The Vampire Prince graduates High School (Book 3)

Inside Job

True to Alexander's words, we stopped at a burger place and grabbed some food. The guards secured the area before allowing us to order food and eat at the picnic tables. They tried to rent the whole place, but we didn't let them.

"Did my mom say anything rude to you?" Alexander asked.

I munched on my fries a bit, thinking. Lady Hargrave had been rude, but she knew how to word it in a way where it was only speculation.

"I think she blames me for you getting hurt," I told him. "Which is true. It was my fault."

"Rin," he began.

"I know you don't think so," I quickly said. "If it hadn't been for me, you wouldn't have gotten shot."

"Knowing these Extremists, they would have tried to shoot me regardless of if you were there or not. I don't want to hear you blame yourself anymore, alright?"

I shoved more fries in my mouth and nodded. As we ate, I thought back to Lady Hargrave. It was hard to figure out what she was thinking. She sounded supportive, but at the same time, she didn't. She'd ordered outfits for us and shared dirty secrets, but that didn't mean she was on our side. She'd said she wouldn't oppose us, but someone else could with her backing.

"Anything else?" Alexander asked.

This time, I took a bite out of my burger. I got the feeling that he was fishing for something.

"Nothing else," I said. "But - "

"What?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. It feels like she wasn't surprised you were . . . you know, a human. Like she only said what she said to get a reaction. Maybe it's just me. I don't know."

Alexander finished the rest of his burger. "She had a lot of informants," he said. "It would be strange if she didn't know before we got there."

"Plus, she seemed well versed in what was happening to everyone, too."

"That she did."

I realized how that sounded. "Not that I'm trying to be rude," I quickly said.

"I know how you meant it. Besides, I asked, didn't I?"

"What about you?" I asked, changing the subject. "Did she say anything rude to you?"

He grimaced. "I'm fine," he said. "My mother knows how to use her tricks well. It's one of the reasons why I haven't spoken to her."

I put my burger down. "Did I force you to talk to her when you didn't want to?"

"What? No. Rin, it's not like that. I -" he trailed off.

"I'm so sorry," I said. Guilt twisted my stomach. "I didn't realize you cut ties with her. Sorry."

"I should have told you about the relationship with my mother. We tend to disagree on a lot of things now." He shrugged. "I didn't want my relationship with her to get in the way of our relationship. I needed to know where she stood. Now, I know."

"Sorry," I repeated.

He smiled and gave me the rest of his fries. "Here," he said. "Eat up, and don't worry about it."

Sadly, I munched on the fries. Ignorance wasn't an excuse. I'll do better, I told myself. I need to.

It was late evening when Alexander dropped me off at my house. He walked me to the door where Dad waited.

"Good evening, sir," Alexander said.

Dad gave a curt nod before ushering me inside. Mom pulled me into the living room as soon as I walked in. She sat me down on the couch.