“You know that was Alan Hulster’s house. He goes to school here.”

“So?”

“So we could have been caught.”

Hunter scoffed. “Please. You don’t give a crap about getting caught.”

“I give a crap about killing people.”

Hunter frowned. “You didn’t start that fire.”

Gabriel didn’t say anything, just tossed the ball at the basket again. It swished through.

Hunter caught it and passed it back. “They were going to leave that girl in there. If she had died, it still wouldn’t have been your fault.”

“Keep your goddamn voice down.” Gabriel cast a glance at the doors, but they were still alone.

“You saved her life! I can’t believe you ”

Gabriel got in his face and hit him in the chest with the ball.

“Leave it.”

Hunter stared at him, and for half a second, Gabriel wondered if he was going to back down, the way Nick or Chris would.

Or if he was going to fight back, the way he had behind the mall.

But then Hunter smiled and took the ball. “You’re afraid.”

“Of you?” Gabriel raised his eyebrows. “Fat chance, you ”

“No.” Hunter backed off, dribbling the ball as he went. “Of yourself. You pick a fight every time someone might figure you out.” He threw the ball at the basket from some distance down the court a solid three-pointer. It went right in. “You think I don’t wonder if I could have saved my dad and my uncle, if I’d been stronger?“

Gabriel didn’t look at him. That vise grip had his chest again, but it was an entirely different feeling from math class. “You didn’t kill them, Hunter.”

“We can talk blame all day. What difference does it make?”

It shouldn’t make a difference. But it did.

Hunter threw another basket. “My dad used to say, ‘If you can’t fix what you did wrong, at least try to make something else right.’”

He was talking about house fires.

But Gabriel thought of Layne.

He fished his cell phone out of his pocket to check the time.

JV basketball practice would still be going on, so she was probably in the school somewhere.

“Got a date?” said Hunter.

“Maybe.” He shoved the phone into his pocket and grabbed his bag.

“That’s it? No comment?”

“No comment.” Gabriel swung around and hit him in the chest. “And I am not afraid.”

“Liar.”

Gabriel made a disgusted sound and turned for the door.

“So, later,” Hunter called. “If there’s a fire you in or out?”

Out. Out, out, out.

Gabriel pressed his forehead against the cold steel of the door and sighed.

“In.”

CHAPTER 14

Layne pulled another yearbook off the stack and sighed.

They’d been in the library for an hour, but there were still another thirty minutes left to Simon’s practice. “This is the dumbest research project ever.”

Kara rolled her eyes without looking up from her notebook.

“You’d probably be happier writing about the history of physics, or Marie Antoinette’s biography, or ”

“You know who Marie Antoinette is? ”

“Shut up.”

“Researching something from the school’s past? That’s just lame. There’s no challenge.”

“God, you are such a nerd.” Kara fished lip gloss out of her purse and dabbed it on. “I don’t know why I hang out with you sometimes.”

Me neither. But if Layne didn’t have Kara, she’d be sitting in the library by herself, waiting for her deaf brother to finish basketball practice for a game the coach wouldn’t even let him play.

God, it just sounded pathetic.

“Layne,” Kara hissed. Her nails bright fuchsia today dug into Layne’s wrist.

Layne snapped her head up. “What?”

Kara was staring at the entrance to the library. One of the Merrick twins had just pushed through the doors and was strolling toward the stacks.

Layne sighed. She wanted it to be Nick.

But she’d sat next to Gabriel in class. She’d seen that faded blue henley clinging to his chest and shoulders four hours ago.

“Great,” she muttered.

“He is insanely hot,” whispered Kara. She dabbed more lip gloss on her mouth, to the point where it started to look a little comical. “How do I look?”

“Don’t even bother. He’s a jerk.”

“Maybe to you.” They watched him disappear between the stacks on the opposite side of the library. “Do you know which one it is?”

“Gabriel. I sit next to him in trig.”

“That’s a waste. You are so lucky. I wish I were better at math.”

“Don’t worry. You’re probably right at his level.” Layne hoped he didn’t notice them sitting here.

Mostly. Some butterflies were kicking up a fit in her stomach, and they were totally in favor of him heading this way.

That was stupid. He hadn’t even looked at her in class.

She had no idea how one boy could inspire such warring emotions, like she wanted to punch the crap out of him but then hide in the circle of his arms.

“You’re all red,” said Kara.

Ugh. Was she? “It’s hot in here.”

“Oh my god.” Kara snorted. “You’ve got a crush on him.”