Page 18 of Tangled Up In You
“Your voice got all garbled, you gave way too much information, and there’s not a charitable bone in your body.” She pointed. “And you’re jiggling your leg. An obvious tell.”
He placed a steadying hand on his thigh. “Well, it’s the truth.”
Ren crossed her arms over her chest and stared down at him. She looked worked up, those giant green eyes a little wild. Something was happening in that big brain of hers, and Fitz could only wait to see what she was going to do with the Polaroid in her hand. “You know what, Just Fitz,” she said finally, jaw tightening in determination, “I don’t actually care what your reason is. I just want to know what this photo is worth to you.”
“What it’s wor—?” He broke off as awareness landed. “You’re blackmailing me?”
“Call it whatever you want. I overheard you last week. You’re going to Nashville for spring break, aren’t you?”
“Nashville?” He pretended to think. “You must have me confused with someone else.”
She huffed out a laugh. “If you want me to keep this photo a secret, you’re going to take me with you.”
Stunned, he gaped at her. He was completely unaccustomed to being on this side of a negotiation, and honestly, it sucked. “You can’t be serious.”
“Serious as a sleep attack.”
Whatever he was going to say next evaporated from his thoughts. “A sleep attack?”
“When one gets an uncontrollable urge to sleep. A common symptom of narcolepsy.”
“Why not just say ‘serious as a heart attack’?”
“Because heart attacks kill people! I don’t want to make light of that!”
“But if someone has a sleep attack while driving,” he argued, “couldn’t that also be leth—”
“Fitz! Listen to what I’m telling you! If you want to keep this a secret, you’re taking me with you. Yes or no?”
A flush of vulnerability passed over her face, and he felt a subtle shift in power. It wasn’t quite enough to get the ball back in his court; he needed to leverage everything he could. “I think you need to tell me what had you breaking into the lab at midnight on a Sunday.”
“No way,” she said, resolutely shaking her head.
“Then go ahead and show Audran the photo. I’ll just tell him I was changing things back after busting you fixing your score in here.”
She gasped, long and horrified. “You wouldn’t dare.”
This made him laugh. “Of course I would. If you’re going to take me down, I’m taking you down with me.”
“Audran wouldn’t believe it. And…” She looked around, desperately searching for something, before setting her steely gaze back on him. “Listen, mister. Everyone else here might be fooled by your charm and looks and voice, but not me.”
He leaned in, giving her his best, teasing smile. This is what he was good at. He could flirt his way out of anything. “My charm and looks and voice, huh?”
She flushed. Bingo. “What I’m saying,” she started, for once visibly flustered, “is that I’m guessing this isn’t the first time you’ve cheated, and the last thing you want is the dean looking closer into your past here.”
She was grasping at straws, but it was too close to the truth for his comfort. Fitz closed his eyes, trying to weigh the situation objectively. A handful of days with Ren jabbering his ear off in the car versus potentially having academic dishonesty on his permanent record, losing his recommendation letter, and—most importantly—ruining any chance at having his criminal record expunged. Basically, if she exposed him, he could lose everything.
There was no question. He’d come too far.
Fitz bent, cupping his forehead in his palm. He could get her to Nashville and dump her wherever she needed to be before he went to Mary’s, before his interview, before Ren learned anything else about his life. “I planned on leaving Tuesday, before spring break starts. It means I’m missing half a week of classes.”
“That’s fine,” she said, nodding. “I can make it up, no problem.”
Jaw clenched, he stared at the wall for a few deep breaths. Finally, he looked squarely at her, trying to infuse some menace into his voice: “If you’re coming with me, there will be rules.”
Her face cleared, eyes round in relief. “Anything you say.”
“Number one, I’m in charge.”