Then slammed it back inside of me, claiming what I had openly given him without a shred of hesitation.
15
When I asked Adam to arrange another meeting with Julian, I told him that I wanted him to be a part of it this time. I needed to tell them both what I had overheard at the aquarium gala.
Adam had been worried about where I had gone during the gala, but I managed to convince him that I was sick to my stomach and needed to walk outside for a while until the feeling had passed. He was upset that I risked walking alone, but at least I was able to lie convincingly enough that he believed me.
I was becoming a bit too good at lying, and that wasn’t necessarily a good thing. It was especially hard to sit up in the tree with Julian and Adam and to know that I had promised them both the intimate moment which I had just given away to Michael.
Michael,who killed my mother, and yet who I still couldn’t believe was responsible for her death.
There was more to it; there had to be. I wasn’t giving up on my plan to dismantle Lineage. I thought about what Adam had told me; that the person who killed my mother hadn’t wanted to do it. There was more to the story. I couldn’t think about Michael right now; I had to stay focused.
“Did you know anything about this?” Julian asked Adam quietly.
Without a lookout on the ground, we were really taking our chances. It was winter, and the trees didn’t have the same amount of foliage to conceal us as they did in the fall.
“I knew that there was someone else involved in their leadership besides just Marta. I had heard people talking about him, but they never mentioned a name,” he answered. “I never realized it was going to be a new Headmaster.”
“I bet this guy is the one who’s leading the entire drug-ring from behind the scene,” Julian said.
“Do you think it’s someone who’s been around the whole time?” I asked. “Or someone new?”
Adam shrugged. “No idea.”
“Regardless, the charity event is when they’re going to be bringing him out,” I said. “That’s my chance.”
“Your chance for what?” Julian looked at me as if I were crazy.
“I want to take the whole drug operation down. Lineage will be brought to its knees.”
“You can’t be serious?” he asked.
“Trust me,” Adam huffed. “She is.”
“Lisette, be real. What are you going to do against a building full of drug leaders posing as school administrators? These people are dangerous, murderers even. Are you planning to go in there with a live stream on your cell phone to rat them out? Do you think you’ll even make it out alive if you do something so foolish?”
“If that’s what will work, then yes,” I said. “Video feed, pictures, mics, whatever it takes. Hell, maybe I’ll even take a weapon in there and try to knock off one or two of them.”
“I know you think you’re super tough,” Julian said. “And trust me, I think you are too. But that is just not realistic. These guys will kill you. Even Michael will kill you.”
“Michael won’t kill me,” I blurted out a little too quickly.
I don’t think Julian noticed the defensive look on my face, but Adam definitely did. He looked at me as though he could tell I was keeping a secret. “I’m going,” I said. “That’s final.”
“I’ll be there too,” Adam said.
“Well, if you’re going,” Julian said to me with a heavy sigh. “Then I’m coming with you.”
I smiled at him, knowing that the chances of talking him out of going were about as good as the chance he had of talking me out of it. But Julian wasn’t going. I would make sure of it. There was no need to put him in danger too.
When Adam and I got back to the apartment, Michael was there. I hadn’t seen him since the rooftop at the gala. He looked frantic, and I was scared to find out why.
“Someone saw you,” he said as soon as we stepped through the door.
“What are you talking about?” Adam asked.
“Someone saw the two of you talking with Julian,” Michael said.
The look of panic now spread to Adam’s face as well as Michael continued. “They’ve already ratted you out to the administration. You’ll only get a slap on the wrist, but there’s a target on Lisette’s back now.”
“What do you mean a target?” I asked, thinking he was overly dramatic. “Won’t I just get expelled?”
“No.” Michael stared at me with some of the same intensity as he had the night before. I knew that Adam could see it. Anyone with eyes could see it. “They heard you. They know what you’re trying to do.”
“And so, by target—” I started to ask again.
Michael nodded. “They’re going to try to kill you.”
“I’ll just go back to stay with Julian for a while,” I said. “I’ll stay away from here until things die down.”
“Lisette, you don’t understand. They’re going to try to kill him too. They’re going to kill anyone from Goldshire who has raised suspicion against Lineage,” Michael paused for a moment. “It’s the same reason your mother was killed.”
Adam looked as though he couldn’t believe what Michael had just divulged to me.
“We need to get out of here. Now,” Adam said. “I’ll take you somewhere safe; you won’t be safe with Julian.”
“The three of us will go together,” Michael said as he grabbed his leather jacket and an extra hoodie off the chair for me to wear.
Adam looked at him in surprise. “You mean you aren’t going to join in the hunt?”
Michael stared him straight in the eyes. “No.”
I don’t think Adam expected Michael to go against his mother and all of Lineage. The shock was written all over his face. It didn’t shock me, though.
Not after what Michael and I shared together.
“We’ll go to Julian’s together. She’ll stand a better chance with all three of us there to protect her,” Michael said. He tossed the hoodie to me and grabbed me by the hand as he went out the door. When we got outside, and he saw Adam looking at our clasped hands, he dropped my hand at my side and led the way for us off-campus.
“What was that about?” Adam asked me as we ran behind him.
“Change of heart, I guess,” I said. I wasn’t ready to get into any of it now as we were running for our lives.
When we showed up at Julian’s apartment, he was already aware of what was going on. He was, however, incredibly surprised to see Michael with us.
“He’s here to help,” I reassured him as we walked inside.
