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

that will somehow confirm what I’m saying.
    “Her other son. You might have seen me on the news. And this is my good friend, Zach.”
    “His hero friend,” Zach adds, holding out his hand to shake with her.
    She doesn’t take it. Her eyes dart to his thumb, even though the lighting in here is too dim to actually tell whether he has an H or not.
    “He’s only fifteen,” I tell her, meaning he’s not old enough to have his letter yet. “I like them young.”
    “Oh. That’s...” She looks around, maybe hoping to spot someone she knows so she can get away. “I really have to... go. But it was very, um, nice meeting you.”
    “Actually,” I say, before she can run off, “can you do me a favor? Another one, I mean. Can you tell my mom you saw us here? I’m not allowed to talk to her.”
    Her forehead wrinkles and her mouth drops open a little. Instead of answering me, she acts like she didn’t hear and disappears off into the crowd.
    The lighting in the picture she took of me and Zach isn’t great, but you can definitely tell it’s us. I post it to Facebook and write, On another date with your boyfriend , tagging Amelia so I’m sure she’ll see it.
    “You didn’t tell me you had another brother,” Zach says. He means besides Alex.
    That’s because I wish he didn’t exist. I shrug. “He’s the all-villain son Mom wished she’d had instead of me. She didn’t even get pregnant with him until after she kicked me out, but she fed him some growth formula she invented, so now he’s way older than he should be. It’s like she just can’t wait to replace me. We... don’t exactly get along.”
    “Oh.” Zach chews his lip, thinking that over.
    “Uh-oh.” I catch sight of Mom making her way over here. The bright red hair and the huge white dress are kind of a giveaway. “That’s my mom. You know what to do.” I glance around, but Zach’s already gone invisible. He and Riley both have the same power, and most of the time it seems pretty lame, but once in a while it comes in handy.
    “Damien.” Mom has this big fake smile plastered all over her face, and she says my name through gritted teeth. Her hair is done up in this twisty shape on top of her head, with some curly strands left loose to hang next to her face. Her dress is stark white and has tons of tiny, sparkly snowflake beads sewn onto it. She’s left Xavier behind to come talk to me. “What are you doing?”
    “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m here, staying away from Xavier, just like you said.”
    “You know that’s not what I mean. I’ve been hearing that you’re here with someone.”
    “Yeah, you knew I was bringing a date.”
    “Someone who’s not Kat.” She looks down her nose at me, even though I’m taller than her.
    “Kat’s on a ski trip. She couldn’t make it.”
    “So you brought someone else.”
    “I didn’t want to mess up your plate count. Why, is there a problem?” I grin at her.
    She folds her arms, the fake smile melting into a scowl. “You said you would behave. At my wedding.”
    She says that as if I might have a dozen weddings to go to and can’t remember which ones I promised to behave at. “How am I not behaving? Unless...” I put a hand to my chest and pretend to be shocked. “You don’t have a problem with me bringing a guy as my date, do you?”
    “ Damien. ”
    “Wow, Mom. For a woman who’s had two kids out of wedlock, each with different fathers, you’d think you’d be more open-minded.”
    She narrows her eyes at me. The snowflakes on her dress sparkle in the white icicle lights. “That’s not it. I know you’re with Kat.”
    “So you’re only okay with it because you know I have a girlfriend? Way to be socially conscious.”
    “That’s not what this is about.”
    “Really? Because you obviously have a problem with me bringing him, and I don’t know what else about him could possibly be bothering you.” I tap my chin, pretending to think that