Ace waves his hand at his side, telling his guards to lower their weapons, and they do. He creeps carefully toward me, but I keep the sight square on his forehead. We circle each other cautiously as my steps edge toward the elevator.
“Check the cameras!” Ashlyn argues. “Talon hurt me, Dad! I don’t know where he is.”
Ace’s jaw flinches as he scans me and then her. “Put her down and step away… I’ll figure this out once she’s over here.”
“Not going to happen,” I say, still inching toward our escape. “She’s coming with me.”
His eyes fill with worry as we make it into the white and gold elevator. Every muscle tenses as I envelop Ashlyn tighter against me. Adrenaline rips through my body, ready to pull the trigger if needed.
“Ashlyn, don’t go!” her dad yells as the doors shut on us.
She only presses her face into me deeper. “Get me out.”
“Can you ride my bike?” I ask, worrying about the next step of the plan. Well, lack of a plan. And her long, beaded gown.
“Yes,” she assures me.
My phone rings. I stuff the gun into my waistband and grab the call. It’s my brother.
“Take the side exit back through the lounge. Pippi and I are waiting. The others are ready to cause a distraction. Duke got hit.”
“What? Is he?—”
“He’s okay, but already bragging about it like a war hero. Hurry out here.”
I end the call, shoving the phone back into my pocket and tugging Ashlyn closer.
“Someone got shot?” Ashlyn asks as we head into the chaos of the lower level.
“Meh, it was only Duke. If Duke goes down, Duke goesdown. The world’s messy.” I don’t like that my little sister has a crush on him. Better if he dies now than me having to do it later. His parents would be upset.
People are hurrying in every direction, which is an excellent cover for us. I stride toward the lounge and out the side door, uninterrupted.
Shirking off my coat, I throw it over Ashlyn and help her get situated on the back, tucking her long dress between her thighs. Pippi hands her a helmet as I tug mine on.
Ryan points to the end of the alleyway. “We’ll cause a diversion. Go. Get lost.”
And that’s exactly what I plan to do.
The Vipers fan out across the street like a pack let loose, engines howling in every direction. White SUVs spill from the parking garage, too slow to choose a target.
Frost halos the city lights as I twist the throttle. The night splits open, and I aim for the only place that still feels real—our hidden sanctuary.
The one nobody knows about.
thirty-eight
Inky blackness smothers the sky,starless and still. The only light—a trembling cone of yellow from my headlamp—carves through the dark. Within twenty minutes, we’re at the front gate made of horizontal black slats of wood.
I press my palm to the reader and pat Ashlyn’s chilled hands, rubbing them to keep her warm. My skin matches her ice-cold temperature.
The gates slide open for us, and I hurry in, revving the engine and speeding down the asphalt lane. As soon as we near the house, the lights illuminate the pathway, the sensors detecting our arrival.
“Shut the fuck up…” Ashlyn’s voice crackles through the helmet, choked and stunned.
My heart rate picks up. I’m more worried about her reaction than her condition at this very moment.
I slip off the bike, but before I can help her, she jumps down, gaping at the structure before us. She shoves the helmet into my hands without looking at me.