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He frowned a little "What’s real y going on What Riley’s up to Why he keeps bringing the most random kids to her Why it doesn’t seem to matter to Riley if it’s someone like you or if it’s someone like that idiot Kevin"

It sounded like he didn’t know Riley any better than I did

"What do you mean, someone like me?" I asked

"You’re the kind that Riley should be looking for - the sers that Raoul keeps bringing in I bet you weren’t some junkie ho when you were huo kept waiting forweird I took a deep breath and thought back

"I was close enough," I ad "Not there yet, but in a few ed "You know, I don’t re er Turns out, thirst is worst"

He laughed "Sing it, sister"

"What about you? You weren’t a troubled teen runaway like the rest of us?"

"Oh, I was troubled, al right" He stopped talking But I could sit around and wait for the answers to inappropriate questions, too I just stared at hihed The scent of his breath was nice Everybody s extra - some spice like cinnamon or cloves

"I tried to stay away frohetto, you know Go to col ege Make souy - not much different than Raoul Join or die, that was his roup I was careful Stayed alive" He stopped, closing his eyes

I wasn’t done being pushy "And?"

"My kid brother wasn’t as careful"

I was about to ask if his brother had joined or died, but the expression on his faceunnecessary I looked away, not sure how to respond I couldn’t real y understand his loss, the pain it stil clearly caused hi behind that I stil missed Was that the difference? Was that why he dwel ed on memories that the rest of us shunned?

I stil didn’t see how Riley caer of pain I wanted that part of the story, but now I felt bad for pushing hi after a un fro"

He chuckled darkly "Wasn’t as good at it then But I got the guy that got ot me The rest of his crew had me cornered in an al ey Then, suddenly, Riley was there, between uy I’d ever seen He didn’t even look at the others when they shot him Like the bul ets were flies You knohat he said to hed "That’s way better than er, kid?’"

I stil ree was al blurry because my eyes’d sucked back then He was the hottest boy I’d ever seen, tal and blond and perfect, every feature I knew his eyes lasses he never took off And his voice was so gentle, so kind I figured I knehat he would want in exchange for the iven it to him, too Not because he was so pretty to look at, but because I hadn’t eaten anything but trash for teeks It turned out he wanted soer line "You ht"

"So ere you so hungry?"

"Because I was stupid and ran away before I had a driver’s license I couldn’t get a real job, and I was a bad thief"

"What were you running from?"

I hesitated The memories were a little more clear as I focused on them, and I wasn’t sure I wanted that

"Oh, c’mon," he coaxed "I told youfrom my dad He used to knock me around a lot Probably did the same to my mom before she took off I was pretty little then - I didn’t knowI’d end up dead He told ht about that - only thing he was ever right about as far as I’o nodded in agree’s so fuzzy and dark"

"Like trying to see with mud in your eyes"

"Good way to put it," he co to see, and rubbed his eyes We laughed together again Weird

"I don’t think I’ve laughed with anybody since I hts "This is nice You’re nice Not like the others You ever try to have a conversation with one of the anything Which isbe a little higher if he surrounded himself with decent vampires? If we’re supposed to protect her, shouldn’t he be looking for the smart ones?"

"So Riley doesn’t need brains," I reasoned "He needs nu "Like chess He’s not hts and bishops"

"We’re just pawns," I realized

We stared at each other again for a long o said

"So what do we do?" I asked, using the plural autoht about retted the "we" But then he said, "What can we do e don’t knohat’s happening?"