Fucking prick.
Jules shot me a look as we waited outside The Inferno. The security team was running my ID because?—
“Why the fuck do you have a gun?” Jules hissed under her breath.
“No reason.” I avoided her outraged expression.
The bouncer checked my gun, informing me I could pick it up afterwards.
I rolled my neck as Jules and I headed through the dark velvet tunnel towards the club entrance. “Jesus fucking Christ, Carter.” Jules groaned as we walked through the darkness.
“Jules, it’s really no biggie.” It wasn’t and after yesterday, I wasn’t taking any chances.
“Do you always carry?” She asked, bumping into me in the dim light—it was next to impossible to see in here. “When the hell did that start?” She demanded, “I thought you were a freaking pilot.”
I wondered what exactly she thought I did when I went up in the air, because I certainly wasn’t doing loopty-loops just for fun. Okay, fine. Sometimes yes, I did do loopty-loops for fun, but that wasn’t all I did up there. “Just do me a favor and don’t mention it to anyone, would you?” I asked, hauling the heavy curtain open.
“Fine.” She rolled her eyes as we stepped into the club. “But you owe me.”
“Consider me indebted.” I shouted over the thundering music as it hit us, the bass pulsating through my entire body.
“I really, really hate guns.” She muttered just loud enough for me to hear as she trailed along behind me.
I cut through the tightly packed crowd and took in the scene, realizing The Inferno was insane. I’d heard about it, but I’d never been. Tonight, it was decked out in Halloween decor that was as outrageous as you’d expect for the city’s most notoriously sexy nightclub.
We neared one of the four columns that were planted at each corner of the massive dance floor—each pillar had a different fanged animal carved into the marble. I eyed the cages hanging above the stage where the DJ was and peered over the sea of dancing bodies, wondering how the hell we were going to find the group in here because tonight, it was jam-packed.
“This way, Kensington,” Jules chimed, her dark auburn hairglinting under the orange and red strobe lights as she ducked around me.
We broke through the crowd on the other side of the dance floor, and I spotted our crew at a table in the reserved section. Liam stood at the edge of the table, drink in hand, and next to him, I was surprised to see Cade. Jules squealed and slid into the booth, throwing her arms around Ariana and Riley.
Meanwhile, tucked away in the back of the booth, looking happier than I’d seen her look in a damn long time, was Sara.
The moment our eyes locked, my heart stopped beating. Sara offered me a shy little smile, and then quickly made herself busy talking to Riley Kingsley, Theo’s younger cousin.
She’d only looked for a split second, but the way Sara’s eyes lit up when she saw me had me doing internal somersaults. It was the best feeling in the world. God, she was so fucking gorgeous.
Sara looked back at me, and suddenly her eyes went wide, and I realized Liam had been talking to me while I’d been busy drooling over her. I quickly recovered and cleared my throat, clapping Liam on the back. “So loud, I can hardly hear.” I joked. “Surprised you got a spot, it’s packed tonight.”
“Yeah, they go all out for Halloween.” Liam motioned to the table, explaining over the music. “I’m doing the menus for the club.”
“Gotta love a hookup.” Cade drawled, hanging one arm over the tall booth.
Liam shrugged and sipped his beer.
“Cade fucking Blackthorn.” I clapped him on the back. “Who let you in here? Long time no see.”
“That’s your own damn fault.” Cade shook his head. “What’s the body count up to these days?”
“It’s high enough.” I shrugged. “I don’t keep count.” Except I did. Every single one. I did.
“Sure you don’t.” He looked me over and was smart enough to read between the lines. “You headed overseas anytime soon?”
“Probably.” I nodded, adding, “I rarely know until the lastsecond, though.” I looked at Sara, who quickly looked away when I caught her eye. We had so many things we needed to talk about, to plan for. “It’s not so bad, usually a few months at a time, and then it’s back stateside for a while.”
“If you wanted to fly, you should have gone commercial.” Cade drawled. “We could have gone into business together.”
I shook my head. “I don’t even want to know what shit you’re smuggling around.”
