And, for once, I’ve outplayed Aiden Cardell.
twenty-five
“Holy shit! It worked!”
The pings on my phone hit like dopamine needles—one after another, stacking so fast I can’t even read them all. I sit up, sheets kicked off, grinning like an idiot. The Wednesday morning Northview News feed is a riot of activity.
Ashlyn stirs on the other side of the pillow wall.
“What’s happening?”
Fuck!How is she this beautiful in the morning? Golden hair falling in waves around her like a halo. Freckles aglow with verve. A pink flush to her cheeks. The blue of her eyes, a soothing ocean wave I could get lost in.
Somehow, it makes me hate her even more.
“President Harvey is dead!” I can hardly contain my excitement. I mean, I feel for the guy, but this means… “No more appointment,” I say to myself.
Ashlyn blinks, then rubs her eyes. She’d slipped into my room in the early hours after running cover for my sister as we had discussed.
“What? Hedied?” She asks as if she doesn’t quite understand what she was doing overnight. Maybe shereally didn’t. Maybe they told her it was an errand. Either way, she’s as complicit as I am.
“Yeah.” I’m on my feet, spinning in a stupid little victory lap on the carpet.
Getting rid of Hailey Twinston was as easy as waiting for President Harvey to die.
“Was it, um,natural?” she asks, and I school my expression, knowing damn well my family had everything to do with it. I’d supplied the poison for the first attempt on his life. Got it from Tade’s cousin. Didn’t ask questions, but he’s come through for me before.
Looks like my sister’s second plan to take care of Harvey worked.Finally.
“They said so. On the report.”
“Oh.” Realization settles over her face. “I wonder if…” When she glances up at me, I can’t help the knowing look on my face. She nods slowly. “Okay. Natural causes, then.”
“All the orders have been cancelled for now. So…” I’m a free agent.
“You seem stoked about this.”
“I am. I liked the man, but the assignments were getting a little out of control.”
Everything feels weightless.Hell, I even smile.
Ashlyn skips to the guest suite to get ready for the day while I start my training. This time with a hop at the end of every rep.
On the way to campus, Ashlyn’s fingers worry the stitching of my leather seats in the Porsche. Enough, I almost can’t focus on the road.
“You’re going to ruin the seam,” I say flatly.
She stops. But then chews on her lower lip. I let her wear jeans again on account of the weather being frigid, and she sticks her hands between her thighs to keep them warm.
“You okay?” I ask, a bit worried she would say something.Does she care that the president was murdered and she had a part in the plot?
“Yes. Very okay. This means that all our, um,appointmentsand assignments are probably not going to happen?”
I shrug. “Probably not the ones left unsigned or unfinished. I guess?—”
Was she worried about me and Hailey? The briefest amount of hope tightens my chest, and I quickly shove it down.
My thoughts are interrupted by a buzzing notification…