“Yes.”

“Because of one person?”

“Because of Logan, yes.”

She paused, studying me. The disappointment and derision that I’d felt earlier seemed to fade. Her eyes swept me up and down. I raised my chin higher and felt like I was a chicken offering its neck for the slaughter. I lowered my chin but steadily gazed right back.

“Has that happened before?”

“Yes, but not by a teacher.”

Her eyes narrowed. She grew thoughtful. “You’ve had other students treat you unfairly?”

“Because of Logan and because of Mason, yes.”

The tension was gone. She dropped her attitude, and her tone softened as she said, “Well, I’m sorry to hear that.”

I—

Wait…

I frowned. “What?”

“The reason I asked to speak to you in private was because I’d finally put two and two together. You’re Garrett’s daughter, aren’t you?”

My head was swimming. “What?”

A low chuckle escaped her, and she grabbed the pile of books and papers from her podium. Gesturing to the door, she said, “Walk with me. And, no, Samantha, I’m not going to treat you unjustly because of your connection to Logan Kade or his brother.”

She reached for the door and held it open for me. I went past.

She said, falling in line beside me, “I know your biological father. I went to school with him. Garrett Brickshire, right? You were raised by David Strattan. Analise is your mother? Garrett told me last year Mason Kade was dating his biological daughter.”

I winced. I hadn’t talked about my mother in so long, but she’d been mentioned twice in the last three days. “Yeah. You know my dad?”

“I do.” She pointed down a hallway, and we turned.

Logan was waiting outside a room, sitting on the floor. He stood to his feet as he saw our approach. His eyes narrowed, taking in my face.

She nodded to him, pulling out her keys. “Mr. Kade.”

He ignored her and asked me, “You’re upset?”

“I…” I was, but it wasn’t warranted.

She looked between the two of us and nodded. “Ah, yes. Garrett did say the three of you, Mason included, were exceptionally close. I’ll give you a few minutes to reassure him that you’re fine, Sam, but come inside when you’re done.” With those words, she went inside.

Logan pulled the door shut. “What did she say to you?”

“Nothing.” I waved at him. “For real. I’m okay. I…jumped to conclusions. She knows my dad.”

“Garrett? Not David?”

“Yeah. She said she put two and two together when you came to class today.”

He looked inside, watching her through the small window in the door, and smirked. “I bet she banged him.”

“Logan!” I smacked his arm.

“I bet she did. She’s hot. Your dad’s hot. I bet they had a whole fling.” He jerked his head back to me. “Oh, that reminds me, too. Well, he’s not the reason, but Mama Malinda is. She called this morning. They’re coming for parents’ weekend this Friday.”

“What?”

“Malinda and your dad—your real one, David—are coming up. She wanted to surprise you.”

“Why are you telling me?”

“Because you hate surprises.”

I scowled. The fact that he knew they were coming up before I did pissed me off. No, that wasn’t right. I was jealous. They were my family, not his.

I sucked in my breath. They weren’t my family. They were his, too. I had no reason to be jealous.

“Sam?” Logan was watching the myriad of expressions cross my face.

I shook my head. “I have to go.”

“You okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine.” I tried to wave off his concern and pointed to the office. “Tell her I’ll talk to her later. I…have to go to the bathroom.” I needed a lie that Logan wouldn’t hammer at me about, trying to figure it out. My mouth turned down, and I grabbed at my stomach. “Diarrhea.”

“Ew, Sam. We’re family, but I don’t need to know details like that.”

“Uh-huh.” I raised my voice before turning and hurrying away. “Okay, yeah, gotta take a shit. See you later, brother dearest.”

“Okay.” He sounded confused. “Enjoy taking your shit.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

I rushed around the corner, then stopped and slowed down, but my heart didn’t. It was pounding against my chest, trying to break through it. I stopped altogether.

Logan was my family. Mason was my family. I had no right thinking they weren’t. Malinda, David, Mark—we were all family. I blinked back some tears. The sudden feeling of being lost wafted up, and I shoved it down.

I needed to go on a run.

MASON

I was waiting in my Escalade when Sam returned from her run. Logan said that she was upset earlier and lied about it, so I expected that she would go on a run. She was crossing the parking lot with her roommate clutching a book next to her. Sam was counting her pulse with her finger to her neck while gripping a water bottle in her other hand. They’d see the vehicle in a second—or Sam would. I took that moment to study the roommate.

Sam mentioned that she met the family. She mentioned a stepmother. My attention sharpened on the roommate as she glanced in my direction. Our gazes caught and held, but she didn’t mask the fear that flashed for a split second. It was there and then gone, and her face went back to being pleasant. She murmured something to Sam, who looked in my direction. Sam said something to the roommate, and the two parted ways. The roommate headed for their dorm while Sam came my way.

I sat back, my eyes trained on the roommate, until Sam opened the door and climbed inside.

“Hey.” She’d probably been running for two hours, but she wasn’t winded. She had a glow to her face.

I grinned back at her and leaned over. She met me halfway, her lips fitting perfectly to mine. I held there for one more second. She was a break from reality.

With her hand coming to rest on my cheek, she pulled back with a slight frown. She asked, her hand falling to my chin and staying there, “You okay?”

I had two objectives in mind. I went with the easiest one. “Logan said you committed the ultimate crime.”