My heart leapt up my throat and I ran. A big guy in a black mask stood at the end of the corridor blocking my way. I pumped my arms and tried to slip by him, but thick arms snaked around my body.
“Let go of me!” I cried and pummeled an iron chest.
His arms locked around my ribs, crushing the air from my lungs. Terror’s claws ripped into me, but I wouldn’t let it win.Fear was just a mental response to an outside stimulus. That’s what years of therapy had taught me.
I brought my knee back and rammed it between his legs.
“You little bitch!” the guy howled.
He released me to cup his now broken balls, and I darted past him into the main orgy room. Most of the masked attendees had dispersed, but a few couples still remained, groping each other in the darkness.
I zipped past them and scanned the murky room, praying to find those stairs. The lights suddenly flicked on, and I let out a cry of relief. There they were. My salvation lay just across the room.
“Everyone get the fuck out!” A voice boomed over the frenzy of my thundering heart. “The party is over.”
I hazarded a quick glance over my shoulder and met a familiar pair of green eyes burning through a black mask. Recognition flashed between us.
After an impossibly long moment, he finally released me from his dark glare. Just behind him, the guy I’d kneed in the balls staggered closer. Blowing out the breath I’d been holding, I sprinted across the room and raced up the stairs.
Upstairs, the party roared on like nothing had happened. Like no one downstairs had just died. I wound through the dancefloor of writhing bodies, sweat drenching my clothes. Screw Cordelia, I needed to get out of here now before someone spotted me. The black and white tile blurred my vision as I wandered through the crowd.
Where was the damned exit in this place?
My head whirled from side to side, but I could barely make out anything over the sea of broad shoulders and glittering dresses. I weaved past a wobbling girl on sky high stilettos and smacked into a dark suit. I let out a grunt as unfamiliar fingers gripped my waist.
“Get your hands off me!” I screamed.
“Whoa, whoa. I’m sorry.” The stranger lifted his hands and grazed his Batman mask, tipping it up past his nose.
“… Micah?” My heart let out a sigh of relief. He pushed the ridiculous mask further up so it sat atop his head of blonde locks. I followed suit, revealing my face. “It’s me, Lexi.”
His warm hazel eyes widened as they took in my scandalous dress. “Damn, pre-med, you clean up well.”
Despite the chaos, a faint smile curled back the corners of my lips. “Thanks,” I mumbled, heart still a battering ram against my ribs. “And Batman, really?” He was the only idiot in here in a superhero mask.
“Well, Superman doesn’t have a mask, so this was the next best thing.”
I eyed him.
“You know, because Clark Kent is a reporter, and journalism is my passion. Does any of this ring a bell?”
“Oh, right, sorry. It’s been a night.” I drew in another steadying breath.
“Did I tell you I’m in the Stonewall University Journalism Club by the way?”
“Nope.” I scanned the room still searching for the exit. I needed to get the hell out of here.
Micah must have finally noticed the panic in my face because he stopped blathering on about journalism club and dipped his gaze to mine. “What’s wrong?”
I squeezed my hands into fists, indecision battling a war deep inside. I knew what the right thing to do was. I should call the cops and tell them exactly what I’d overheard. But from experience, I also knew what happened when rich people did bad things.
Absolutely nothing.
Despite the evidence.
“Did something happen?” Those warm eyes lanced right through me, and my throat tightened, all the fear from a few moments ago suddenly strangling. “Did someone hurt you?” His fingers laced through mine, and he dragged me through the remains of the crowd.
The moment we were outside, I sucked in a deep breath of untainted air. My lungs expanded, and the suffocating feeling began to dissipate. Micah led me down the flower-lined pathwayand across the street. He finally stopped in front of a navy BMW SUV. With a click of the fob, the door unlocked and the engine started.
