“Tomorrow night? We end Ayan.”
forty-two
I’m notone for costumes. Neither is Apollo. So he’s wearing his best black suit with a black undershirt, his hair slicked back and a clean-shaven jaw, looking like a mafia god. A hint of his neck tattoos pokes out from his crisp collar.
I picked out a short black strapless dress. Simple. Satin. A little bit of flare to the skirt. And those terrible black stilettos I wore at theOmegaparty.
So people didn’t look at us weird and wonder why the president ofDeltagot an invite, we both wear masks that cover the top halves of our faces.
Immediately after getting frisked, having to put our phones away, and showing our invitations, we step into the opulent entry ofThetaManor. Apollo’s grip on my hand tightens possessively.
Despite the normal, fancy party atmosphere. Things are…different. A few couples are already fucking in the ruby-carpeted parlor. On the silk sofa. The wall. On the classy bar.
To our left is a billiards room. Except the table is covered in a mass of naked bodies.
I take a deep breath, trying to see if any of them are Ayan.
“Where do we go?” Apollo asks, as if just as stunned as me. It’s a lot of sex for one area.
“I don’t?—”
“Drink up! Drink up! Drinks on me!” My brother Lan unfortunately makes an appearance. The only good thing is? He’s at least wearing his boxer briefs. But that’s it.
Eyes bloodshot. Pupils huge. And hair loose like wheat in the breeze.
I tense and hold still, worried our cover might get blown. Or worse, that he’ll do something disgusting I don’t want to see.
With a flourish, he shoves two sparkling champagne flutes into our hands, and we rapidly take them, hoping he won’t recognize us. He spins on a bare heel and grabs a tray of more glasses, then darts off toward the dance music down a hall.
Apollo’s shoulders relax in sync with mine. Shaking his head with relief, he raises his glass. “Cheers. That was close.”
We down them and edge farther into the mansion.
The place is packed with bodies, but despite checking most of the rooms downstairs, we don’t find Ayan. And neither of us dares to ask anyone if they’ve seen him. It would draw suspicion. Both to us asking about him when he eventuallydisappearsand giving away our presence at the party.
We’re not supposed to be here.
“Maybe down this hall?” Apollo suggests, pointing the way. “This place is a fucking maze.”
He guides us down a darkened section, lined with mahogany wainscoting and thick doors. All shut tight. We approach one with a goldPresident’s Officeplate just outside it.
“I’m having deja vu…” Apollo groans.
“I doubt he’d be in there?—”
Just as I speak, the door flings open. Aiden almost barrels into us, Ashlyn right at his back. We all jump, startled. And then straighten up as we take each other in.
“Oh, hi,” Ashlyn says. “You made it!”
“Yeah, thanks for the invites,” I tell her and Aiden. “We’re…looking forhim…”
Aiden nods once. “Come in. We were just going to head upstairs.”
“Only becausesomeonewon’t let me have any fun?—”
“Becausesomeoneis about to get fucking punished.”
The two stare each other down like they’re about to commit murder right here. Then Aiden snags Ashlyn’s hand and leads back inside the office. With a squeak, he takes up the spot at his desk chair as we shut the door.
