The Betrayal of Renegade X (Renegade X, Book 3) by Chelsea M. Campbell Page B

supposed to be our dad’s best friend. And best friends don’t...”
    “Sleep with their dead best friend’s wife?”
    He nods. “She says it’s just casual, but it’s more than that. Everyone can tell. Amelia even told me I had to bring her to their wedding. Their wedding! They’d better not get married.” He makes a face.
    “Or have another kid.”
    “ What? ” A look of pure horror washes over him.
    Oops. “Er, I mean, I’m sure they won’t do that.” Just because my mom did doesn’t mean they will.
    “Curtis doesn’t have any kids. And me and Riley only have a few years before we’re out of school.”
    “Listen, Zach, just because they could get married and have a kid doesn’t mean they will. Sure, it seems like things are going well now, but Curtis is a douchebag. Your mom’s going to see that eventually. You said she hasn’t dated since your dad died, right? So she’s just using him to test the waters. It’s going to get old.” Hopefully.
    He perks up. “You think so?”
    Riley appears in the doorway again. “What do you think about a soldering iron? Sarah said she could use a new one.”
    “God, Perkins. Could you be any more hopeless?”
    “Go away,” Zach says. “Damien’s hanging out with me . He was just about to tell me something important.”
    Riley glares at me, ignoring his brother. “It’s a really nice soldering iron. It’s a great gift.”
    “Yeah, for someone who never wants to get in her pants.”
    His face turns bright red and he looks away. “It’s thoughtful. Sarah will appreciate it.”
    I roll my eyes at him, then tell a disappointed Zach that I’ll be back in a few minutes. I push past Riley and cross the hall to his room, sitting down at his computer and closing all the tabs he has open for stupid crap like low-level robotics kits and a desk organizer.
    He follows me, shutting the door behind him and then coming to peer over my shoulder at the computer screen. “The soldering iron is practical, plus I know she needs a new one. She’ll use it all the time.”
    “It’s too practical.”
    “You got her socks.”
    “ Fun socks. Socks she’ll actually like . And I only got her those so I wouldn’t show you up.”
    “Fine. I won’t get her the soldering iron.”
    “And no desk organizers.” I swivel around and give him an accusing look.
    He holds up his hands. “Okay, okay. Let me think for a minute.” He sits down on the edge of the bed, his forehead wrinkling in thought.
    I click through a few more tabs and notice his email is open. There’s a message from the League, labeled IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR SCHOLARSHIP . I swallow. “Hey, Perkins... About what Curtis said the other night.”
    “He was being a jerk.”
    “Yeah, no kidding. But what did he mean about you having some scholarship?”
    “It’s from the League. I got it because of...” He takes a deep breath. “The League gives out scholarships to kids who have a parent who died in service to the city. So...” He waves his hand, trying to sum it up.
    “So, because your dad died, they’re paying for you to go to Heroesworth.”
    “Pretty much.”
    “And now? Curtis said you were on probation.” Because Riley supposedly broke one of their stupid rules.
    He stares at the floor, not looking at me. “It’s not a big deal.”
    “Except that if you lose it, you can’t go to school anymore, right?” How am I supposed to get through another year and a half of Heroesworth if he’s not there and I only have idiotic douchebags to work with?
    “That’s not going to happen. I’m only on probation. As long as I keep my grades up, and as long as I don’t break any more rules, I should be fine.”
    “Except you’re not the one who broke a rule.” He shouldn’t be punished for what I did.
    “According to the League, not stopping you counts.”
    “And you’re okay with that? You think that makes any sense?”
    “We were the only ones there. It’s not like anybody really