Perfect Enemies

20

“So,” I continued. “If war movies aren’t your thing, what is?” I turned to lean my shoulder against the wall to face him. “I like movies that make me think. Movies like Inception or Interstellar.” Complex movies that involved a deep level of deception. A clue about the man himself? Take it easy, Val. You like murder mysteries, but that doesn’t mean you want to kill someone. “Those were a little heavy for me. I like to keep my entertainment a bit lighter, thus my waning interest in tonight’s chosen flick.” His head rolled to face me. “Please tell me you aren’t a rom-com girl.” I lifted my chin haughtily. “I can be if the mood strikes. But not always. I’d say my favorite movie lately has been Knives Out—a little mystery, humor, and action all rolled into one. Perfect.” “At least it’s not The Notebook.” “Oh, God, no. That movie was depressing as hell.” Kane rolled to his side, mirroring my pose with his shoulder leaned against the wall. His piercing stare held me captive for long seconds before he finally spoke. “Why did you have to be so different from all the girls around you?” His rumbled words, barely audible above the overhead music and chatter of excited voices, were plenty loud to coax my pulse to a frantic thrum. Even when I suspected him of deception, he still had the power to make my body respond to him. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.” I ran my tongue along my suddenly parched lips. His eyes tracked the movement. “You’re just very … unexpected.” His eyes fell again, this time down toward my chest. My lips parted on a shuddered breath when his hand slowly lifted, then gingerly swept a lock of hair out from where it had become trapped beneath my jacket. His warm fingers had brushed my skin to first collect the hair, and the brief contact was a tattoo permanently inked on my body. “There you are.” Reyna’s voice sliced through my lust-filled haze. I shot upright away from the wall and ran my fingers through my hair. I couldn’t have looked more guilty if I’d tried. “Hey, Rey. Movie’s not over, is it?” “No. I just got worried when you didn’t come back.” Her eyes flicked back and forth between us before giving me a questioning look. “Sorry, we got talking, and I guess I lost track of time.” “No problem. If you’re not into the movie, we can wait out here until the others get out.” “No,” I barked out more forcefully than I’d wanted. “Let’s go back. I’d hate to miss the end at this point.” I took her hand in mine and led her around the corner toward the theater. My interest level in Kane might have changed, but I still didn’t want him around Reyna. He was a possible threat more now than ever with so many unanswered questions surrounding him. I glanced back to see if Kane was with us. He’d rounded the corner so that he was still in view but had found a new resting place against the hallway wall. He was silhouetted by the brightly lit lobby behind him, but I knew those eyes tracked our every move. OceanofPDF.com 11 OceanofPDF.com I VALENTINA walked up to Reyna’s front door on Monday morning, trying to convince myself I wasn’t being incredibly idiotic. It was a school holiday, and we’d wanted to see each other. My place was definitely off-limits, and the brisk winter snap that had blown in the night before made it impractical to spend much time outdoors. I had agreed to come by her house but was questioning the sanity of my decision. Her father and his men knew who I was, but it wasn’t the brightest idea to deliver myself up on a silver platter. Oh, well. Guess I was doing it anyway. Dad had insisted on having one of his men drive me. Ever since Giada’s ordeal, I’d noticed an increased presence of scary-looking men in and out of the house. In order to keep my destination a secret, I used Chloe as my alibi. We weren’t the best of friends but had come to a mutually beneficial arrangement years ago that had become the foundation for an alliance. If either of us needed an excuse or an alibi, we were there for each other, no questions asked. The relationship had evolved to a sort of actual friendship, but nothing like the easy closeness I’d quickly established with Reyna. I let Chloe know I was stopping by, had my escort drop me off, then made the trek to Reyna’s house. It wasn’t an ideal setup, but it gave us the freedom to hang out for a few hours. No school. No boys. Just two friends catching up. It was way overdue. Hopefully, our visit didn’t end with me being kidn*pped and shipped off to Mexico. Fingers crossed.

I had to pretend to be oblivious about Reyna’s family dealings, so when a strange man opened the door, I smiled broadly and announced I was there to see Reyna as if I had no clue the man had a gun tucked beneath his jacket. “I’m here!” Rey called out from somewhere behind him. She wedged herself in front of the guard. “Hey, Val. Come on it.” I was whisked away up a set of winding stairs and down a hallway to a huge room perfectly decorated from the plush mint duvet on a tufted gray bed to the shiny gold chandelier with matching wall sconces. “Your room is gorgeous!” I gaped at the magazine-worthy setup, complete with a shaggy fur throw draped over the corner of a loveseat by her picture window. “How come you’ve never invited me over before?” Shame weighed on her features. “I was trying to keep you safe,” she said softly. I pulled her into a hug, enveloping her in gratitude and reassurance. My chest ached for the horrible position Reyna was in. “We’ll get you out,” I whispered fervently. Reyna only nodded before pulling back, her eyes screaming at me to be careful with my words. There was no telling who all might be listening. I nodded discreetly to signal my understanding. “So, is your mom here?” I asked, wondering about the other half of Reyna’s parenting cesspool. I imagined her life had been pretty rough, but that didn’t stop me from being a little judgmental. Her sole job as mother had been to protect her baby, and she’d done a s**t job so far. “Yeah, but she’s still passed out. She doesn’t usually get up until lunch when she has a bloody Mary and starts all over.” No siblings. No real parents. My poor friend was utterly alone in the world. I squeezed her hand, not wanting to be overheard reassuring her that things would get better. “Okay, I don’t get to have my friend over often, so I want to make the best of this. Come over here to my living area and tell me exactly what was going on with you and Kane on Friday.” “You have your own living room?” I screeched.