These Vengeful Hearts

by Katherine Laurin

  “Maybe that was true, but not anymore. I’ve seen the hurt the Red Court caused people who didn’t ask for it, who didn’t deserve it. And seeing it, being a part of it, has changed me in every possible way. I’m done. We both are.”

  “So, why don’t we forget all about this and go our separate ways? I’ll swear to leave you and yours alone. I’ll sign it in blood if I have to.” She gave me a winning smile, the yearbook kind that was all teeth.

  There was no guarantee I’d get a better offer. It was tempting to quit while the chips were up and walk away. I could save my friends and myself. That was worth something.

  But not everything.

  “I can’t. It’s already over. You have to see that.”

  She slapped her hand against the wall. “It’s over when I say it’s over! You think you can get everything you want? Take us down and walk away free from any responsibility?”

  I stuck my chin defiantly in the air. “I know I can.”

  Fire blazed in her eyes. “The Red Court has always been bigger than one person. Losing your sister was nothing more than a bump in the road. We’ll survive this. As long as people are willing to bargain for what they want, the Red Court lives.”

  Being part of the Red Court took so much from my sister, and she’d never stop regretting what she’d done and what it cost her.

  I looked to Gretchen and Emma Song, the last ones standing, and saw their wary glances. “This doesn’t have to be ugly. You can walk away and that’s it. I destroy all the folders, send your friends on their way, and we all go back to being strangers.” My voice seemed thin, easily lost in the fog of anger that had settled in the room.

  Shauna laughed, hard and ugly. “Have you thought this through at all? What’s going to happen when you expose us? You think we won’t take you down, too?”

  All the eyes in the room landed on me like a weight pressing against my chest. If they were going down, they’d take me with them. No doubt.

  I reached into my bag and pulled out another folder for her. “I’m counting on it, actually.”

  When the Fire Alarm remained standing in the middle of the room, I rose from my chair and handed the folder to Haley and said, “Go ahead.”

  She opened the folder and stared at its contents, her expression inscrutable.

  “This is yours.” I could see the question in Haley’s eyes.

  “You’re not the only ones who’ve hurt people. I’m just as bad as you. If the Red Court is going to stand judgment, I’ll face it with the rest of you.”

  “You wouldn’t.” Shauna’s face now read like a construction sign flashing warning.

  “It’s already done. Copies of all of this are in the hands of someone else right now. If he doesn’t hear from me by eight o’clock, he’ll deliver the copies to the school office, school paper, and members of the school board. Along with a letter signed by me, explaining everything. There’s no bluff to call here. I’m ready to go down with the rest of you.”

  For a few moments, no one moved or spoke. They barely breathed.

  “Shauna,” Gretchen said finally. “Come on. We have to go.”

  Shauna had to be led forward by Gretchen and Emma, and together they relinquished their phones. Her unfocused eyes settled on me and sharpened.

  “We’re not finished,” she murmured. “The Red Court might be down, but I’m not out. I don’t forgive and forget.”

  I shivered at the threat in her tone. “You should give it a try. There’s no washing away hurt and anger with more hurt and anger.”

  She stared at me, lip curling in disgust. Her expression wasn’t one of someone who’d lost everything. It was of someone who’d had everything taken.

  I watched while the remnants of the Red Court gathered their things and went to the door.

  After they’d all left, and Haley and I were alone in the theater room, I sent a quick text to Gideon to cut the room full of hostages loose. It was over.

  My tension unraveled like a spool of ribbon, and I let out a sigh. I turned to Haley and said, “I can’t believe those cards with the flowery handwriting were you all along.”

  She laughed. It sounded as exhausted as I felt. “What can I say? I’m an artist.” Haley’s smile crumpled and her eyes shone with tears that wouldn’t dare to fall. “I don’t know whether to thank you or strangle you.”

  I considered my options. “Maybe the first one? I’d rather not die.”

  “You know, I never wanted to be the Queen of Hearts. I just wanted my favor. I justified everything I did over and over again for a favor. All of it ended up being for nothing.”

  I nodded, remembering the night Haley talked about getting out of her house and securing an in with the financial aid department at her dream art school. She was talented enough to get into the program she wanted and maybe even earn a scholarship, but there were no guarantees.

  This might be the last conversation I had with Haley, so I asked a question I never got to ask before. “Why did you pick me?”

  Haley sighed and went to gather her things. “For April. I never spoke to her after her accident, but I wanted to know if she was alright. When she got hurt, I abandoned her, and I’ve never been able to live that down. I tried to visit her in the hospital a few days after it happened, but the nurses wouldn’t let me through. They asked who I was, and I panicked. I didn’t want to get in trouble, so I left. I know it was selfish of me. I was always scared she’d tell on us, but she never did. I guess I wanted to bring you in as a way of redeeming myself for leaving her alone in the theater that night. Do right by you the way the Red Court never did for her.”

  I nodded. The twisted logic actually made sense to me. “What about all those ‘personality markers’ I supposedly have?” Not supposedly. I knew I had them.

  “Yeah, that, too.” She bumped my shoulder with her knuckles and gave me a smile. “Don’t act like you didn’t enjoy part of the work. Your double-agent act required more deception than the rest of us.”

  She sobered, the light sparking in her eyes fading quickly. “I am really sorry about your friend. If we’re laying our cards out, I want to tell you that I made the mistake of sending the picture of Mrs. Martin to Shauna.”

  That made sense. Haley had seemed genuine in her promise. Now that I knew it was Shauna’s request all along, I would have come to the same conclusion eventually. “Thanks. I wish it didn’t go down that way. That there was something I could have done to spare Gigi from that.” I’d find a way to help her somehow.

  The bell rang, signaling the first day without the Red Court. Haley handed me a folded-up piece of notebook paper and turned to go.

  “What is this?”

  “My real number. Call me sometime. Maybe I can introduce you to Brit. I think she’s the one you saw me talking to at the carnival. We’ve been hanging out for a while. She goes to Denver School of the Arts.”

  My mouth dropped open. So she did matter to Haley, if not exactly in the way I thought. Even if she wasn’t the Queen of Hearts, I was glad my instincts weren’t wrong.

  Just before she closed the door behind her, she looked back at me. “See you around, kid.”

  * * *

  By the start of first period, dozens of signs were posted around the school.

  The Red Court is no longer in business.

  We kindly suggest that you handle your own dirty work from now on.

  Anyone caught making requests will face consequences.

  EPILOGUE

  THE DAY BEFORE winter break came, and I was finally getting used to the quiet life. The gossip about the signs and the demise of the Red Court was starting to ebb. I heard rumors passed around that the Red Court disbanded because business had dried up, or that the school administration had posted the signs to keep students from making requests, or that there was never any Red Court to begin with and this was some
elaborate prank.

  I kept an eye on the locker mailbox and was surprised when not even a single request was made. With winter break looming, the chatter about the Red Court fizzled. Students were too busy planning excursions to the mountains for early season skiing or trips to the mall for holiday shopping.

  “Do you want to grab dinner with me and Damien tonight? You can bring Lover Boy,” Gideon said as he sidled up next to me at my locker after school.

  “You have to stop calling Chase that.” I kind of loved that he did.

  Gideon laughed. “I’ll call him what I want. He’s still terrified that I don’t approve of him.”

  “That would be great. I’ll ask him. Maybe I could invite Haley, too? And Brit?”

  My conversations with Haley were mostly over text, but on our own phones now. Her responses grew longer each day, from one-word answers to nearly complete sentences. And after only light pestering on my part, she did introduce me to Brit. I thought back to the dinner at her house when she said she wasn’t close enough with anyone to share her relationships. I counted it as progress on the friendship front.

  “Ugh. Fine, but I liked it better when you didn’t have any other friends.”

  Gideon could grumble all he liked. Haley won him over the moment she praised the composition of his photo in the Winter Showcase, where they both received an award in their categories. Plus, Haley’s piece caught the attention of Sally in the Heller postgrad office, who offered to connect her to contacts at two top art schools. It was no Red Court favor, but it was a start.

  I opened my locker and froze.

  “What?” he asked.

  A Queen of Spades sat on the top shelf of my locker. Just the sight of it was enough to set my hands shaking as I grabbed it.

  Gideon examined the card in my hand. “What does it mean?”

  “I have no idea. We didn’t use this one on its own.”

  “Do you know who sent it?”

  “I have one really good guess.” Shauna had been lying low the last few weeks, but I knew it wouldn’t be forever. She’d bide her time and wait for the right moment. After the final meeting of the Red Court, Haley changed all the passwords for the accounts and deleted as many files as she could find. It wasn’t a guarantee that she got rid of everything, but it was the best we could do. It wasn’t enough.

  I looked back down at the card in my hand and turned it over, knowing I’d find something written on the back. Just like the notes from the Queen of Hearts.

  I read the note aloud.

  The Red Court is dead.

  Long live the Black Court.

  * * *

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  I’m so grateful to all my friends and family who helped me along my journey. It’s a surreal moment to be sitting here, writing the acknowledgments for a book I have worked on for YEARS. It’s been a process, one that wouldn’t have been possible without the help of so many people.

  To my writerly friends, Julia and Bex, thanks for cheering me on along the way. Melissa, thank you for your never-ending support. Alyson, thank you for keeping me sane.

  Tess Callero, thank you doesn’t even begin to cover it. Thank you for taking a chance on me. Thank you for your support. Thank you for your guidance. I will never forget our first call, when you told me that even if I didn’t decide to go with you as my agent that you would always be a fan. I knew then that you were the kind of person I wanted in my corner. I am so thankful we get to work together. You’re the best!

  Lauren Smulski, thank you for choosing my book. Your yes was the one that put this book on the path to publication. I can’t thank you enough. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

  Connolly Bottum, thank you for stepping in and taking me on. Your insights and guidance have been integral in getting Ember’s story to the finish line. I’m so glad this book found its way into your very capable hands.

  Bess Braswell, Justine Sha, and the rest of the Inkyard team, thank you for your support. I feel so lucky that this story found a home with the Inkyard family. To Cara Liebowitz, Jung Kim, Mark O’Brien, and Anna Prendella, who offered guidance on the characters I love so dearly, thank you. Kate Studer, thank you for helping me connect the threads of this story and making it into something stronger. Elita Sidiropoulou and Gigi Lau, you are both beyond talented, and the cover art you created is stunning. I will love it forever. Thank you!

  My fellow Roaring ’20s peeps, thank you for all the support. Writing can feel like a lonely business but having others at the same point in their journey to talk to and commiserate with is invaluable. Congrats to everyone! We did it!

  Amanda and Sonya, I love you girls so much. Thank you for celebrating every milestone in my writing career (and outside of it!) with me. They say you need to write what you know, and what I know is what true friendship is like. “Always.”

  Mom and Dad, thank you for being proud of me, for pushing me to do better, and for teaching me how to be strong when things are hard. I know who I am and that comes from the two of you. Without that, I wouldn’t have been able to accomplish anything in my life. I love you both.

  Dan, John, Danielle, and Savannah, thank you for being part of my foundation. No matter where we go or what we do, we have each other. I love you guys.

  The Laurin and Pottorff Families, thank you for loving me as one of your own. I am so blessed to be able to count you as family. Love to you all!

  Henry and Asher, I’m so proud to be your mom. I hope one day you’ll read my work and be proud, too. You two inspire me to follow my dreams and work hard every day. I love you both more than the words can say.

  Justin, I love you. I love that you support my ideas. I love that you and I are in it together. I love that you are both the anchor that keeps me grounded and the wind that lifts me higher. I can only hope to be those things to you. Our partnership through life has made all things possible. Thank you.

  Thank You, God, for answered prayers, for the strength to see things through, and for the love present in my life.

  Dear Reader, thank you for giving this story a chance. I am so grateful. I hope our paths cross someday.

  ISBN-13: 9781488069369

  These Vengeful Hearts

  Copyright © 2020 by Katherine Laurin

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

  For questions and comments about the quality of this book, please contact us at CustomerService@Harlequin.com.

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