“I-I don’t…”
“Relax, little muse. I’m just teasing you.” He leans down, his breath tickling the shell of my ear. “I won’t show you my cock unless you beg for it.”
I reel back, my face burning, unable to form a comeback. “You… I willnotbe doing that.”
“Whatever you say, Eloise.” He reaches down, taking my hand in his before drawing it up to his mouth. He places a kiss on the back of it, leaving it against his lips for several long seconds. “You ready to go?”
Everything inside me wants to stay right here and see what his mouth would feel like on other parts of me—but I quickly push those thoughts away. “Sure. Let’s picnic.”
Riot grabs a large black backpack off the ground and leads me by the hand toward the exit. He turns his head over his shoulder as he opens the door, grinning widely without a care in the world. But then we step outside, and everything changes.
Dozens of blinding lights flash as a cacophony of voices rises out of the silence, each one demanding and insistent and trying to call more attention than the next.
The paparazzi. They found us.
The realization comes to me at the same moment Riot shoves me behind him, shielding me from the flashing cameras. A door opens, I’m shoved backward, and then everything goes quiet.
22
Riot
Warning:This chapter contains sensitive material related to drug use and overdose. If you are uncomfortable with those themes, please skip this chapter. (A chapter summary will be available at the end of the book.)
I gaze around at the screaming faces, my mind going into overdrive.How did they find me here? Why? And most importantly—did they manage to get any pictures of Eloise before I pushed her back into the hotel room?
“Riot, who’s the new girl?”
“Over here, Riot!”
“Riot! Riot! Do you have any comments on your recent whereabouts?”
“How do you feel about the newest accusations about your involvement in Rush’s death?”
“When are you coming back to Neon Valley?”
“Riot! Explain yourself, Riot! Tell them all what really happened to Rush!”
It’s the last voice that has me searching through the crowd. When my gaze lands on her, all other thought dies, and there isonly my rage. It heats to a boiling point and crowds my vision with red as I storm toward her—the foul woman who caused this all.
I can’t know for certain, yet I have a hunch she’s the one who tracked me down and led the paparazzi to my door. It’s the only thing that makes sense. And based on her haughty smile, I’d say I’m right.
“Rebekah.”
At my murderous expression, Rebekah pales, faltering back a step into the safety of the crowd. “Riot… just calm down. All I want is to talk. To get the truth out?—”
“I don’t want totalkto you. I want you to leave.All of you!” I shout, my composure snapping. “Get thefuckaway from me!Just leave me be! For once, just fuckinggo away!”
I stumble backward, incapacitated by the strobing lights, the yammering voices, and the stabbing grief in my chest.Rush… they all think I killed him. They all believe I’m a monster, a menace, someone better off dead. Fuck, maybe… maybe…
I shake my head, desperately trying to find some thread of composure. All the grief, all the emotions packed away in wrought iron boxes are overflowing, making cracks in the armor look like chasms. It’s all pouring out of me, flooding the air with all manner of rot and decay, and there’s nothing I can do to stop it.
So consumed with anguish, my vision tunnels, blacking out everything but a small pinpoint of light. I’m falling, spiraling, with nothing but cold, hard rock waiting for me at the bottom.
Then someone places their hand in mine. It’s warm, and small, and holds me with such tenderness that it makes my heart ache. I gaze downward, finding a figure dressed in an oversized sweater. Their face is partially obscured by the thick black hoodie, but I’d know those sky-blue eyes anywhere.
“It’s okay. I’m here,” Eloise whispers, squeezing my hand tightly. “I’ve got you. You’re safe.”
It’s only when I breathe again that I realize I was having some sort of attack—one that Eloise was able to pull me out of with just her touch. She doesn’t go anywhere, just stays there holding my hand, staring into my soul with those impossibly deep-blue pools.
