“Oh my god!” Her hands flew to her mouth. “Oh my god, you guys! I so badly want to let you have this moment, but dammit, I have to interrupt because it’s Quinn.”
We moved toward her on instinct, sharing a look that conveyed we’d speak again when we had time later before our eyes trained on her phone.
She had a voicemail pulled up.
“She did it. She figured it out.” Gia stared between us, eyes wide with awe, even though she wasn’t surprised, before trepidation crept into her voice. “She went into the tunnels.”
Kingston and I locked eyes again, fear coloring his expression as thoroughly as it raced through me.
“Do you know if she solved it?” He refocused on Gia, pulling out his phone at the same time that I grabbed mine. “Do you know if she found the right path?”
“She didn’t say, but she wouldn’t go unless she knew, right?” Her gaze grew frantic as it jumped between us. “She wouldn’t risk?—”
But I turned to him.
And I knew what I had to do.
He dug into his pocket. “Take the bike. Go quickly.”
He slipped the key into my palm and grabbed my wrist. Because the truth resonated as deeply in him as it had in me.
I was his.
But I was hers, too.
So, with one final squeeze of his grip on my arm, he released me.
And I ran.
Max Dread
I glared at Morty as he approached, nonchalant as fuck, like none of this mattered.
He clapped a hand on my shoulder. “Hey, baby brother. Why so glum?”
I tossed his hand off my body and stepped away. I had enough on my plate with what was coming tonight. Each moment spent waiting for Victoria to walk over, for Percy to stand up, tightened my throat like a noose around my neck.
I moved to walk away from him, needing air.
He grabbed me again.
“What the fuck is your problem?” I growled. “You think this is funny?”
His eyes narrowed, and he clenched his teeth, his smile morphing into a grimace. “Your future engagement to V while yourtwue wuvruns off to win The Quest?”
“What the fuck are you talking about?”
Morty arched a brow. The fucking prick.
“I mean, your little princess figured it out.” He smirked, brushing off his shoulder. “Well, she asked the right questionsto the Dread with all the answers. Then she took off like a little Lady on a mission to fight the good fight. You should be proud.”
I scanned the party over his shoulder, sure I’d be able to spot her in the crowd. Like I’d done the minute she’d stepped onto the lawn. She’d chatted with her bestie and then ran off in search of this asshole.
Assuming she’d been using her questions, but not expecting more than that, when I hadn’t seen her for a few songs, I figured she’d left early, knowing what was coming.
“She went to the tunnels?” I grabbed the collar of his shirt. “You sent her there?”
“I did my duty as Secret Question Answer Man. That’s a working title, of course. The position really needs a good name. No wonder pops shrugged it off to me. No one planned that out perfectly.”
