Julian laughed quietly from behind me. “Good luck trying to talk her out of doing anything.”
“Okay guys, thanks for all that,” I whispered. “Now, can we please try to get out of this mess? Adam, can you help us?”
I really hoped that he had temporarily forgotten about the whole “stay the hell away from me” thing and would help Julian and I escape.
“Michael!” Adam shouted.
Great, we’re fucked.
His eyes stayed locked with mine. “Michael, damn it, your mother is texting me again. She says you left you your phone in the exam hall. She seems mad. I don’t think phones are supposed to be allowed in the exam halls, are they?”
I heard Michael make an exaggerated groan from the other room.
“But what if he already has his phone on him?” Julian murmured from behind me.
Adam smiled and pulled two cell phones out of his pocket. I didn’t even ask why he would have stolen Michael’s phone, and I didn’t care. I just wanted to get out of there.
“Tell her I’m on my way to get it now,” Michael shouted back at him.
Then, there was the sound of the front door opening and closing.
I never thought I’d be so damn relieved to hear a door open and shut in all my life.
“What happens when he gets there and finds out you lied?” I asked.
Adam shrugged his shoulders and tossed Michael’s phone onto the top of his bed. “I’ll deal with it later,” he said. “Come on; let’s get you out of here.”
“Thanks,” Julian said as he held out his hand to Adam. I was surprised at how polite he was considering how much he hated all the people from Lineage.
And also basically any guy that looked at me.
Adam didn’t return the gesture, though. Instead, he gave me another warning. “If you come here again, you’re on your own.”
Adam walked backwards away from the closet before he turned toward the hallway. He walked out of the room and I knew he was waiting for us to follow him, so I stepped out of the closet. However, my eye caught Michael’s phone still laying on Adam’s bed.
“Don’t,” Julian warned softly.
I swiped Michael’s phone anyway and slipped it into my pocket. After all, if it was worth Adam stealing, then it was definitely worth me stealing.
Adam stayed in front of us to make sure the way was clear until we reached the edge of campus. I still hated him for not telling me who was responsible for my mother’s death; the one thing that meant more to me than anything else. But in a conflicted turn of events, I owed him my thanks for not turning us over to Michael and getting me expelled from Goldshire, which meant I’d be even farther away from discovering the truth.
“Thank you,” I said as Julian and I stepped onto the cobblestones.
“Don’t come back,” Adam said.
Then he turned and walked back to his apartment.
“Charming guy,” Julian said with more than a touch of sarcasm.
I shook my head. “It doesn’t matter. He helped us escape.”
“Yeah, but we didn’t find anything. I really think you should give up on getting into that campus.”
“Who says we didn’t find anything,” I said as I pulled Michael’s phone out of my pocket.
“You took it from off of the bed?” he asked in astonishment.
Honestly, I think he was a little impressed.
I grinned. “Yep.” I was actually pretty proud of myself for being able to snatch it while the guys were deciding over handshakes. “Now I just need to figure out what his passcode is so that I can open it.”
“I know a guy who can break into any device,” Julian said. “No passcode needed.”
I crooked an eyebrow. “Julian, what exactly have you been up to that has made you such an expert in lock-picking and shady friendships with people who can break into cell phones?”
He laughed. “You’re lucky you have me.”
Actually, I really am.
And that notion sent me walking off by Julian’s side as I tucked Michael’s phone back into my pocket.
While the smallest part of me wondered if Adam showed me the fact that he had Michael’s phone for a reason.
6
We planned to take the phone to Julian’s friend in a couple of days. It was too important for me to let it out of my sight for even a minute. Two days was the soonest that we'd be able to get it there due to an increasingly ridiculous number of required events on campus. So, in the meantime, I kept Michael’s phone charged, silent, and in my pocket at all times.
