No, she isn’t.
However, I’m not convinced.
Not yet.
Card tricks are one thing, but we’re talking about a life-or-death situation here, and I can’t ignore how pliable she was earlier.
She crosses her arms, and I can read in her face that she still feels the thrill of outsmarting us. “So, am I good enough to know more now?” Her gaze shifts between Levi and me, her tone and posture all demanding.
“You’re good, Little Bird.” Levi glances at me long enough for me to see the hesitation in his eyes. “Real good. As for knowing more…”
We can’t know for sure until we have Alaric’sgo.
She glares at him. “You’re seriously still keeping me in the dar?—”
“We’re not done yet,” I cut her angry rambling off before she can pick up steam.
“Yeah.” Levi flashes another grin. “Give me your number, Little Bird, and I’ll let you know where and when to meet us tomorrow.”
She studies us, and I clock the moment she decides not to push back. “Fine.” She’s biding her time. She knows we’re still stringing her along, but she’s hooked now.
And that works for me because we’re doing the same. We need to know how much we can trust her and if we can involve her in something so important.
If we can trust her at all.
THIRTEEN
Blood sprays and digital bodies drop, but my sight is hazy. I take out another enemy on the screen, and my controller vibrates, but my hands might as well be numb for how much it registers. Thekill-confirmedsound pings in my headphones, but it falls on deaf ears.
Picking up the blunt from the ashtray beside me, I take a slow drag. My head is somewhere else entirely—somewhere glittery and impossible to shake off.
The smoke curls through my lungs, trying its best to force some chill into me, but there’s none to be found. The room around me is dim, lit mostly by the blue glow of my monitor. My bed is unmade, sheets tangled like I’ve been fighting with them. The desk is cluttered with energy drink cans and ashtrays overflowing with roaches. Everything feels too familiar, too damn quiet.
Like everything is still while I’m spinning.
Three months. Three fucking months of obsessing over her. Over that glitter-covered, gorgeous mess of a woman who’s got me twisted up in ways I didn’t even think were possible. I can’t explain it. Hell, I can’t even fully understand it. But from themoment I laid eyes on her, something clicked in me that had been lying dormant for years and woke up.
She didn’t just wake me up. She set me on fire.
And I fucked it all up in one night.
Another enemy pops up on the screen, and I blow his pixelated head off without blinking, but instead of the rush I usually get from the victory, my brain immediately wanders back to her, to the way her body moved under my mouth, the way she looked at me right before she kicked me out.
She’s gorgeous in a way that makes me want to forget my name, but it’s more than physical. It’s how she holds herself like she’s carrying the weight of a world no one else can see. Her laughter has this edge as if she’s daring the universe to knock her down, or she can make the room brighter just by existing in it. And yeah, I’m fully aware of how insane it sounds to fall this hard for someone I barely know. But I’m not just some lovesick idiot. I’ve been around enough to know when something is real.
And with her? It feels fuckingreal.
Last night, I spent hours combing through four different strip clubs looking for her and even went back to Vortex. Nothing. No sign of her. How the hell does someone that sparkly just disappear? It’s like losing a star in the night sky.
Maybe I should show up at her place. Knock on her door and tell her we need to talk. But fuck, that’d be creepy, right? I’d look like a fucking stalker.
I mean, if I found her at work, that’s cute, right?
Not creepy.
My thumb slips on the joystick, and my character gets shot in the head. A bright redELIMINATEDflashes across the screen. I slam the controller down, growling under my breath as I lean back, staring up at the ceiling. “Get a grip, Sy,” I mutter, running a hand through my hair. “You’re acting like a goddamn teenager.”
Weed usually calms me down, slows the shitstorm in my brain, but tonight I may as well be pouring water on a grease fire. Useless.
