Infinite Risk Read Free

straight up lying. “Me, I’ve been in fourteen schools in the last two years, and I’d rather hang out with someone who’s happy to have me. If that’s not you…” I acted like I was about to leave.
    Stop me, you have to stop me.
    At the last possible second, he whispered, “Wait.”
    â€œOkay.”
    â€œThis is a little weird and really sudden, you know? This … Things like that just don’t happen to me.” He didn’t even sound depressed, just … resigned, and that was worse. With every fiber in me, I wanted to hold him, but that couldn’t happen.
    I can’t let it.
    â€œPeople transferring to your school?” I kept my tone light and teasing.
    â€œNever mind.” But he clearly wasn’t thinking about those watching and judging anymore—a step in the right direction.
    â€œDo you want my number?” That was way pushier than I’d ever be, but the MPDG part of me didn’t blink at the offer.
    I could see Kian struggling to frame a reply. Like, for what, or seriously, is this a prank? Because I had been there. So I took his phone and entered my contact info. The thing seemed ancient compared to the smartphone I’d been using, and it actually flipped open. Since I’d acquired mine at a pawnshop two days ago, it looked no better than his.
    â€œNow mine?” he asked, taking my phone like this was some kind of bizarre dark ritual that could only end in blood and tears.
    â€œYep. It’ll make it easier for us to hang out.” That was pretty much my whole plan: saving Kian, which would in turn save me, my parents, and all the assholes at Blackbriar.
    â€œI really don’t get it. But okay.” Kian tapped out his digits with the precision of someone who hadn’t done this much.
    I tested the number to make sure he didn’t give me a fake one, and his phone rang. He stared at it, as if he couldn’t believe I cared enough to do that.
    I smiled. “Awesome. Everything is working as intended.”

 
    A UNIQUE SORT OF HEARTBREAK
    At the moment, “home” was a shit-hole three-story historical building that never got gentrified. In fact, Cross Point had the air of a steel boomtown that lost all hope when the mills closed. The small downtown was more than half boarded up, and the businesses hanging on were mostly liquor and convenience stores, along with a thrift and wig shop. I shivered as I passed the head models draped in other people’s hair.
    I went to the Baltimore after school because I didn’t have a choice. Using cash from Buzzkill’s go-bag, I’d rented a room in a no-tell motel that advertised hourly, daily, weekly, and, as it turned out, monthly, as long as you paid up front. I had haggled a deal that offered me shelter, but when I let myself in, it was hard not to let the soul-deep loneliness seep in, just like the brown stains on the ceiling. Looking at the faded red carpet made me think they had chosen it because it could soak up bloodstains.
    Peeling floral wallpaper, plastic furniture, and a minuscule kitchenette were only a few of the charms my temporary home had to offer. I also got bonus screaming from the thin walls and the constant threat of invasion via the rusty fire escape right outside my window. I didn’t like cooling my heels here, but I’d already been plenty forceful in the initial meeting. If I called Kian tonight, he’d think I was both crazy and desperate.
    When I’m only the last thing.
    But it was definitely a unique sort of heartbreak, being the only person in the universe who knew my story. I touched the watch on my left wrist; if I could remove it without dying, I’d already have it off, but it was firmly affixed to my skin like a parasite. If the medallion I’d taken from Raoul’s body didn’t conceal me, my only extracurricular activity would be killing immortals. So far, things had been quiet, but I knew