Page 74 of Mr. Match

“Leave town?” I ask.

“I can’t tell them not to come, right? They wouldn’t even listen.”

“But you want to actually leave town? Is there something you’re not telling me about them, West? Because maybe Tori is dramatic, but she’s not the one talking about running away.”

He’s quiet for a long time. Almost a minute. And then he says, “They asked me about the gold, Oliver.”

“That fucking treasure that no one can touch without going to jail for piracy? What did they say?”

“They asked me if I still knew where it was. But that’s not the part worries me. Because they asked me that question last week.”

I narrow my eyes as I think about this. “What’d you say?”

He looks at me with even more fear in his eyes. “I never told them there was more, Oliver. I told them the same thing I told Liam. That I gave him what I had. That was the end of it.”

“So why were they asking?”

He swallows hard. “That’s what I’d like to know.”

“You think they’re after that gold? Why? They have more money than God. They don’t need it.”

“Neither does Liam. And he still wants it.”

We stand there for a little while. Mulling all this information over in our heads. And then I say, “Tell me everything you know about that treasure.”

So he does. He tells everything again. Same story though. Maybe a few more details about what it looked like. But that’s it.

“What are you doing for lunch today?” I ask, when he’s done talking.

“Nothing, I guess. Tori has plans. I was just gonna hang out with you today.”

“Well, how about we crash that little lunch party? I’ve got some questions for my sister and I think they need answering sooner rather than later.”

Chapter Thirty-Two - KATYA

I walk slowly up the stairs after I hang up with Mariel. My stomach is in knots and I feel sick. Like I want to throw up. I push the stairwell door open on my floor and come face to face with my sister.

“Shit, you scared me!” I say, my heart beating so fast it might explode out of my chest.

“Where did you just come from?” Lily asks, a very perturbed look on her face.

“Sorry,” I say. “I took the stairs.”

“Where were you last night? I’ve left seven messages this morning but obviously you never came home, did you?”

I narrow my eyes at her. “I don’t owe you an explanation, Lily. I’m a grown-up.”

“So am I,” she sneers.

I laugh at her teenage moment. “Is this what I’ve been missing the past four years? Your entitled attitude? And technically you’re not a legal grown-up until tomorrow.”

“I’ve been on my own since I was thirteen, just as much as you, Katya. So don’t tell me what I am.”

“You,” I say, my anger building, “were under twenty-four-seven care of one of the most elite boarding schools in the country. You were hardly on your own.”

“How would you know what went on while I was here in school? You never once came for a visit.”

“And you know the reason why,” I growl back. The nerve of her. I did everything for her. I made her life fucking luxurious compared to what I had. “And fuck you for saying that. Really. Just fuck you.”