“There’s not much to report, is there?” Finn asks.
“No, but maybe with our powers combined, we can come up with something.”
While I dial, Nikki mouths “BOAT” at me silently behind Finn’s back. Thankfully, Willow answers on the first ring.
“Tell me you’ve found her,” she says.
“We have not found her.” I switch the phone to my other hand, and Finn’s jacket brushes against my arm. I try not to think about how close he is, or how close he was to me just a few minutes ago. I suppress a shudder as I remember the sensation of Finn’s teeth scraping softly against my neck.
Willow sighs. “Shit.” There’s silence, then I hear a faint click and a puff of air. It’s a familiar sound, but I can’t quite place it. Until, wait—
“Willow, are yousmoking?”
“I’m just lighting it! I’m not actually smoking it, Em. But I swear to god, if I can’t at least hold a cigarette in my hand right now, I’m going to go insane.”
“Okay, but open a window. Even breathing the secondhand smoke can impact the—”
“Emma,” Willow cuts me off. “Trust me. I know. I’m not going to do anything to endanger my baby.”
“Sorry,” I say sheepishly. Once again, my stress instincts have me scrambling to fix whatever I can. “What’s the latest there?” I ask Willow.
“Everyone’s buying Jamie’s lie about food poisoning, but the Rains are worried. They want to get the police involved.” We all fall silent for a moment as the seriousness of the situation settles around us.
“Maybe we should.” Nikki twists nervously at the end of her ponytail.
“Give us a chance to talk to Jamie,” I break in.
Nikki turns to me. “What will we even tell him?”
“I don’t know.” And I really don’t. At this point, lying to Jamie feels less like we’re protecting Sybil and more like we’re putting her at risk. “Maybe it’s time to just tell him the truth.”
We hang up and enter Caesars Palace. Jamie and his groomsmen are easy to spot across the lobby, all dark hair and expensive suits. They wave at us to join them, but before we can head in their direction, a bevy of boas and tiaras cuts us off.
“Nikki! Nikki Bennett!” A gaggle of white women—clearly a bachelorette party—beelines straight toward us, and Nikki’s entire demeanor changes. She puts on a smile and cocks her head, but something shutters behind her eyes.
“Can we get a photo with you?” a woman with a light-up cowboy hat and a “Maid of Honor” sash asks.
“We loved your season!” another woman says as they congeal around Nikki.
“Aaron is the absolute worst,” says one with a penis straw bobbing in her drink.
Nikki doesn’t drop her smile, but the lines around her mouth tighten as she poses with each of the women. They all get together for a group shot with the lobby’s fountain in the background and ask me to take the photo while yelling, “Best bachelorette party ever!” The maid of honor in the cowboy hat takes a second look at me as I hand her back her phone. “You’re that girl in the video!”
I flinch at the reference to #burritogate, but suddenly I have a much bigger concern to contend with—Jamie has made his way over to us, his crew of groomsmen in tow. I note several members of this thirsty bachelorette party eyeing them up and down.
“Hey, Emma, Nikki.” Jamie offers up a wide smile, but his eyes keep scanning behind us. “Where’s—”
He’s cut off by a loud voice from behind me, as one of thebachelorettes—the one with a penis straw—crows out, “Ooh, you’re yummy. You should go onLovedBynext.” I turn to see her coral-pink nails clutched around Finn’s biceps. He gives her an effortlessly devastating smile while gently extracting his arm from her grip.
“Ha, thanks. But not really my thing.”
“Well, maybe you and I should just have our own little overnight date, then.” She waggles her brows, and her eyes are glassy as she leans her body weight against Finn’s torso.
“Um, no thanks.” He looks over her blond curls at me, inclining his head toward the exit. “Emma, do you think we should…?”
I nod and start moving toward the door. “Jamie, let’s step outside and we can—”
“Oh comeon! Don’t you like me?” Penis Straw’s drunken voice rings through the lobby. “Just roll with it, cutie, it’s a compliment!” I notice her hand drifting from Finn’s arm to his chest now.
