“Holy shit, she’s gone crazy!”
“I told you she’s got something wrong with her!”
Even the DJ skids the music to a stop as everyone gapes at me. My heart pounds so viciously, I think I’ll vomit up Landon’s saliva.
“What thefuck?” Aiden demands.
“Happy birthday,” I say with fire in my eyes but a shrug in my tone. “Thought you could use another dirty shot.”
Instead of replying, we stare each other down as the crowd goes silent. His Adam’s apple bobs as he swallows. Slowly, a brittle smile reforms at the corners of his lips. He leans down andlicksthe tequila residue off Hailey’s shoulder, still watching every disgusted twitch in my face.
I’ve seen enough.
Without a word, I flee toward the foyer, heels poppingagainst the marble like a gunshot. Let them keep watching. Let them guess how close they came to seeing me shatter.
They won’t get that from me.
He doesn’t deserve it.
TheOmegaHouse door slams behind me as I storm out, glass crunching beneath my boots. Cool night air hits my face like ice water.
Before I reach the parking lot, I halt. Julien leans against the stone archway, one leg bent, a cloud of vape smoke curling around his head like a halo made of sin and detachment. Deep-set brown eyes follow me, calm as a ghost.
“That was entertaining.” His voice is as flat as his affect.
“I didn’t put on the show for you.”
He coughs on a laugh, then tucks his pen away. “You know…” White mist covers most of his face with his slow exhale. “If you were any more iconic, I’d have to get your name tattooed on my ass.”
I snort. It comes out broken and hot. “Don’t tempt me. I’ll design it myself.”
His smile softens the gravity in his eyes, but the nod—a reassuring one meant only for me—sends a wave of pride straight down my spine. “That’s my girl. Head up. Shoulders straight. Keep being that bitch.”
No one has ever encouraged me like this. And I hate that it matters to me.
But with a small wave, I do as he says. Keep walking.
Heart pounding.
Hands shaking.
Still standing.
The only comfort of going home to my parents’ mansion in Gnarled Pine Hollow is the solitude during the hour trip and the silence of my room, now that all my sisters have their own places, and it’s only my little brother left. But Wyatt won’t bother me unless he wants a nightmare he can’t wake from.
Mom’s too busy planning my sisters’ weddings to pay me attention because I’m too much of a disappointment to her.
The girls got ceremonies.
I got scars to celebrate.
And Dad? Well, he’s focused on his next round of fights at the casino, pulling in cash, and how I don’t need to waste time with thoserich assholesover at Northview University.“Thinking they’re better than you because they have a degree. Don’t end up with one of those pieces of shit, Ash, you hear me? They aren’t tough enough for a woman like you. Pansies with delicate hands…”
I don’t think Dad ever realized how very rich we are. Mom says it’s because of all his previous debts; he’s lived with the mindset that he’s one play away from being broke.
But everyone who’s anyone in the card circuit comes to White Wolf Lodge and Casino. That’s where the sharks swim. And the blood on the chips is real.
Yes, my dad and I always play poker. We don’t show feelings. We bet with them.