Haley made a sweeping gesture, indicating I could proceed.
I didn’t ask the questions burning to get out. Those would only raise suspicions. Instead, I asked, “What’s with the name?”
She pointed at the school logo and mascot painted on the wall behind me, a red knight. “We rule the school. Royalty holds court.”
“And the playing cards?”
Haley produced some playing cards, fanning them out in her hand. “Inside joke. It started with the Queen of Hearts. Who else would lead a red court? All our jobs were coded to follow suit. You’ll learn them, but a Straight is something to do with fixing grades, a Queen of Clubs is a breakup assignment, a Joker is for a takedown. When you get playing cards in your locker, it’s the beginning of something. Since you’re the newbie, I handle all the cards and communication. If you stick with this next year, it will be you.”
It seemed so easy—this tampering with people’s lives and handing students grades they hadn’t earned. Somehow, it seemed to devalue what others had worked so hard to achieve. Not that any favor came for free; the payment was the equalizer. In the end, either you put in the time to earn what you wanted, or you paid for it. And payment was never cheap.
The Joker caught my eye, reminding me of the weight of a single card. That Joker may have already ruined a life, like another card hurt April.
I asked the first question that came to mind, needing a moment to recover my composure. “What’s your favorite color?”
Haley’s smirk was amused, like she could tell how unsettled I was but decided to play along. “Black, like my cold heart and the pit I’ll throw you in if you betray us.”
My vision went fuzzy around the edges. Did she know that was my plan?
She rolled her eyes. “That was a joke. But, from what I heard, the last girl to betray us had to change her name and move to Canada after she was caught selling her mom’s Xanax at school. That was over a decade ago.”
I gave a short cough to clear the dread clotting my throat. I didn’t particularly want to relive any more of the Red Court’s greatest hits. The Red Court had to know that my sister’s injury was their doing, but as far as anyone else knew, my family had bought the story that it was just a terrible accident. Could Haley suspect that I was one of the only ones who knew anything more than the public story?
“Why me?”
“You’re only a sophomore, but I picked you because you’ve managed to make a name for yourself. You’re a good student, you’re an athlete, and you’re on the debate team. That tells me you’re a hard worker, you’re competitive, and you’re driven. That’s all I needed to decide you have potential.”
“You picked me?” This girl wouldn’t have stumbled across me in the course of a day, heck, a week even. How had she pegged me as a good prospect without ever so much as speaking to me?
Haley gave me a knowing smile. “We have our ways of selecting ambitious underclassmen, and you hold influence in some areas we needed filled. After some observation, we could tell you might be the kind of person that would...enjoy the work we do.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” It seemed my defensive streak wanted to come out to play today.
“Don’t act innocent now. There are certain personality markers that we look for, and you had them all.”
For someone deliberately trying to join a secret, potentially evil, mafia-like group, I didn’t realize I was broadcasting such a ruthless vibe.
I gave my brain a mental shake, hoping it would come up with a different response like a Magic 8 Ball. “I heard the Red Court was a no-boys-allowed kind of club. Is that true?”
If this rumor was accurate, it would narrow down the pool of potential members by half.
“It is.” Haley regarded me with a cool gaze.
It was probably time to wrap up this Q and A session before any seeds of doubt sprouted into genuine suspicion.
“Is there anything else I should know?”
“One of the best parts is that you’d be under the protection of the Red Court. We’ll never move against you.” She paused as if letting that sink in. What she didn’t know was that I wasn’t the one who’d need protection.
“So, what do you think?”
“There was never a moment I was going to say no.” This was the most honest statement I’d made all day. I was in this for as long as it took to take the Red Court down.
“Good.” A chime sounded from Haley’s bag, and she pulled out a phone to silence it. “We better get moving.”
“Moving where?”
“We, September Marie Williams, have a job to do.”
CHAPTER 4
MY STOMACH TIGHTENED with doubt. Could I do this? I knew I agreed to join, but saying you’ll plan to ruin someone’s life and then carrying it out were not the same thing.
Haley strode out of the theater room without looking back at me. Apparently, blindly following was expected. Noted.
“Think of this as your initiation. You pass, and you’re in. You fail, and we’ll part ways and never speak of this again.” She whirled back toward me, a tornado of blond curls. “And I do mean that literally. We’ll never speak of this again. Not that you’ll be talking to anyone else about this even if you do get in.” Haley held her index finger up to her lips, face impassive. It was the expression of someone who’d destroy me without a second thought.
I bobbed my head at the implied threat. Art student or not, she had a streak of iron at her core.
She kept walking, purpose in her steps, and marched up the stairs. Heller’s main halls were built off a quadrangle with the library situated in the middle and the performing arts department in the basement. Haley shot out into the quadrangle and toward the gym on the opposite side of the school.
“You have a small but important role to play in another team’s assignment. You’re going to be a damsel.”
“In distress?” I asked, struggling to keep up with Haley’s long stride. She had to be several inches over my five foot two and that was without the killer heeled boots she was rocking.
“A sweet damsel in distress. With those big doe eyes of yours, it should be easy. When we have an assignment, we use other members of the Red Court as part of our plans to give the ones organizing it some distance and keep suspicion of our involvement down. In this case, we’re breaking up Chase Merriman and his girlfriend. You know him?” She dug around in the canvas tote bag she used in place of a backpack as she spoke.
Ugh. Of course I knew Chase. He was the kind of guy who everyone knew. Though not particularly athletic, he had friends on every sports team. His popularity transcended cliques, and he was a perennial favorite of every teacher. At last year’s academic awards ceremony, he was called on stage so often he took over MC duties. He was just that guy. And my rival for top of our class.
“Who doesn’t?” For some reason, revealing the depth of my unspoken rivalry with Chase seemed too personal. “I don’t remember who he’s dating right now. Who’s his girlfriend and who asked for them to be broken up?”
“Don’t know, don’t care. This is for another team. We’re just helping carry out their plan. From the sound of things, the girlfriend has some insecurities dating Chase. We just need to give her a little push to call things off.”
That sounded awful. My stomach gave another uneasy pull. Keep it together, Ember. You knew you’d be breaking a few eggs. Revenge doesn’t come cheap.
We’d reached the gymnasium and Haley ducked behind a pillar, motioning for me to join her. “So, you need to quickly devise a way for Chase to put his arm around you. I suggest fake crying, something to give you an excuse for him to hold you and for you to bury your face in his shoulder. I’ll be taking a picture.” She waved a cell phone in front of me. “But I don’t want to see your face.”
She turned away to better position herself behind the pillar. That cou
ldn’t be the extent of her direction.
“Umm...” I hesitated. “Chase and I don’t exactly get along.” We didn’t do anything to not get along, but there was an understood animosity between us that I appreciated. I knew where I stood with Chase.
Haley turned back to face me. “Like I said, Ember. This is your initiation. I think I’m right about you and your potential, but you need to prove that you can think on your feet.” She looked down at an incoming text on her phone. “Chase is going to be coming out of the gym in about ten seconds, so think of something quickly.”
With that, she gave me a little shove, a stiff nod, and a grim smile. Must have been her idea of reassuring behavior. But considering she was a seasoned member of the Red Court, she probably had all the same personality quirks (read: character flaws) I did.
A stream of students was flowing out of the gym to the locker rooms. I walked slowly toward them, pretending to be looking in my bag while covertly surveying the mass of bodies for Chase. He was handsome, I’d give him that much, with sandy hair and a strong jawline. His stock photo cuteness had always irked me, and it only bothered me more that I cared at all.
Where was he? Had I missed him? A moment of panic seized me along with the fear that all my work had been for nothing when I saw him breeze out of the gym wearing his Heller High Athletic Department tee and sweatpants.
In one terrified moment, I decided to collapse to the ground and start sniffling, praying that he would stop. My face was in my hands and I squeezed my eyes shut, willing a couple of tears out. Risking a peek through my fingers, I saw him glance in my direction and then around the hall, which had emptied of everyone but us.
He cleared his throat, clearly straining against the impulse to leave me there or kick me while I was down. “Hey, um, what’s wrong with you?”
“I—” I faltered. I hadn’t thought this far. “I’m ok. I just had a really tough conversation with my sister.” April was never far from my thoughts, and she was the first person who popped into my mind.
“Oh,” he said. For a second, I thought he would leave it at that, but he continued, “Is she ok?” The words were forced through stiff lips. This wasn’t going well. He looked down the hall again, trying to find an escape.
“She’s a wheelchair user, and has been for a while, but she quit physical therapy.” April was a wheelchair user, but she was a star at physical therapy. I didn’t feel right lying about her. My sister was the one who was always on my side when I argued with my parents. The one who used to sneak me dessert when I didn’t finish my dinner. She was my soft center that I protected with a fence. An electric fence. Topped with barbed wire. I’d even considered adding a moat with crocodiles around it for good measure.
Something shifted in Chase’s expression, and his mouth tightened to a thin line. My lie stripped him of his normal bravado.
“My older brother was in a car wreck last year. He went through something similar. Not nearly as serious, but he tried to quit PT, too. Said it was too hard.” His sincerity was astounding. What universe was I in that Chase was nice to me? When we had to recite Shakespeare soliloquies in English last year, he was the only one who didn’t clap for me. We clapped for everyone; it was required.
I sniffled loudly for effect. “What did you do?”
He paused for a beat and flicked his eyes to mine before looking away again. “I was getting my license at the time, so I offered to drive him. When he said he wouldn’t go, I told him I would only practice driving with him. He knew how badly I wanted to drive, so he agreed. Twice a week, I drove him to PT and back.” A wide smile stretched across his face, and his eyes unfocused like he was seeing into a memory woven by his words. “He was with me when I passed my driver’s test last week.”
My own grin crept onto my face until I was smiling as broadly as Chase. His plan was hopeful, and just a bit devious. I could appreciate both aspects equally. Also, my own birthday was two weeks ago. I was a week older than him and that made me feel warm, almost happy.
I thought back to my lie and my smile faded to a frown. “I already have my license,” I murmured.
Chase’s attention snapped back to me and a blush crept up his neck. “I...I wasn’t suggesting you do the same thing or anything like that. I don’t know anything about your sister. It’s just... It’s just that sometimes you have to pull people outside of themselves. Get a different look at things, you know?”
“Thanks,” I said.
Chase nodded and began to walk away. I suddenly remembered that our exchange was supposed to result in a staged photo and scrambled to think of something else to say.
“Chase!”
“Yeah?” He had the barest hint of a smile. I’d never said his name before, only cursed it silently.
“Did he get better? Your brother?” I stalled for just a bit more time.
My hand went absently to fiddle with the ends of my long brown hair, pulled into a no-frills ponytail. One nervous tell I hadn’t been able to stifle.
His smile turned fond. “He did. He’s going to school to be a physical therapist, actually.”
He turned to go again, so I stood up suddenly, gave a yelp of pain, and reached down to my ankle.
Alarmed, Chase jogged back and reached out to steady me at the waist. I put some weight on my faux-injured ankle and let it buckle. Chase’s grip tightened and I pulled him close to me for the briefest second before righting myself and letting go. He smelled warm and spicy, better than a boy should smell after gym.
“It must have gone numb from sitting on it wrong. Please go. I’m sure you’re already running late for something.”
He gave the slightest suggestion of a shrug. “I don’t have anything that won’t keep for another minute. Are you sure you’re ok? I’d hate to leave you here with a hurt ankle. You’ll be trampled when the bell rings.” Was that a joke? Were we friends now?
As if on cue, the bell rang, signaling the end of the day. I put my foot down again and made a show of testing my ankle’s strength.
“It’s fine, really. Go.” Suddenly, I couldn’t bear to be next to him. Even though he’d just finished gym, I was the one who needed a shower.
“Alright, Ember. I hope you and your sister work it out.”
We turned at the same time to head in opposite directions. It was only after I peeked over my shoulder to see him ducking into the boys’ locker room that I realized he’d said my name. It gave me a small shiver of delight.
A hand shot out from behind a pillar and jerked me back. I forgot Haley was stationed there, so I quickly joined her behind the pillar and glanced at her face. She looked triumphant and held up a cell phone with a picture of Chase and me. He had both hands on my waist and my face was tucked neatly into his neck. It could have been innocent, but what really sold the whole thing was his expression. He had this relaxed, confident look on his face that said there was nowhere else he’d rather be. It was perfect.
“Ember!” Haley gave me a small but rough shove. “You nailed it. I couldn’t hear what you said, though. How did you get him to do it?”
Something told me not to divulge the details of our conversation to Haley. I didn’t think telling her about my sister would do me any favors in the long run. April said she never told anyone who caused her accident, that as far as the Red Court and the rest of the school knew, she believed it was just bad luck. My attitude with Haley had to be beyond reproach so she never doubted my intentions about joining. Everything depended on it.
“I just told him some sob story.” Keep it close to the truth. “He ate it up, too. Seems like he’s not the worst guy after all.”
Haley waved a hand dismissively in my direction while she tapped out a text one-handed, sending the incriminating photo off to whoever was running this assignment.
“Now what?” I needed more details about the process.
“Now nothing. Ou
r part is done. That’s all we had to do. The team running point on this one will make sure the photo makes it back to Chase’s girlfriend. From there, it should be smooth sailing.”
For everyone but Chase, I thought.
“This is for you.” Haley handed me a cell phone. It was a compact smartphone, but certainly nothing to write home about.
“Er...thanks?”
“It’s your burner. There should be zero Red Court communication on your other phone. There’s no such thing as privacy on a phone you don’t pay for. This one has my number in it. It’s how you and I will stay in touch.”
“Oh!” I exclaimed, understanding her meaning.
I opened the contacts tab and saw a phone number, Haley’s, and another contact labeled “Fire Alarm.”
“What’s this ‘fire alarm’?”
“If you ever get in trouble, get caught, or find yourself cornered by someone who thinks they know what’s going on, text that number with your location. It’s our fail-safe, but you only get to use it once and only when there is no other option. There is no pseudo-emergency. If you pull the fire alarm, help will come, but you better need it.”
Haley made the whole thing seem so dire. I could only bob my head in response and whisper, “Got it.” And then because I couldn’t stop myself, I asked, “What happens if you pull it twice?”
“Whatever happens, you face alone. We don’t know you and you don’t know us. Better get moving.” Haley gave me another shove, this time into the growing mass of students in the hallway. “And, Ember,” she said, “welcome to the Red Court.”
CHAPTER 5
I RACED HOME in my Jetta, which was certainly not my MO for driving. My license was only a couple of weeks old, and I was a speed-limit-is-my-friend kind of girl on any other day, but today was special. All the pent-up adrenaline from receiving my playing card, to meeting Haley, to being part of my first assignment, coursed through my veins. The Red Court was exhilarating. It was hard to admit, even to myself, but I buzzed with genuine excitement. I was a part of something now that made my pulse race like no track meet or debate tournament could. These were high-stakes games, and I wanted all in.
These Vengeful Hearts Page 3