“Brought you some food,” says Sam, crouching down beside the bags he brought in. “Ms. Maddox’s enchiladas. Sandwich stuff. Henry saved you half a cake.”
“I ate the other half,” says Charlotte, without apology.
“Apples,” Sam goes on, sorting through the bags. “Carrots. Some other healthy stuff. And fried chicken.”
“I don’t have a fridge,” Caleb says.
Sam glances around, his face betraying nothing. “We better eat it now, then.” He sits on the floor and starts unpacking.
“I brought you some books and laundry detergent,” says Charlotte. “It’s in the car. Oh, and Brynn thought you’d need a prepaid phone and charger, so we got that, too.”
“I brought clothes,” says Henry. “I went shopping for you. We now have the exact same wardrobe.”
“Nice,” says Caleb. I can tell he’s getting overwhelmed, and I’m scared I’ve blown it by bringing everyone over. “Does anyone know you’re here?”
“Field trip at the history museum,” says Charlotte. “Joel’s holding our phones.”
It’s a reminder that we’re here on limited time. That we won’t all eat dinner later, or play Road Racers in the pit. We won’t pass each other in pajamas, and shout good night down the hall, or wake and laugh at each other’s pillow-marked faces or bedhead.
This moment is temporary.
We fall quiet. Caleb notices the stain on his shirt and tries to rub it out.
I stand beside him, willing away his self-consciousness, feeling the uncertainty of all his sleepless nights alone.
I’m here, I want to tell him. Even if we leave, we’re coming back.
Taking a deep breath, I reach into my pocket and pull out a green note card. I look at it a second, nerves fizzing in my chest, then give it to him.
I’ve written one word on it. Trust.
He gave me his and I let him down. But now he has mine, and I’m going to prove I’m worth every bit of his respect.
Slowly his hands drop, but he doesn’t let go of the card.
He holds it so tightly the corners crinkle, and it reminds me of the cards he gave me, now worn at the edges from every night I’ve read them and fallen asleep with them under my pillow.
“Thank you,” he says to everyone.
“There’s no need for thanks, brother,” says Sam.
Even with the crash from the bowling alley beneath our feet, a sense of peace slides over us. I am finally home. This is my family, and it doesn’t matter where we are, as long as we’re together.
We sit cross-legged on the floor, and as we eat sandwich meat and cold fried chicken, we catch up on the last two months. The daily ins and outs. The status on Joel and Paz, and Shrew’s latest torturous assignments. Petal’s been returned to Geri since Henry can’t stand looking at her, and the new student, June, is already at odds with Moore.
Henry and I tell Caleb about Grayson’s role with Susan, and the senator’s arrest. Charlotte informs us she’s going to keep the baby, and Sam holds her hand and says he’s squirreling away money and working on fake IDs. When Henry puffs out his cheeks like a squirrel, we all laugh.
Then we pass around the cake and a single fork, and plan how we’re going to burn Dr. O’s empire to ashes.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
With Ragnarok upon us, there’s a few thank-yous I need to get out before, you know, the world ends and stuff.
Thank you, reader, for continuing with Brynn and her fellow con artists on this twisted, Valhalla-myth-inspired adventure. I’ve loved this story from start to finish, and I hope you’ve enjoyed the ride.
As always, I’m grateful to the people who have made my books, and this one especially, possible. My agent, Joanna. My editor, Mel. Saraciea, Elizabeth, Lucille, Eileen, Peter, and of course, Kathleen—there would be no Vale Hall without their diligent, passionate work at Tor Teen.
To my writing friends, and my jazzerfriends, and everyone in between. To my family, my husband, my beautiful boy (who I really hope doesn’t read this until his sense of right and wrong is more firmly cemented and even then doesn’t judge me)—thank you. I love you. I couldn’t do this without you.
Now brace yourselves. Things get really wild in book three.
TOR BOOKS BY KRISTEN SIMMONS
Breaking Point
Three
The Glass Arrow
Metaltown
Pacifica
The Deceivers
Scammed
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
KRISTEN SIMMONS is the author of the Article 5 series, The Glass Arrow, Metaltown, Pacifica, and The Deceivers. She has worked with survivors of abuse and trauma as a mental health therapist, taught Jazzercise in five states, and is forever in search of the next best cupcake. Currently she lives in Cincinnati, Ohio, with her husband, where she spends her days supporting the caffeine industry and chasing her delightfully rambunctious son.
Visit her online at www.kristensimmonsbooks.com, or sign up for email updates here.
@kris10writes
@kris10writes
@author.kristensimmons
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CONTENTS
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Tor Books by Kristen Simmons
About the Author
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
SCAMMED
Copyright © 2020 by Kristen Simmons
All rights reserved.
Cover photograph by Michael Frost
A Tor Teen Book
Published by Tom Doherty Associates
120 Broadway
New York, NY 10271
www.tor-forge.com
Tor® is a registered trademark of Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC.
The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:
Names: Simmons, Kristen, author.
Title: Scammed / Kristen Simmons.
Description: First edition. | New York: Tor Teen, a Tom Doherty Associates Book, 2020. | Series: Vale Hall; 2
Identifiers: LCCN 2019045325 (print) | LCCN 2019045326 (ebook) | ISBN 9781250175830 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781250176349 (ebook)
Subjects: CYAC: Swindlers and swindling—Fiction. | Secrets—Fiction. | Political corruption—Fiction. | Boarding schools—Fiction. | Schools—Fiction.
Classification: LCC PZ7.S591825 Sc 2020 (print) | LCC PZ7.S591825 (ebook) | DDC [Fic]—dc2
3
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019045325
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019045326
eISBN 9781250176349
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First Edition: February 2020