Focus (The Crescent Chronicles, #2) Read Online Free PDF

I’ll
take you.” He put a hand on the back of his neck. “Besides, I can
get you cheap Margaritas anytime.”
    “ That’s not the point of
going, and you know it. Anyway, I’m not budging. You want me to
come, Hailey’s in too.” I put a hand on my hip.
    “ Fine. But I’m driving you
both. There is no way we’re showing up separately.”
    “ Deal. See you at
seven.”
    “ It’s a date.”
    “ No, it’s a
meeting.”
    He ran a hand down my arm, giving me
goose bumps. “Remember what I said, one day we’ll be laughing about
this.”
    “ Keep telling yourself
that.” I pulled my books from him and prepared to walk
away.
    “ Oh, and try to wear
something red tonight. If it happens to be short, I won’t mind
either.”
    I glared at him. “What’s with you and
red?”
    “ It’s a family
color.”
    “ See you later,
Levi.”
     
    ***
    Hailey was highlighting in her
anthropology book when I got back to our room. “Hey, how was
class?”
    “ Levi was in
it.”
    She laughed. “So, in other words, it
was fantastic.”
    “ I think I’d use another
word.” I dropped my books on my desk, leaving my tote bag on my
desk chair.
    “ Yeah, I bet.”
    “ But, he did tell me about
some meeting at Commander’s Palace. He’s picking us up at seven.” I
kicked off my flip flops.
    “ What? Did you just
say us ?” Hailey
set her book down.
    “ Yeah. I refused to go
without you.”
    “ Oh my god, I love you,
Allie Davis.” She threw her highlighter across the room when she
got up to hug me.
    I laughed, detangling myself from her
embrace. “I take it you wanted an invite?”
    “ This is huge. I never get
invited to meetings, let alone one this big. Owen didn’t even get
to go until last year. Wow. I can’t believe it.”
    “ Owen didn’t go until last
year? Why? Was that Levi’s first?”
    “ No, Levi’s been going for
years, and so has Jared. They didn’t invite Owen until he was
twenty-one and only because Levi insisted on it.”
    “ So why did Jared get to
go?” I kind of assumed Owen and Jared were pretty much
equals.
    “ Jared gets to go because
of his dad. Do you know anything about Jett Florence?”
    “ That’s Jared’s dad, I take
it. I have no idea who he is.” I sat down on my bed, leaning my
back against the wall.
    “ I guess you could call him
our General. He runs all security and military for The
Society.”
    “ Oh. So where do you and
Owen fit in?”
    Hailey picked up her highlighter from
the floor. “My dad’s an engineer. He doesn’t have an official
position with The Society. You can’t repeat this, but they’re
banking on Levi giving Owen a spot so our family gets more
clout.”
    “ So they must like that
we’re friends and everything.” I had no clue where Hailey and her
family fit in the hierarchy. I’d always assumed they were high
up.
    “ Definitely. I think
they’re just scared I’m going to do something to screw things up. I
did send you running into the arms of the Cougars.”
    “ You did not! That was all
Levi. Don’t let anyone blame you.”
    “ I just couldn’t lie to my
friend, even if it was to help Levi.” She sat back down on her
bed.
    “ Can I ask you
something?”
    “ Sure.” Hailey looked
nervous.
    “ I think I already know the
answer, but I need to hear it from you. You’re not just my friend
and roommate because it’s a job, right?”
    “ No way! I liked you way
before any of that. It just works out that I can protect you at the
same time, you know?”
    “ Yeah, it does.”
    “ So, now can we talk about
fun things?”
    I laughed. “Fun things?”
    “ What are we wearing
tonight?”
    “ Levi wants me to wear
red.”
    She picked up a skirt she had lying out
on her bed. “Of course, he does.”
    “ What’s all of that about?
He just said it’s his family color. It has to do with all the ruby
stuff, right?”
    “ Yeah. The ruling family
chooses a stone to represent them.”
    The pieces started fitting together.
“Oh…so my