We fly out of the driveway almost as soon as my door closes. This guy isn't being nearly as careful on the dirt road as Parker was. I'm jostled and bounced on the seat.
The headlights reflect off a sleek black GT at the end of the driveway. The vintage car stands out among the newer luxury vehicles. Before we turn away, the beams reflect off a shaved head in the driver's seat. I stop breathing for a second. Straining in the seat, I twist around as we pass the car, trying to get a better view. But it's too dark.
"Hey, I'm Lance." I settle back on the leather to face him. The driver has shaggy dirty blond hair. His reflection flashes a friendly smile through the rearview mirror.
When I look into his eyes, I want to die. Another fricken Harrison!
"I heard you singing. Will you sing for me?"
"And what will you give to me?" he asked, cunning in his eyes.
"I don't have anything to offer."
The man smiled, his fanged teeth gleaming. "Oh, but you do."
The handsome man stepped behind a tree. Thaylina followed, but he was gone. She couldn't stop thinking of the mysterious man. Even long after she returned to the tower.
"So, you're Lana," Lance continues when I don't say a word. "My brothers are barely talking to each other because of you."
Ashton rotates in her seat to face me. "Ooh, scandal!"
"I didn't know there were three of you," I say, trying to change the subject. "Are there any more Harrison siblings I should be warned about?"
Lance laughs. "Nope. Just the three of us. And I don't need a warning. I'm nothing like my brothers."
"That's why he attends Blackwood with us," Ashton announces proudly.
I scoff. "Because you're so innocent."
"No. I just don't hide my faults."
"That's noble of you," I say, sarcastically. "Is your father also your lawyer?" I don't expect him to answer.
"No, Dwight is," he says with a grin, letting me know he's not bothered by my prying.
"Dwight? As in my court-appointed lawyer?"
"Uh, no. Dwight as in an associate at my dad's firm. But yeah, same guy."
What? He's been representing me for two years. Why are they lying to me?
"You have two lawyers?" Ashton's eyes widen like she's in awe of me. "I'm officially obsessed with you."
"You didn't know, did you?" Lance darts a glance at me through the mirror again. I shake my head.
"It doesn't make sense," I say out loud. I probably shouldn't have, but maybe Lance knows something. "I've never paid for a lawyer. Why would your dad do this?"
Lance shrugs. I don't know if it's because he doesn't know or won't answer.
It takes us half the time to get back to Blackwood with Lance driving. And thankfully, there weren't any cops on the road. Per usual, there's no one on the road.
Lance parks in a lot off to the side of the guard booth, next to about a half-dozen other cars. As soon as he turns off the car, Ashton hits the ground running.
"Move!" she yells over her shoulder. "Eight minutes 'til curfew!"
Lance takes off after her, and with a sigh, I chase them both down. Why do I always have to run to keep from getting caught?
I struggle to remove my platforms. Our feet slap the marble as we race through the foyer of the administration building. We continue through the Court, the branches and flowers reaching for us as we pass. The luminescent cobblestones are disorienting as we sprint through. I struggle to keep up, knowing if I fall behind I'll be lost.