Perfect Lies by Kiersten White Read Free Book Online

the chill of the evening. I can hear his smile in it. “You left so quickly I was worried you were upset.”
    I shake my head. “No, I’m fine, I—”
    “Did something happen? You look flushed.” He puts his hand against my cheek, which means if I wasn’t already flushed, I certainly am now.
    “A vision.”
    “Really? Come, let’s get you inside.” He takes my hand—for the briefest second my heart flutters at the thought that it could be
his
hand—until I realize that it’s not. I’d know that hand anywhere now, and it isn’t Rafael’s. There’s a whisper of disappointment in my soul. It would have been so exciting to know it was Rafael. Oh well. He puts my hand on his arm, walking very close to me so that I’m entirely filled with the smell of him. The dark, heady spice of his cologne feels appropriate for how disoriented I am right now.
    “There was a girl,” I say, letting the images wash over my memory, relishing the look of the world. “White hair, dark eyes. At the school, being interviewed by a woman named Doris Robertson, a Reader there.” I snort a small laugh. “The girl totally ran circles around her. Her name was … Mae Rubio. And then later I saw her with Fia.” I swallow hard against the swelling of emotions. “Not doing anything specific, but it looked like they knew each other. That’s probably why I saw her in the first place.” I don’t mention the broken bottle or how scared Mae looked. Was Fia about to hurt her?
    I feel sick thinking about it. I’m glad the vision ended when it did. For once I don’t wish for more information.
    “Explain?” Rafael prods. “Why would that make you see her?”
    “Most of my visions involve Fia in one form or another. I’m the only person who can see her clearly.” I realize maybe I should have told him this sooner, but I didn’t want to talk about it. “She’s so … umm, flighty? She’s hard for Seers to grab ahold of. Clarice could never track her.”
    “Who is Clarice?”
    I miss a step and he catches me around my waist. We’re suddenly very, very close, but he doesn’t let go or move away. Darn it, vision, couldn’t it have been his hand? “She was my teacher. At the school. But she’s dead.”
    “I see.”
    Cole’s voice is like a rush of cold night air, bursting the bubble between Rafael and me. “We should find Mae. Talk to her before Keane gets her.” I back up, embarrassed.
    “I agree. And I think Annie should be the one to do it.”
    “What? Why?” Cole sounds suspicious.
    “Who better to warn this poor girl of what her future holds than a beautiful woman who has escaped it?”
    “You really think I should?” I ask.
    “I do.”
    “Okay. I will.” A smile pulls at my lips. I have something to do, and I’ll be able to help, finally. I’ll keep someone away from Keane. I’ll save a girl from the school. Fia would be proud.

FIA
Two Days Before

    I COULD WALK STRAIGHT BACK. HE’S IN THERE—PAST that doorway, somewhere in the maze of offices in this gleaming, window-lit skyscraper. Walk straight back. I don’t know what I’d do when I got there. Probably nothing that works with the plan. But my fingers itch to
do
.
    “Don’t,” Pixie says, not looking up from her magazine. She’s manning the front desk, and I’m sitting on top of it. I’m just
sitting
here.
    She glares up at me. “You’re not sitting, you’re lurking. And you wouldn’t get very far. There’s a buttload of security guards once you get past that door, and you’re on the watch list. So you can’t go back and see James.”
    James. Yes. I was thinking about
James
. Of course that’s what I was thinking about. I want to go back to see James. I want to jump him, throw him across a desk, rip off his shirt and …
    “SHUT UP, gag, you are so gross.”
    I smile and tap my temple, but that was close. I have to be more careful. James asked me again this morning for a verdict he could give his father.
    I don’t know if I’m delaying