for proof that I was lying. When I couldn’t take his scrutiny any longer, I turned to Gruff for help, but there was only disappointment.

“Can you please tell him I’m okay here?”

Gruff closed his eyes tight as if in pain before shaking his head slowly. My arms fell to my side.

“Your mother needs you, girl, and if you got demons waiting for you, it’s time you faced them.”

I wanted to rail and scream at him for his betrayal but hadn’t I done much worse? Besides, Gruff could get into heaps of trouble if I stayed, so I considered my options. If I became a runaway, my life would suck, and Ever would win. If I went back and faced him, the next two years could get very interesting.

I said goodbye to Gruff and returned to Blackwood Keep with Thomas, ready to do battle, but there was one thing I hadn’t considered…

One Year Later

“OH LUCIFER. I’M GOING TO puke.”

I glanced at my roommate’s pale face. Becca had begged me to take her when she caught me sneaking out of bed, and it had been fun to have a wingman, but with less than five minutes until we’d be caught, I was beginning to regret it. Becca’s stepmother had her sent here so she could jet set all over the globe, spending her dead husband’s fortune.

“We just need to hop the fence.” It didn’t seem wise to mention the second-floor window we still had to climb through—we’d cross that bridge when we got there. We made it to the chain-linked fence, and I quickly climbed up twenty feet before scaling down and jumping the last few feet. The blue-eyed Texan was still slowly making her way up the other side when I glanced nervously at my watch.

Three minutes.

“Becca, not to be insensitive but light a fire, yeah?”

She groaned as she swung her leg over the fence. “Why did I let you talk me into this?”

“That’s not quite how this happened,” I said once she dropped down. I ran the last couple hundred feet to the rope of sheet dangling from the window, and she groaned some more as she followed me. “We just have to get through the window, and we’re home free.” I ignored the burning muscle in my arms as I climbed. It was nothing compared to the fear of another year here if I was caught.

At the top, I slid open the window and flung my leg over the sill just as I heard the sound of Becca’s retching and footsteps approaching our door.

“Becca, someone’s coming,” I yelled down to her bent form. “Stay there.” She didn’t answer as another bout of retching rendered her speechless. I hastily pulled up the rope of sheets and shut the window before stuffing the sheets under Becca’s blanket. I barely had enough time to make the shape look human and get into bed before one of the attendings stuck her head inside. I’d pulled my own blanket up to my chin and shut my eyes, but I could feel the light she shone on my face. The light quickly passed, and I chanced opening an eye to see her flashlight now lingering on the lump. A few seconds later, the door creaked shut, and I waited until her footsteps faded before rushing to the window.

“Are you okay?”

“I think so,” she croaked.

I tied one end of the sheet around my bedpost before tossing it down.

“Fucking-A, Four! That was close.” She was panting as she sprawled on the floor.

I didn’t respond as I shed my leather jacket and peeled off black jeans before climbing back into bed.

Becca eventually picked herself up from the floor and mumbled something about never drinking again before dressing in her nightclothes and slipping into bed. “Thanks for tonight, Four, but if you don’t mind, I think tonight will be the last of my adventures.”

I chuckled, completely unsurprised that my prudent friend got her fill in one night. “I told you to slow down on the drinks.”

“Yeah, but that cutie with the glasses kept giving them to me so he could see my panties.”

“For sure,” I mumbled.

It wasn’t long before her drunken snores filled the silence. Sleep didn’t come as easily for me. Instead, I stared at the ceiling and wondered if I could survive another year in exile. I never believed in a million years that she’d go through with it—not when she took me to apply for a passport and not even when she had my