“At least trashy girls know how to hit.” She drew back a fist to hit him again.

Nick got hold of her. “Jesus, Quinn. Stop it.”

“That’s right,” said Tyler, his voice a little nasal. “I forgot you Merrick douche bags like to let your girls fight for you.”

“Get the hell out of here,” said Nick. He had a death grip on her arms, his hands full of tension. The air was suddenly ice cold.

“Let me go,” she said. “I want to make sure he can’t pass on his genes.”

“No worries, blondie. Seeing you is enough to turn me off forever.”

“Right back atcha, dickhead,” Quinn snapped.

Then Tyler stepped toward her, drawing back a fist. She sucked back into Nick.

But Tyler stopped there. He smirked. “Yeah, all you girls think you’re so tough, but then you can’t take—”

His words cut short like he ran out of breath. No puffs of steam escaped from his mouth, though hers and Nick’s were going a mile a minute. Tyler shook his head fiercely, and then put a hand to his throat.

His eyes started to bug out, and he dropped to a knee.

Had he inhaled a fly? Was he choking? What was happening?

“Get out of here, Tyler.” Nick’s voice was quiet, low and full of intensity. “No deal, nothing to stop me. Understand?”

Quinn had no idea what that meant, but Tyler was on his knees, suffocating on nothing. Nick’s hands were gripping her arms so tightly she could feel faint tremors, belying the strength in his voice.

Was Nick afraid of this guy?

She kicked Tyler. “Yeah, ass**le. Get out of here.”

He nodded hard, his hand pulling at his throat now.

And then he was gasping, coughing, his hands on the pavement.

“Come on,” said Nick, letting her go but taking her hand to drag her with him. Probably making sure she didn’t lay into Tyler again.

“Don’t be stupid,” Tyler choked from behind them. “I only came here to talk.”

“Sure you did.” Nick dragged her up the steps to the front door, then jammed his key in the lock.

“What really happened at the carnival last week?” Tyler yelled. “I heard the news about pentagrams. Another Guide came here, didn’t he?”

Nick ignored him and hauled her through the door, then slammed it, throwing the deadbolt for good measure.

Then he put his head against the door and unclenched his fists.

Quinn stared at him. Their breath still fogged in the air as if the heat in the house wasn’t working. Gooseflesh had sprung up along her forearms, and she shivered. “You want to tell me what just happened there?”

“Yeah.” Nick turned his head to look at her. “That’s the rest of my secret.”

CHAPTER 2

Quinn sat backward on Nick’s desk chair and watched him fidget. He was sitting on the end of his bed, twisting his ball cap between his hands. A sudden noise would probably send him sky high.

No one else saw this side of Nicholas Merrick. She’d always thought he had his life perfectly in order, with a college plan and a handle on everything. When they’d first started dating, she’d thought she’d finally found the perfect boy to latch on to.

Then she’d caught him kissing Adam, and there went that.

“I’m still waiting for your secret,” she whispered mockingly.

His eyes flicked up to meet hers. “I know.” He paused, running a hand through his hair. “I’ve never told anyone, and I’m not sure where to start.”

“Wait. Don’t tell me. You’re g*y.”

He flung the hat at her. Quinn uncurled it and pulled it on her head backward. “Why don’t you tell me about the idiot in your driveway. His name is Tyler?”

“Tyler Morgan.” He hesitated. “His parents hated my parents. So much that Tyler grew up hating us. He used to go to school with Michael, but he’s a few years younger.” Another pause. “Tyler used to have a sister named Emily. She was in Michael’s class. She died in the old rock quarry south of Severna Park. There was a rock slide and she drowned.”

“When?”

“Five years ago. I don’t know a lot of the details, but Tyler thinks Michael had something to do with it.”

Quinn sat up straight. “Holy shit. Like . . . how? Like he built a bomb or something?”

Nick shook his head quickly. “No—nothing like that.

Michael has . . . he has . . . we have this affinity for the—” He cut himself off and rolled his eyes. “Jesus, this is impossible.

Everything sounds ridiculous, and I want you to believe me.”

She studied him, trying to puzzle this out for herself.

She was coming up with nothing.

Abruptly Nick stood and seized her by the hand. “Come on.

We need to go outside. This will work better with show-and-tell.”

He trudged through the woods, dragging her behind him. She could feel the tension in his grip. Whatever his secret was, it had him keyed up. The sun had already begun to dip behind the horizon, letting a chill seep into the air.

“Keep walking,” he said. “I need some distance from the neighborhood.”

“Your secret is in the woods?” said Quinn, shivering. “Dude, if you turn into a werewolf, I am outta here.”

He smiled, then stopped and turned to face her. “I’m not a werewolf.”

“Vampire? Alien?” She snapped her fingers. “Harry Potter.