Miss Mayhem (Rebel Belle #2)(31)

Taking a deep breath, I made myself smile. “Yup!” I called brightly. “Practicing for debate club!” I gave Dad a little wave, but he jerked his head, beckoning me over.

Hiding a sigh, I jogged away from David and Bee, up the porch steps and into the kitchen.

It was cooler in there, the air-conditioning nearly making me shiver. “Harper Jane, I know you’re not in the debate club,” Dad said as he walked over to the island.

I tried very hard not to fidget as he braced his hands on the counter and fixed me with a look, his eyes as green as mine. He was wearing a polo shirt and khaki shorts, plus there was a slight sunburn on his balding head, so I guessed golf had been on the agenda earlier.

“It’s nothing,” I told him with a little toss of my head. “Typical me-and-David stuff.”

Dad frowned. “You never yelled at Ryan like that.”

“Sure I did,” I said, even though when I thought back, I realized that was a lie. “You just never heard me. And seriously, Dad, this is no big deal. Promise.”

Another lie. I was furious, nearly shaking with anger at the idea that David wanted me to offer up Bee like some kind of Get Out of Paladin Life Free card. And if there was a part of me that didn’t necessarily like giving up control, well . . . I could think about that later.

Now, I just smiled at Dad. “I’m going to head back out there now,” I said. “I promise not to bean David with my baton. But if I do, luckily I know a good lawyer.”

Dad rolled his eyes, but I could tell he was trying not to smile. “I’m a tax attorney, honey. You murder someone, that’s on you.”

I grinned back, then thought of Dr. DuPont, my shoe sticking out of his neck. What would my dad think if he knew I already had killed someone? That I was about to go through some kind of tests that might end with me killing more people? Or someone killing me?

When I went back outside, David and Bee were sitting near the fence, talking. As I approached, whatever conversation they’d been having died, and David nodded at the house.

“Is your dad going to kill me?” His thin shoulders hunched forward, one ankle crossed in front of the other.

“Not today,” I said with a cheer I didn’t feel.

David’s eyes met mine, and I could tell there was more he wanted to say. This argument wasn’t over yet, and that made me feel a weird combination of sad and frustrated. Why couldn’t he see that this was the best way to handle things?

Leaning down, David grabbed his bag. “So I’m gonna head home,” he said. “See you tomorrow, Pres?”

“Yeah,” I told him, walking over and slipping an arm around his waist before going up on tiptoe to press a quick kiss against his lips, willing him to let this go, to let us be okay.

He kissed me back, but when I pulled away, that wrinkle was still between his brows. “See you tomorrow,” I said, ignoring the wrinkle. “Don’t forget, we have an assembly bright and early, and I want to see you in the front row.”

Nodding, David smiled the littlest bit. “Got it. See you then.” He waved to Bee, then let himself out the back gate.

After he was gone, I turned back to Bee. “So you want to work on more baton twirling?”

A wide grin split Bee’s face, and overhead, the sun filtered through the leaves, leaving pretty dappled shadows on her skin. “Or we could practice something else.”

With that, she lunged at me.

Instinct took over, and I dodged, dropping to sweep my leg underneath her feet. But she was quick, and leapt away from my kick with a laugh.

And then it was on.

In a weird way, it was like we were back in cheerleading practice. Bee and I had always been a great team, and nothing had changed. Every punch she threw, I countered. Every kick, I matched. And when she caught me by my wrist, flipping me over her back, I actually laughed at the sheer fun of it. Not only did I have my best friend back, but I finally had someone who could train with me, who could let me release my abilities to their full extent.

When Bee and I were done, we were both sweating and breathing hard, but we were also smiling, so much that my cheeks ached.

We sat on the grass, and from beyond the fence, I could hear a car driving down our street. The wind rustled through the leaves overhead, and birds were singing. It could not have been a more perfect spring day, but I couldn’t help the little chill that went down my spine. It wasn’t the sense of dread and pain that came when David was in trouble—it wasn’t nearly intense enough for that—but I frowned anyway.

“Bee,” I ventured, “you know what David said . . . I’d never want you to do that for me. I wouldn’t ask you to.”

She glanced over at me, the breeze blowing wisps of blond hair into her face. “I know that, Harper. But I would. If you needed me to.”

I shifted on the grass, scratching a spot behind my knee. “Bee, I know this isn’t something you really want to talk about, but . . . when you were with Alexander, did he train you?”

I couldn’t tell if the look in Bee’s eyes was wary or embarrassed, but in either case, her gaze slid away from me and she gave a little shrug. “Sort of. There was a room there with these dummies I could kick, but no weapons.”

“Makes sense,” I muttered, then leaned closer to her. “And you never saw anyone but Alexander?”