Lies We Tell (Thistle Cove 3)

“Yeah, just dealing with the fallout from the trip. How did it go, anyway?”

“I spent the rest of the trip in my dad’s room on lockdown,” Ezra says, leaning against the wall.

“The party was lame—and mandatory,” Ozzy says. “The chaperones were taking no chances; checking drinks, watching everyone go in and out. I think everyone was just ready for it to be over.”

“I guess the senior retreat is cursed.” Finn smiles, but there’s something in his tone that makes me think he believes it. He may be right. Some traditions in Thistle Cove deserve to die.

“Gotta go,” I say as the bell rings. I glance down the hall and see Coach Chandler’s office door closed. The knot in my stomach since I walked into the conference room tightens.

“Will you help us?” Agent Cole asked.

The pressure built around me, like the air sucking out of the room. I think about the last few days, how upset my parents are, how I’ve disappointed them.

“I can’t. This whole thing is too much. It’s overtaking my life. I’m about to pick a college, graduate, and leave this toxic town behind.”

I try not to remember the look of annoyance on her face. Luke Fenway? He actually seemed surprised. I was serious. I just want to put the past six months behind me and move on.

It’s in the cafeteria that I notice the first ripple of something off. People had been whispering all day, but this was different. Everyone had out their phones, smiles replaced with shock.

“Hey,” I say sliding into the seat next to Finn. “Why does the name Luke Fenway sound familiar?”

“That’s the douche I told you about at the ring ceremony,” Ezra says. “The one that got kicked out of Sparrowood for assault.”

That information hits me like a ton of bricks. That’s who Agent Cole has working as an associate?

Thank god I said no. Who wants to work with a dirt bag like that?

“Why?”

“Uh, I don’t know. The name was just rattling around in my head. I couldn’t place it.”

The strange energy continues to roll through the room and just as Ozzy pulls out his phone, Juliette runs through the cafeteria, stopping at the table.

“Kenley, there you are.” She’s actually breathing heavy.

“Juliette? What’s going on?”

Her face is paler than normal. “It’s Alice.”

I roll my eyes. “What about her?”

“She hurt herself.”

“Dude, what are you talking about?” Ozzy asks. Finn’s arm wraps around my shoulder. Everything, all the voices, the noises in the room—they sound so far away. “What do you mean hurt herself.”

“Like she tried to kill herself.” Her voice lowers. “I don’t know how, specifically.”

“Who did you hear that from?”

Her eyes flick to mine. Her dad? Would he tell her?

“You said tried,” Finn says. “Is she okay?”

I don’t wait for an answer.

I stand, the cafeteria chair scraping across the hard floor. I walk back across the room, out the door and into the hallway.

I don’t know if it’s fate, an accident, or the worst luck ever, but the instant I step in the hall I see Jason Chandler. Stress lines tug at his eyes.