Elite (Empire High, #2)(45)

Mr. Pruitt wiped at the corner of his mouth. “Is that true?” he asked and turned his head to Matt. “You’d rather keep your relationship a secret?”

Matt looked up from the document. “We’re just not ready to share it yet.” Something about the way he said it made me sad. I was ready to share it.

“Are you embarrassed about dating someone from the wrong side of the tracks?” Mr. Pruitt asked.

“No. That’s not…”

“Brooklyn is a Pruitt now. And I expect you to treat her like a Pruitt. Sign the papers or you can leave.”

I didn’t even know if Mr. Pruitt realized he was standing up for me. It was all I tried to say on Friday when Matt and I broke up. I just wanted Matt to acknowledge that I wasn’t invisible at school. But none of this was his fault. I don’t know if it was Kennedy’s pep-talk about being brave, or the weed in my system, but I was suddenly tired of all the secrets. “Matt and I have to be a secret because Isabella is blackmailing him.”

“Brooklyn…” Matt started, but I kept talking.

“She’s trying to make both of our lives a living hell.”

Mr. Pruitt nodded like he wasn’t at all surprised by my words. But his eyes were focused on Matt. “And what is she blackmailing you over?”

“I can’t say,” he said. “It doesn’t just involve me.”

Mr. Pruitt clasped his hands together and sighed. “But you can confirm that my other daughter is doing what Brooklyn said? Blackmailing you? Trying to ruin both your lives?”

“She’s certainly not making my life any easier,” Matt said.

Mr. Pruitt sighed. “Interesting. Well, I will have to look into that for you as discretely as possible. I’m assuming she threatened you with my assets?”

Assets? What is he talking about?

“Yes,” Matt said. “But I wasn’t worried about that. I’ve only ever been concerned about Brooklyn’s safety.”

Mr. Pruitt sighed. “I’m sorry. I’ve had this conversation with Isabella before and I guess I need to have it again. Go ahead and sign the papers and Isabella won’t know. And I’ll make sure to look into this inconvenience without putting either of you in danger. Isabella knows better.”

“What are you talking about?” I asked. “My safety? Danger? What else did Isabella threaten you with, Matt?” I asked.

Matt didn’t respond.

“Oh, she threatened to have him killed,” Mr. Pruitt said like it was nothing. “You too I presume. But she knows the rules. She’s not allowed to escalate anything to homicide. It’s actually in that document there,” he said and nodded toward one of the stacks of papers. “I expect you to have that signed and back to me by the morning,” he said and started to eat again.

“She was going to kill me?” I asked. I remembered her friend Charlotte saying how easy it would be for them to make me disappear. She’d been freaking serious.

“No. She’s not allowed to use my assets like that. Another thing in the rules. An amendment specifically added for her.”

“So not murdering people is in the house rules? Why the hell does that have to be in the rules? And why did it have to be added because of Isabella? Has she already killed someone?”

“Mind your language at the table.” Mr. Pruitt seemed so calm as he took a sip of his wine. “Keeping family secrets is one of the rules. And I can’t discuss anything further with you until you sign the papers.”

“I’m not signing this.” I shoved the stack of papers away.

“If you want my protection, you’ll sign the rules,” he said.

“I don’t want your protection. I’ve told you, I don’t want anything from you. I…”

“It doesn’t matter what you do or don’t want from me. You need my protection.”

“Why? I was perfectly safe before.”

“But you aren’t now,” he said firmly. “So please sign the papers and don’t disobey me again.”

“I need to know why I’m not safe now. What am I not safe from?” I thought about Miller checking everything so thoroughly in Felix’s apartment. What exactly had he been looking for?

“Because you’re a Pruitt,” Matt said, like that was explanation enough.

I just stared at him. “I don’t know why that changes anything.”

Mr. Pruitt looked exhausted as he pushed his salad to the side. “Because there are a lot more people that want you dead besides Isabella now. Let’s have the main course, shall we?” He snapped his fingers.

I wasn’t sure if it was to signal the server or to show that it was the end of the conversation. But I was too stunned to speak anyway.





Chapter 17


Monday

I walked up the steps of Empire High in my new uniform. It didn’t feel like students were staring at me anymore. Whatever rumors had been circulating had died down, probably thanks to some other rich-person scandal. I made my way through the big wooden doors and down the crowded hallway.

The rest of my weekend passed in an awkward blur. Mr. Pruitt wasn’t how I’d imagined him. He was protective of me, despite the fact that he swore he only just found out about me. He treated me like I belonged. And he was trying hard to get to know me. But when he presented me with a contract bigger than any of my textbooks, it made me wary.