Her nervous hesitancy makes me a bit anxious. Not that I care that anyone knows that I had a crush on Maxon. Not anymore anyway. But I can sense she’s worried about something.
“Who?” I ask.
Still worrying her lip between her teeth, she peers around, her gaze sweeping across the walls. “Does your mom have security cameras in the store?”
I shake my head. “No. I mean, we have an alarm system, but she can’t afford cameras. Although, I wish she could. This side of Fareland is kind of sketchy.”
She glances at me, her face masked with wariness. “Power down your phone,” she tells me as she powers down her own.
Beyond confused, I do what she says.
“All right, new Queen of Fareland, what the heck is going on?” I ask as I set my phone down on the counter.
She flicks a nervous glance around the store again then leans over the counter and whispers, “Back before you cut your puppet strings, you were one of THS’s targets and they were planning on using your crush on Maxon against you.”
“What the hell!” I exclaim.
Her eyes widen as she hisses, “Keep your voice down. While there might not be any cameras around here, you never know who’s listening.”
I lower my voice, shock lingering in me. “Sorry, but I can’t believe they were targeting me.”
“Really?” she questions with an arch of her brow. “Because one of THS’s missions is to take down all the assholes and bullies who make people like Maxon’s and Clove’s lives miserable. And just a couple of months ago, you were the main evil villain’s sidekick.”
True. But still …“I’m just a little surprised they were, since they’re having me do stuff for them now.” I frown as a thought occurs to me. “Wait. Are they using me to take me down? Is that what this is about?”
She shakes her head. “I don’t think so. I think they’re using you because, while you’ve kind of ditched your old friends and have become part of the nerd herd, you still have a connection to that world. You’re like straddling the border right now.”
My frown deepens. “That’s not true. I’m not friends with anyone in my old life anymore.”
Her brows lift. “So Queeny didn’t invite you to her party today?”
“No, she did, but I think it’s a prank. Although, I still have to go.” I give her a suspicious look. “And take you with me so you can pull off some weird heist, apparently.”
She presses her lips together then blows out a sigh. “Look, I can’t tell you all the details of what I’m doing—there’s too much at risk for me if THS ever finds out— but I can tell you a little bit about how I ended up working for them.” She casts another nervous glance over her shoulder at the front door then turns toward me. “A little while ago, I was really struggling with some things. Particularly my breakup with Judd. I know it probably makes me pathetic, but I was really heartbroken for a while.”
“It doesn’t make you pathetic,” I assure her, guilt coursing through me over my role in her breakup with Judd.
“It kind of does, though, when you really think about it. I mean, Judd is a fucking moron, and yet I nearly let myself crumble into pieces over him.”
The way her voice slightly catches makes me wonder how bad things got for her, but she continues before I can ask.
“But anyway,” she says, clearing her throat. “I was a real mess until I received a message from the society, telling me they could help me get revenge on Judd and all his friends if I helped them out with something. Now, at first, I was completely skeptical and kind of freaked out because, hello, who doesn’t get freaked out by some sketchy-ass society randomly contacting them?”
“Agreed,” I say with a nod, recalling how weirded out I was the first time I contacted the society.
“But then I became curious, and the curiosity led to me having my chance to get revenge. But in exchange, I have to do stuff for them, like recruit you. And pull off heists.”
“Is that all they’ve made you do?”
She gives a nonchalant shrug. “So far, yeah.”
I rest my arms on top of the counter, my brows pulling together. “But, if you’re doing all this stuff for them, why haven’t they helped you get your revenge on Judd yet? Unless what we did to him counted as that?”
She fiddles with a purple crystal on a display beside the register. “That was part of it, but Judd isn’t on the top of my revenge list, something I informed THS of when we struck the deal.”
“So, who’s at the top …? Will?”
She gives a short nod, her expression hardening. “That asshole is at the very top of my list, and when I get done with him, he’s going to know what it feels like to crumble apart.”
Confusion still tap dances inside me. “I get that Will’s an asshole and everything, but … what did he do to you?”
She grinds her teeth from side to side as she puts the crystal back on the display. “Will used to be my best friend.”
My eyes widen. “What? When?”
She lifts her tense shoulder in a stiff shrug. “Back when we were in grade school, all the way up until sophomore year.”
I shake my head in astonishment. “How did I not know about this?”
“We didn’t really run in the same circles,” she reminds me. “And you were pretty caught up in being Queeny’s sidekick.”
“True.” I shake my head, more at myself. “I can’t believe how self-involved I used to be.”
“Me neither.” The corners of her lips quirk.
I give her a playful dirty look, but it quickly fades. “What did he do to you exactly?”
She stares down at her hands, picking at her fingernails. “He broke my heart.”
“You liked him?”
“No … I was in love with him. Or, at least I thought I was.” A slow breath eases from her lips as she looks up at me. “And when I told him, instead of letting me down gently, he decided to show his true colors that he’d apparently been hiding during our seven-year long friendship.” She grows quiet and part of me just wants to let her be, but I also want to try to comfort her and I can’t do that unless I know what happened.
“What did he do?” I ask quietly.
She gives a stiff shrug. “Pretended that he liked me, took me to a party, made out with me so he could make a video of it, then ditched me and showed everyone the video. Thank God I didn’t have sex with him, but the video was enough to get me labeled a slut.” She shakes her head, bitterness creeping into her tone. “Honestly, I think it’s the only reason Judd ever dated me—because that video and the rumors made him think I was easy. And the fact that I wasn’t is probably part of the reason he dumped me so easily for Queeny. Not that I give a shit about that anymore. Well, about the losing him part.”
“I’m sorry,” I tell her, unsure what else to say. “I wish I could help you … I don’t know, feel better.”
A small, devious smile touches her lips. “You can, by bringing me to that party so I can fulfill part of my deal with THS.”
I nod, feeling a tad bit better about this whole THS thing. At least the part about me helping Clarissa.
“Are they the reason Will had to move in with you?” I ask curiously.
Her grin turns sneaky. “No way. He had to move in with me because his parents moved out of town and he wanted to stay here so he could graduate with his friends. And since my parents are friends with his, they offered to let him stay with us. None of that was because of THS. Although, I’m the one who suggested to my mom that she should let Will stay with us.”
I eye her over. “Yeah, but was THS the reason his parents had to move?”
She shrugs, but the sparkle in her eyes reveals that THS probably had something to do with it.
While I’m glad Clarissa is getting her revenge, worry still weighs on my shoulder.
“Don’t you ever wonder who they are? I mean, who runs THS?” I ask. “And do you ever wonder about their motives? Like this whole thing with Ava and them wanti
ng me to be friends with her.”
“Oh, I wonder who they are all the time and part of me is always keeping an eye on an opportunity to find out,” she assures me. “But whoever they are, they’re really careful about keeping their identity a secret. And honestly, I’m not that great at finding out stuff about people. If I were more tech savvy, maybe I could, but I’m not, so …” She gives a half-shrug. “For now, I’m okay with not knowing who they are and doing what they ask in exchange for their help.”
“Yeah, maybe.” I’m not so convinced, though. While they’ve offered me stuff that I want, I’ve also felt like they’re kind of blackmailing me to get me to do what they want. The situation reminds me of what happened with Queeny and how I was always left worrying about what would happen next, what she’d try to do to me if I didn’t cooperate.
Thankfully, Clove managed to hack into her social media accounts, so I could see what she was up to beforehand … Wait a second …
“You know, if Clove knew about THS, he could probably find out stuff about them.”
She promptly shakes her head. “Don’t bring him into this, Ash. If THS finds out Clove knows about them, they might target him.”
I gape at her. “And the fact that they would doesn’t scare you?”
She thrums her fingernails against the counter. “Look, I know they seem sketchy, but trust me, they follow through with their end of the deal, just as long as you cooperate.” She looks me straight in the eye. “So please, just cooperate and don’t bring Clove or Maxon into this. If for anything, to protect them.”
Nervousness is bubbling through her, which is a rare occurrence for Clarissa. It makes me question if perhaps she’s a bit frightened of THS, which makes me want to find out more about them. But she’s right. I can’t bring Clove and Maxon into this. That doesn’t mean I can’t search for answers on my own.
“I won’t,” I promise her.
Relief washes over her face. “Good.” She glances around again then takes out her phone. “I think we should probably stop talking about them for a bit.” She powers up her phone and smiles at me. “Besides, we have spells to look up, right?”
I force a smile on my face, pretending like everything is okay. But deep down, I have a bad feeling about THS, and I don’t think I’ll be able to get rid of that feeling until I find out more about this society that seems to know everything about my life.
I’m going to find out more about them somehow, I vow to myself.
I just wish I knew where to start.
About the Author
Jessica Sorensen is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author who lives in the snowy mountains of Wyoming. When she’s not writing, she spends her time reading and hanging out with her family.
Also by Jessica Sorensen
The Heartbreaker Society Series:
The Opposite of Ordinary
The Heartbreaker Society Curse
Untitled (coming soon)
Chasing Hadley Harlyton:
Chasing Hadley
Falling for Hadley
Holding onto Hadley
Untitled (coming soon)
The Raven Four Series:
The Raven Four
The Raven Oath
Untitled (coming soon)
Enchanted Chaos Series:
Enchanted Chaos
Shimmering Chaos
Chaotic Iridescence (coming soon)
The Breathing Undead Series
Breathing Lies
Shadowed Whisperers (coming 2019)
Capturing Magic:
Chasing Wishes
Chasing Magic
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Unexpected Series:
The Unexpected Complications of Revenge
Untitled (coming soon)
My Cursed Superhero Life:
Grim
Untitled (coming soon)
Tangled Realms:
Forever Violet
Forever Stardust
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Curse of the Vampire Queen:
Tempting Raven
Enchanting Raven
Alluring Raven
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Unraveling You Series:
Unraveling You
Raveling You
Awakening You
Inspiring You
Every Single Breath
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Shadow Cove Series:
What Lies in the Darkness
What Lies in the Dark
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Mystic Willow Bay Series:
The Secret Life of a Witch
Broken Magic
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Standalones:
The Forgotten Girl
Honeyton Series:
The Illusion of Annabella
Untitled
Rebels & Misfits Series:
Confessions of a Kleptomaniac
Rules of a Rebel and a Shy Girl
The Secrets We Carry
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Broken City Series:
Nameless
Forsaken
Oblivion
Forbidden (coming soon)
Guardian Academy Series:
Entranced
Entangled
Enchanted
Entice
Charmed (coming soon)
Sunnyvale Series:
The Year I Became Isabella Anders
The Year of Falling in Love
The Year of Second Chances
Untitled (coming soon)
The Coincidence Series:
The Coincidence of Callie and Kayden
The Redemption of Callie and Kayden
The Destiny of Violet and Luke
The Probability of Violet and Luke
The Certainty of Violet and Luke
The Resolution of Callie and Kayden
Seth & Greyson
The Coincidence Diaries:
The Evermore of Callie & Kayden
Untitled (coming soon)
The Secret Series:
The Prelude of Ella and Micha
The Secret of Ella and Micha
The Forever of Ella and Micha
The Temptation of Lila and Ethan
The Ever After of Ella and Micha
Lila and Ethan: Forever and Always
Ella and Micha: Infinitely and Always
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The Ella and Micha Prequel Series:
Heat
Untitled (coming soon)
The Shattered Promises Series:
Shattered Promises
Fractured Souls
Unbroken
Broken Visions
Scattered Ashes
Breaking Nova Series:
Breaking Nova
Saving Quinton
Nova & Quinton: No Regrets
Wreck Me
Ruin Me
Delilah: The Making of Red
The Heartbreaker Society Curse (The Heartbreaker Society Series Book 2) Page 10
