Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
luna
I sit in the farthest corner of the room. If my mind wasn’t racing a mile a minute, I’d be able to figure out what happened last night. Why does he keep punishing me as if I was the one who started this in the first place? I didn’t ask to be taken to his house of horrors or be locked away from society for four years, nor did I ask for him to chase me out of his life as fast as I ran into it.
Alcohol warms my lips as a shadow stops beside me. I don’t have to look to know who it is. The music continues to play in a loop, with the clock in front of me forever at twelve. It melts off the wall in a way that questions its design, but it fits. Everything in this place…fits.
“Are you busy?”
I don’t look up but gesture to the empty spot beside me.
He devours the atmosphere swiftly, leaving a whisper of his cologne to cling to the back of my throat.
“I guess the correct question should be, are you alone?”
“Am I ever?” I ask, turning to the fresh set of eyes beside me. He doesn’t look away, not even beneath my scrutinizing stare.
I return to the performance on stage. She is pretty. Too pretty to be here. But her beauty won’t last long, because soon, if any of the people here have anything to say about it, she’ll be lying in a pool of her own blood in this very bar.
“Why’d you call Priest?”
When he doesn’t answer, a sip of whiskey calms my racing thoughts. I don’t like feeling this way.
“Because I wasn’t lying when I said I want you.”
In a swirl of blonde hair and ethereal beauty, her footsteps pause when she leaves the restroom, noticing who’s opposite me. Even in a room full of dangerous people, the worst of the worst, River is the one who holds everyone’s attention. Not because she’s beautiful—she is—but because everyone knows exactly who she is. Not sure if it’s her father or her mother that has left their scent strong enough to make grown men weep, but whatever it is, it’s lethal.
With a roll of her eyes, she turns to the bar boy, who briefly shifts to me before returning to her. She’s flirting. Cute. That’s one way to scare away the staff.
“Why?” I don’t know much of Archer Thorn, but I know one thing. He isn’t someone who does things off a whim. Everything is intentional. He’s as terrifying as handsome, even with the angry scar that decapitates him.
“And what if he knew…”
The threat has my head turning to the side. There are many things in this world that are terrifying, and Archer Thorn is one of them.
“What if…” He leans forward, resting his forearm on the table until his suit shifts up, exposing the beginning of his vine of roses tattoo. “If that time you begged me to fuck you?”
“Beg?” My brows hit my hairline. Agitation remains hot but steady beneath my fingertips. It doesn’t matter what he sends Priest, because he doesn’t care. He made his best friend fuck me repeatedly, that proves enough.
But his threat catches my attention as I shift my body toward him. “Why didn’t you tell him the truth?”
Archer’s deep eyes settle on mine as he rests against his chair. Even without his preceding reputation, you could take one look at him and know you’d not want to fuck with him.
“Because it’s simple. I don’t care enough to rock a boat that needs to stay afloat.” His words disappear when he stands, dropping hundred-dollar bills onto the table between us. “But one day, he will know, and I’m not sure he’ll ask questions before putting a bullet between your eyes.”
My focus wavers as he leaves. It’s not until the exit door closes that River places another glass down in front of me, sliding it over.
“Was this a good idea?” she asks. It’s a question she doesn’t really want to know the answer to.
“Not sure.”
“Look.” Her hand comes to mine, relaxing me instantly. “I’m sure you knew what you were doing.” River looks down at her watch before tossing back her drink. “We need to go. It’s the opening tonight of Riverside Elite and something tells me, we’re not to be late. Unless we want the whole team on our ass.”
Now that I was sure of.
We’ve only been in the same room for less than an hour.
After River and I left the city, we went to her house to get ready. Most of the times I’ve been in danger, he has been somewhere close. Knowing he's a short walk up the road relieves my stress.
“Don’t drink too much.” Halen snatches the bottle off Stella while circling the small table. “I have a feeling something weird is going to go down tonight.”
She isn’t wrong about that, but she is about how she feels about me. Halen has never been the biggest fan, but I figured she had her reasons. Whatever they were. Her recent outburst has more to do with territory than with some petty fight we had when we were five.
Or was it to do with her brother?
“The parents are attending, so maybe Priest will be on his best behavior.” River shrugs, picking at her nails.
I stare back at myself in the Victorian-style mirror, touching the black lace that clings to my body. Beneath the skin-tight collared bodice, it cuts above my ankles before slitting up my panty line and cinching at my waist.
River’s room isn’t what I expected, even though I know this is where she was brought up, not necessarily where she stays now, since they’re all moving into their respective positions. Collages of photos dangle over the wall, leading to a neon pink bar.
“Luna? What do you think?” Stella asks from behind, and I turn to face all the girls.
“About…”
Stella chuckles, swinging up from the chair and resting her hands on my face. “Do you think that the Fathers will embarrass the boys tonight by parenting?”
“No,” the answer falls off my tongue. “Because embarrassment to them is one to all.”
River hands me a glass, interrupting the silence, but I shake my head at her offer. Halen is right. Tonight's opening will be too perfect a time for our enemies to catch us in the same place at the same time. It’s been too quiet.
“When do you leave?” Halen asks tightly.
For whatever reason, she’s always been the one I felt the most hostility from. She’s the hardest to know in the group, but I don’t think it comes from petty drama. It’s purely a defense mechanism, and right now, she doesn’t know how I came about being here or what my role is in a society she thought she knew everything about.
“I don’t.” Using my thumb, I clean the edge of my burgundy lips.
“Halen. Not now…” River’s warning isn’t enough to cause me alarm.
Stella’s eyes land on mine in the mirror, her smile brief before returning to what she was doing. It’s tense. I don’t like that I’m the cause of the sudden shift within their established friend group.
I sigh, swiping my Louboutins from the floor when turning to her. “Look. I can’t say anything, and you of all people must understand the importance of that. I know you’re not deluded in thinking that you sit at a higher, or even the same rank as your brother.” My smile is weak.
Her eyes close as seconds pass. Her shoulders relax and she slowly opens back on me. “Okay.” Coming closer, she rests her hands on my shoulders. “I’m sorry. I’ve been more of a bitch than usual. I don’t like when they hide things from me.”
I want to tell her she needs to get used to it. That a lot was withheld from her because it’s not her place to know, but when I look over her shoulder to River, she shakes her head a little before sipping on her drink.
I smile. “You’re good.”
“Okay!” She exhales, blowing out the tension that the boys had lit. “I’m glad that’s over, now”—she flips her phone to selfie mode—“new group photos are needed.”
Shuffling into a few photos, I lean back on my heels. “I might have to meet you guys there. I have a few things to pick up from home first.”
Surprisingly, no one questions me when I dip out of the room, drawing my phone out of my bag and tapping out his number.
“What is it?”