The Peer and the Puppet (When Rivals Play, #1) (31)

“The peers and peeresses.” His blank stare held, so I added, “The other rich assholes.”

Understanding dawned and he smiled. “Peer…” His finger caressed his cleft chin. “Is that my pet name when you’re whispering about me with Tyra Bradley?”

I snorted at the same time my face heated. He’s obviously been paying attention. “What makes you think we’ve been talking about you?”

His eyebrow perked as if the answer was obvious, and then he turned his head toward the front of the class.

I’d been dismissed.

I straightened in my seat.

Fuck him and what he thinks.

But what if he thinks I have a crush on him like every other girl in this school?

Before I could consider my dignity, I was facing him again. “Just so you know,” I whispered heatedly, “I was talking about you, but it wasn’t about what you think. It will never be what you think. Got it?”

“What do I think?” he retorted while focusing on his syllabus. I hated how easy it was for him to ignore me.

“Coy doesn’t suit you.”

A whisper of a smile graced his lips. “Lying doesn’t suit you.”





FOUR ARCHER WAS A PUZZLE piece I couldn’t fit into place. She was equally infuriating and fascinating, and I could never let her know. It would give her the power I enjoyed dangling just out of her reach.

Sometimes, I wondered if she was getting to me instead of the other way around. All I could think about was her. A plain Jane with no money and no class had proved the most tempting of all. Go fucking figure.

If I were truly honest, I’d say it was only natural that I was drawn to Four. She was the trouble I’d once craved.

I slid my shades into place the minute I stepped into the sunny September afternoon. The parking lot was full, and no one seemed to be in a rush to get home since it was the first day. Most of us spend our summers out of town or abroad, so everyone was busy getting reacquainted. I bypassed the cliques and headed straight for my car that was a little too fucking crowded. Barbette stood next to the driver’s door with her arms crossed, pretending to ignore Jamie tonguing down some chick against the passenger door. Why the hell would she stick around?

Our little triangle irritated the shit out of me, but Barbette needed the illusion. It was complicated as hell, and one day, Jamie might forgive us.

But if he didn’t…fuck it.

I did what I had to do for my friend.

“Take your bullshit somewhere else,” I hissed in my cousin’s ear.

He flipped me off and continued to dry-hump the shit out of his playmate for all to see. I guess he was still pissed about earlier, but he fucking deserved it. I rounded the hood and swore. Barbette was on the verge of tears. She noticed me, and just like that, her mask was in place.

I took her in my arms and kissed her cheek because it was expected. One peek over Barbette’s shoulder revealed Jamie looking two seconds from ripping my head off. He’d forgotten all about the girl he was practically fucking. I put some distance between us but kept my hands on her slender hips to keep up appearances. “You okay?”

“Can you come over for dinner tomorrow tonight?” She’d completely blown off my concern. “My parents are wondering why you haven’t been around.”

I’d rather swallow nails than have dinner with her creepy fucking parents, but I made a vow to her four years ago. “I’ll be there.”

Relief flooded her eyes. “Thank you.”

I wanted to ask her if anything happened, but Barbette was a vault. The only people who could crack her perfect exterior were her parents…and my douchebag cousin.

For a moment, I searched for the girl she’d once been—for Bee. When only Barbette stared back at me, I kissed her forehead and sent her on her way. Across the parking lot, Jamie was hopping in a car with the girl he’d been making out with, and together, they sped away. The rest of the school followed suit, and minutes later, I was alone in the empty parking.

Where the fuck is she?

Thinking she’d caught a ride with her friend, I started to text the number my father made me program. I didn’t feel like getting shit from him if I left her ass stranded here. Four didn’t know that when my father warned me of her return, he also threatened to send us both away if there was a repeat of last year. Under no circumstances could I allow that to happen. Four would learn her place even if I had to teach her myself.

I was still typing out a text when I heard a familiar chime. My mind had already shifted gears by the time I pulled the burner phone from the locked glove compartment.

“This is Boyd.”

If someone were to search ‘Ever McNamara,’ they’d find one person with that name—one of Conall McNamara’s four heirs.

So when I was initiated, I became Daniel Boyd.

To the world, I was no one.

But to Exiled, I’d be so much more.

“You’ve been MIA,” Shane, Exiled’s head enforcer, greeted. “That makes me nervous, Danny Boy.”

“I had personal shit to deal with.” It was a struggle to keep my voice level when I despised the man.

You’re no better than him. Not anymore.

“Don’t give a shit about your personal life,” he barked. “You pull this shit again, and I’ll find ways to keep you motivated. Are we clear?”