Ruthless Secrets (Elites of Macedon High 2)

“That last one,” I gasp while snatching the book. “EW. Evelyn Welles.”

“You mean the Evelyn that you mentioned at the boathouse?” Lev inquires. He scrubs his fingers through his five o’clock shadow. “Well, this is starting to make sense.”

The notebook feels so much heavier in my hands than it did when I first found it. This is the key to my future. This is what will help me get away from this life. Whether my father intended that from the beginning is totally irrelevant. He wanted me to take control, so I’ll do everything in my power to make that happen.

Starting with these accounts, these names.

“There’s only one person in this town who knows every drop of gossip that circulates around here,” I state while safely tucking the notebook into my bag. “Marie D’Hautpoul.”

Coach Neill sighs. “Good luck with that. Once she starts, she can’t stop.”

“That’s exactly why I want to speak with her.”

“Alex, are you sure that’s a good idea?” Lev asks. I peer down at him, noting how much honey shimmers back at me because of the way the sunlight kisses his irises. “She might tell you things you don’t want to hear.”

I shake my head. “I want to hear it all.”

The way he grins up at me when I reach for his cheek makes my whole body go weak. If anyone can get me through this wretched pain I feel, it’s Lev. He might be moody and grumpy half the time, but the other half, he’s committed to me in his own special way.

I just hope that’s enough to protect me.

After thanking Coach Neill for allowing him into the office and kissing my cheek, he leaves to get his car from the parking deck. The door clicks shut, and I turn to Coach Neill with a hopeful expression. “See? He isn’t so bad.”

She frowns impatiently. “You need to be careful, Alexandra. Even with Lev.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Remember that thing I said about love?”

I lose my grin as I clutch my bag to my side. “Coach, who the hell are you?”

“What are you talking about?”

“You’re not just a teacher,” I claim. “You know too many things to just be an instructor.”

She extends her hand and whispers, “Let me see the notebook.”

Hesitantly, I reach into my bag and procure the book. When I hand it to her, she flips through the pages and shows me the second list of initials, birth dates, and account numbers with money amounts.

The third from the top makes my heart stop. “Coach?”

“Yes, those are my initials,” she admits while handing the notebook back to me. “Felipe had me on his payroll to watch over you.”

I clutch the book to my chest for the second time today. “Why the hell didn’t you help me whenever those boys attacked me?”

“I was told not to interfere.”

I gape at her. “You can’t be serious.”

“Specifically, Felipe instructed me to make sure that you took care of yourself. That’s why I chose to teach you self-defense, boxing, the works.”

“So, it’s fine if you’re just teaching me self-defense even though you know what they do to me when nobody is around?”

She shakes her head. “Always having someone around to bail you out would make you careless. Felipe’s words, not mine. You must learn to control those boys if you want to survive.”

“This is nuts.”

“You have to learn how to do it with more than just sex. Do you understand me?”