“Come on,” I growled, leaning forward over the steering wheel like that would somehow make this idiot slow down.
We hit another intersection. His brake lights flashed for a second as he hesitated, checking to see if he could blow through without crashing. He took the chance, but I didn’t get the same break.
A sedan pulled out of a side street right in front of me, blocking my path, the driver completely oblivious to the chase happening around them. I slammed on the brakes, throwing my full weight into it. Tires screaming, the whole Jeep shuddered violently as the antilock brakes kicked in, chattering beneath my feet. My seat belt locked across my chest, cutting into my shoulder as momentum tried to throw me forward. Horns blared through the intersection.
I narrowly missed turning the sedan’s back seat into my hood ornament. By the time I glanced up again, the car I’d been chasing was gone. I hit the steering wheel with the heel of my hand. Once. Twice. The impact sent sharp pain radiating up my wrist. “Fuck!” Adrenaline burned hot in my veins.
The sedan in front of me honked, finally aware they’d nearly caused an accident, and pulled away. I sat there for another moment, frustration running through my system. Whoever the creep was, he hadn’t been sitting outside her house by accident, and he hadn’t wanted me to see him.
Was he Hales’s stalker?
He knew where she lived. I thought back to the night Mason and I chased someone in the woods. Had that been him? There was only one way to find out. I needed to catch this asshole.
The party was stillin full swing when I dragged Mason out. If anything, I swore there were more bodies crowded inside the church than when I’d left to take Hales home.
He wasn’t subtle about being pissed, the booze in his system making him worse. Unlike me, Mason wasn’t a nice or chill drunk. It was as if the alcohol took away all the charm he oozed sober. Twisting out of my grip, which was more for his stability than it was to haul him around, he yanked his arm back and stumbled. “Are you serious right now? Just because you’re having a crappy night doesn’t mean you get to shit on my parade.”
“Get in the Jeep,” I ordered flatly. “Now. We’re going to the club.”
“Jesus, Mad, it’s Raven Night. We can’t just leave.” He gestured wildly back at the church and the chaos we were leaving behind.
Hopefully, they didn’t burn the place down, not that it would be much of a loss. “Yes, we can. We can do whatever we want. Now get in before I toss your ass in the back.”
My tone must have cut through whatever buzz he was riding. He got in, but not quietly, slamming the passenger door. “What happened with Freckles? Did she come to her senses and realize I’m the sexier twin?”
I snorted, reversing the Jeep before he could decide to get out and make me start the process of corralling him all over again. “It really burns your ass that she turned you down, doesn’t it? That there is actually a girl out there who is immune to your dimples. That someone could choose me over you?”
“Pretty much, but you have to admit my idea had merit. You forgot about her, didn’t you? When you had your tongue down Freckles’s throat, Kaylor was nowhere on your mind. Tell me I’m wrong.”
I couldn’t because, for once, he was right. I tossed a bottle of water from the cupholder at him. “Drink this and sober up.”
“I’m going to need more than water.”
“Fine,” I huffed. “We’ll hit the drive-thru and get you a greasy burger.”
After a quick pitstop, we pulled into the club, the parking lot full as expected for a Friday night. High schoolers weren’t the only ones who liked to party. The most loyal patrons to the club were middle-aged men trying to escape their lives.
With the burger soaking up the liquor in Mason’s body, we headed into the club. I nodded at Alexus, head of security, and weaved through the bar and casino to the back of the club, where the stairs led to the rooftop.
Kreed, Raine, and Kaylor were sitting around the table when we walked in, the city bleeding in through the floor-to-ceiling windows behind them, a sprawl of lights and shadow. My eyes went to Kaylor first, and guilt twisted in my gut.What the fuck?I had absolutely nothing to feel guilty about. I’d done nothing wrong.
So what if an hour ago, I’d been feeling up Hales in a musky cellar. I was free to do so. If only my brain felt the same.Kaylor isn’t yours, I reminded myself, but I couldn’t stop thinking about that first time Kaylor had been in that cellar. We’d played the same game. I’d been cruel, and Kreed had swept in like a dark knight, becoming her savior.
I never stood a chance.
And with the way I’d treated her, it was no wonder she fell for Kreed. Most girls did without him trying. He had this whole brooding bad-guy aura girls seemed to flock to for reasons thatfailed to make sense. Then again, I didn’t really understand girls to begin with.
I looked away first, my gaze shifting to Kreed and Raine as I took a seat as far from Kaylor as possible. Kreed’s eyes darted between Mason and me, taking in our expressions, Mason’s sullen anger, and my stiff shoulders, reading the tension we dragged in with us. “You look like hell,” he stated, sugarcoating nothing. He was never one to beat around the bush. If Kreed had a thought, he’d tell you whether it was something you wanted to hear or not.
“Long night,” Mason muttered, dropping into a chair and combing his fingers through his dark hair. We all had the Corvo raven hair.
Raine leaned back in his seat, arms crossed over his broad chest, studying us with eyes that missed nothing. “It’s about to get longer.”
Kreed didn’t waste time with pleasantries. “The kidnappings have started again.”
The words landed heavily. “What? Are you goddamn serious?” Outrage bloomed in my chest, along with a dozen other unpleasant emotions. We’d known this was possible, had been braced for it, but having it slapped in our face…totally different than imagining.
“Unfortunately,” Raine said, his jaw working. “The report hit the news about an hour ago. She fits the profile. Eighteen years old. Last seen leaving a friend’s house Tuesday night.”