A bead of sweat slides down my nose. I swipe the back of my hand across my forehead, straighten, and rest my hands on my hips. It’s time to head back. It’s getting dark, and I don’t want to be out here when night falls.
I check my phone, brows knitting together. Rain has shared a reel of a wet squirrel, but that’s it… no new messages from Kane.
That’s strange.
Has he already lost interest?
I’m unsure how to feel. Maybe he’s respecting my wishes and leaving me alone, just like I asked. But why go from messaging me every day to complete silence? Did something happen, or has he already moved on to someone more willing? A wealthy socialite? Some pretty woman from the Heights?
I feel oddly unsettled and it freaks me out enough to put my phone away and head home.
Twenty minutes later, rap music blares from the house as I pass Chris’s beat-up Chevrolet Camaro in the driveway. The front yard is packed with people, some smoking weed, others making out. Great… My brother invited the neighborhood again without telling me.
I wince as I squeeze past a grinding couple in the doorway. Can’t they find somewhere more private?
Smoke hangs thick in the air, and the bass rattles the family photos on the walls. The sight of it all makes my blood boil. I shove my way through the crowd, hunting for my brother so I can rip him a new one.
I stop at the kitchen doorway when I spot the mess.
What the hell?
Not only is the table covered with empty bottles and red Solo cups, but a couple is fucking on the counter, the guy’s bare ass pumping as he groans into their frantic kissing.
Where’s Chris? I’ll murder him.
I turn to find that traitor, who will absolutely be cleaning this mess tomorrow, when Rain throws her arm around my shoulder, a Solo cup in her hand. She takes a sip, gestures toward the couple, and snickers. “Young love. Isn’t it beautiful?”
They’re fucking like frantic rabbits. Not exactly what I’d call beautiful.
The redhead spots us over the guy’s shoulder and squeals, which makes him glance back. Does he stop? Of course not. Thegirl giggles, bouncing on the counter as he fucks her harder. Chris is definitely scrubbing this place in the morning.
Rain gives me one of hercome on, it’s funnygrins, and I feel myself thawing a little as we pass the kitchen.
“You stink,” she says, sipping more of whatever concoction was in her cup.
“Thanks. I appreciate it.”
“That’s what friends are for.” She inhales the last of her drink and hands it to some random guy as we walk by.
He looks at the empty cup, then at us, puzzled.
“I’m taking a shower,” I tell her.
She spins away, shimmying her hips to the beat ofHit ’Em Upby 2Pac and Outlawz. “Don’t be long.”
Shaking my head with a reluctant smile, I head upstairs to my room to wash off the sweat. The bass pounds through the walls, a reminder that the night is only just beginning.
I take off my clothes and turn on the shower, adjusting the temperature. It takes a little while to heat up, but that’s no surprise. Everything in this house is old.
I step into the shower and wash my hair, tilting my head back as the water pours over my face. My muscles ache from the run, but I feel lighter, which is all I can ask for.
When I finish, I wrap a towel around my body and use another to dry my hair as I leave the bathroom. I double-check that the bedroom door is locked, then toss the towel in the laundry hamper, brushing my wet hair. The last thing I want is drunk strangers stumbling into my room looking for a private place to have sex.
The paddle brush catches on knots, and I wince before my gaze lands on the bedside table. I still have the dagger from the night I broke into Kane’s party.
When he caught me, I dropped the bag. Everything spilled. I thought it was empty, so I grabbed it and ran. I didn’t realizeuntil I got home that I’d gotten away with something. The dagger sat at the bottom of the bag, heavy and unmistakable.
I don’t know what to do with it. I could sell it. Ishouldsell it. Easy fix. Clean hands, right? But my chest tightens every time I think about it.
