Colt sat in one of the chairs, Karina on his lap. He studied me for a moment before he said, “Good to see you’re safe.”
“Thanks,” I said, slightly confused. Since when did Colt care about my well-being? Or was he just saying that because he knew how upset Trent had been?
Trent brought my hand to his mouth and kissed my knuckles, his gaze still mildly frantic. I hated that I’d made him worry so much. I’d make it up to him somehow, but right now, there was something else going on that needed my attention.
“Well?” I said to Whitney. “Spit it out.”
She paced in front of the couch. “I overheard Isach’s thoughts today.”
“Overheard?” I said around a disbelieving laugh.
Whitney stopped and gave me an annoyed look before she resumed pacing. “Normally, he has me blocked, but today he let me in. It was almost like he wanted me to know something.”
“Okay,” Abby said, sitting on the edge of the couch. “So, what did you hear?”
“He talked to his father last night.”
I stiffened. Isach wasn’t supposed to talk to Rector; he was supposed to talk to Felicity. That was the plan. Why hadn’t he followed our plan? Trent rubbed his thumb across my knuckles, and the soft touch calmed some of my nerves.
“Rector said he knew Felicity was back in Keene Valley, that he’d sent her on a mission to earn back his trust,” Whitney said. “But there was nothing in Isach’s thoughts about what that mission was.”
Abby dropped her head and covered her face with her hands, but she remained silent. I couldn’t imagine what she must be thinking.
“And there was nothing about Colt or Karina, so either Rector doesn’t know anything about you two, or Felicity really isn’t here because of Dante,” Whitney said, giving Colt an encouraging smile.
“So, that’s it?” I asked, staring up at Whitney. “That’s not helpful. At all.”
“I know.” She sighed. “Like I said, I got the feeling he wanted me to know something, but I can’t figure out what. He must still be guarding some of his thoughts.”
Everyone had been acting weird today, but all of this stuff with Isach was too much. Why would he talk to his father? Why would he break up with Abby with almost no explanation? What mission was Felicity on, and why didn’t Isach let Whitney know? Why grant her access to only part of his thoughts? And how did Dante figure into all of this?
Frustration erupted in my chest, and I stood abruptly. “Seriously, what is going on with everyone today?” I smoothed my hands over my hair and blew out a breath. “Are we all under some sort of spell or something? I mean, you barely spoke to me this morning.” I pointed at Trent. “And you got mad at me because I didn’t agree with you.” I glared at Jax. “You seem to be genuinely concerned for my safety all of sudden when all you’ve done since you got here was make snide comments about what’s been going on.” I waved my hand dismissively in Colt’s direction. “And you”—I whipped around on Whitney—”you basically told me I was being inconsiderate of Jax’s feelings.”
“You what?” Trent said as he slowly stood.
I put my hand flat on Trent’s chest. “Don’t, okay? We’ll talk about it later.”
Trent scowled, but he didn’t say anything else to Whitney. I breathed a sigh of relief.
“That right there is why I make the comments I do,” Colt said coolly. “You got both of my brothers wrapped so tightly around your finger they can’t go more than two seconds without wanting to tear each other apart.”
I curled my hands into fists. Rage boiled through my veins, my fury so hot and thick I couldn’t form a coherent thought.
“Colton,” Trent said, his voice tight.
“Am I wrong?” Colt asked. He nudged Karina, who quickly climbed off his lap and moved to stand near Whitney. He stood and leveled his stare on me. “Tell me I’m wrong, Chloe. Tell me you’re not stringing Jax along.”
“She’s not,” Jax said, and my eyebrows shot up. Of all the people who I expected to step in and say something, he wasn’t on my list. “Whatever feelings I still have for Chloe are on me. She’s done nothing to lead me on.”
“Watch yourself, Colt. I mean it,” Trent warned.
“Whatever.” Colt threw his hands in the air, then turned on his heel and stormed out of the room.
I stared after him, dumbfounded. Why would he think I was leading Jax on? I hadn’t done or said anything to give him that impression. And why had he gone from genuine concern to baseless accusations in the blink of an eye?
“Well, now that he’s gotten that out of his system…” Whitney said. “Can we get back to what’s really important here?” She nodded at me.
“As I was saying, every one of you have been acting strange,” I said. “And let’s not forget Isach’s behavior today.”
“And yours,” Jax added. “Taking off like you did. Not telling anyone. Last time you did that, we ended up Ivy’s prisoners.”
“Fine,” I said through clenched teeth. “You all have to admit today’s been weird, right? I mean, weirder than normal.”
No one said anything, not even a nod of acknowledgement. They may not think their behavior was weird, but I did, and I wasn’t going to pretend everything was fine.
“I suppose it’s possible the Zoya did something to us,” Trent said after a moment. “But I haven’t seen any in school. Have you?” He glanced at Jax, who shook his head.
“Felicity was there Friday, though. Maybe she did something?” I suggested.
Trent rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t think so. The Zoya obviously don’t like us, and while they do like to play mind games, they’ve never messed with our heads like this before. And why Whitney? She’s not a Halstead.”
I flopped down on the couch next to Abby. I had no answers, and the one person who might be able
