Deceitful (Rules of Deception 1)

Alec shook his head. “Don’t you get it? He could be the murderer. Do you want to get yourself killed? For God’s sake, Tessa. That guy had an affair with his student. Don’t you think he could’ve killed in order to keep it a secret?”

Of course, I knew that was a possibility, and I hated how he made it sound like I was too naive to realize it. “That doesn’t explain the other victims, or do you think he had an affair with them too?”

His eyes narrowed at the challenge in my tone. “Maybe. But what about this theory: The janitor caught Yates and Madison red-handed after classes and Yates decided to get rid of him so he couldn’t tell anyone. And that girl? Maybe he had an affair with her too, and that’s why she had to die. Or maybe he wanted to silence her because she was talking shit about Madison and possibly about him too. How does that sound?”

He really made it sound like a logical explanation. At the very least, Mr. Yates seemed to have a more plausible reason to dispose of the victims than Ryan or Phil.

“It doesn’t matter. If we want to get proof, I’ll have to talk to him. Maybe he’s got nothing to do with it,” I said.

“I won’t let you go there alone.”

“Alec, don’t be stupid. Do you think he’ll talk to me if you’re around? I need to do this. I’m not a kid anymore. This is my mission and I have every intention to solve the case,” I said firmly. Even though I loved when Alec wanted to protect me, I need to set boundaries if I ever wanted to be a good agent.

He scowled, which made him look way too sexy. “I’ll wait outside. If something goes wrong, you’ll scream or make yourself noticeable. If you don’t return within thirty minutes, I’m coming in.”

I rolled my eyes. “Suppose my talk with Yates takes longer than thirty minutes.”

“You’d better make sure it doesn’t.”

That was the last word on the matter. Alec had that stubborn glint in his eyes that I knew all too well. He was in protective mode and it was useless to argue with him.

Ana drove me home that day. She kept throwing worried glances my way and I could practically feel the tension rolling off of her.

I needed an alibi for my meeting with Yates—Linda wouldn’t let me leave without an explanation. But asking Ana would make her even more suspicious. Not that I had many options. “Could you do me a favor?”

She hesitated. “Sure, what is it?” Her voice was light but her lips thinned out.

“I need you to cover for me. I’m meeting someone this afternoon and I can’t tell my mom about it. Can I tell her we’re meeting at your house?”

Ana narrowed her eyes. “Who are you meeting?”

“Please, Ana, I can’t tell you yet but it’s important. Please.”

She swallowed twice, thickly, like she was trying to push back the words that threatened to rise into her mouth. “You know, these last few days I’ve been holding myself back, swallowing my feelings, telling myself it would get better, that you needed time to recover. Actually, I’ve been holding back for months, ever since you started keeping secrets from me. But I’m just sick of it. I’m sick of being lied to and left out. I thought we were best friends. I abandoned everyone for you. And now you won’t even let me in.” She took a deep, shaky breath and wiped at her eyes.

I opened my mouth but closed it again, unsure of how to respond. I agreed with what she’d said. If Holly had kept so many secrets from me, I’d have been just as hurt and angry. But I couldn’t tell Ana the truth now, not even half of it, no matter how much she deserved it.

“I don’t know why you don’t trust me,” she said. I could feel that I was losing her, that she was pulling back, and I couldn’t let that happen. I couldn’t talk to her about Yates, much less about the rest. But maybe I didn’t need to.

“I trust you,” I stammered. “It’s just . . . complicated. The new guy, Alec.” I hesitated and looked down at my lap, trying to feign discomfort.

“What about him?” There was a flicker of excitement in her voice and it was all the encouragement I needed.

“I’m meeting him this afternoon.”

“Like, a date?” Ana slowed the car until we were crawling along at a snail’s pace.

I glanced up, hoping I looked appropriately embarrassed and excited. “Kind of. We’re hanging out. I’m not really sure what it is yet.”

“But when did that happen? I’ve never even seen you guys talk!” Every bit of resentment and disappointment I’d seen on her face earlier seemed to evaporate.