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Chapter 44

Larissa

Free Animal

Foreign Air

“What exactly is your plan now, sis?” Miles asked from behind the steering wheel of his Lamborghini as he turned onto a forest road I wasn’t familiar with, leading us away from the main road.

I couldn’t help but notice that Bayla was just as interested as I was in the cars that appeared parked along the side of the road after we'd been driving for a while.

We had picked Bay up from campus, and I had known she wouldn't let me down, even though she was afraid of getting into trouble with the Copeland pack.

I looked at Miles and ignored the stupid nickname he kept calling me for weeks.

“You're going to draw all the attention to yourself so Bayla and I can disappear unnoticed,” I explained through the gap between the front seats.

Miles accelerated and raced through the mud as if his car were one of the Jeeps Nash and his guys always showed up on campus in like the Mafia.

“In other words, you're using me as your undercover distraction to break into Emely's crazy friend's house,” Miles laughed, shaking his head as he swerved around two drunk sophomores who, like many others, were heading deeper into the woods along the side of the path.

“Larissa is crazy,” Bayla blurted out. “Absolutely crazy.” She shook her head. “And the fact that you're joining in after that guy almost beat your larynx out of you…” She looked out the window with resignation. “I can't believe it. Aren't you afraid they will tear you apart?”

I grinned at Miles, who was smirking through the windshield.

“It's called an adrenaline rush, Bay,” he replied.

My best friend sighed.

I noticed that she was wearing that oversized Vanderwood hoodie again, which smelled faintly of Senseque, but my mind was too preoccupied with my plan for that night, so I quickly pushed it aside.

“What do you hope to gain from this?” Bayla eventually asked.

“The guy has skeletons in his closet,” I replied, my gaze fixed on the road. “Something's fishy about him.”

Miles' gaze met mine in the rearview mirror, but I looked away just in time to avoid seeing his concern. I wasn't a baby. And I had made it clear to him that there were some things he had no business getting involved in.

Bayla's stared straight ahead, and I followed her gaze.

Dreams

Beck

A vast beach filled with students stretched out before us. Loud music was playing, and people were gathered around burning fire baskets under strings of lights, behind them the roaring sea, its waves breaking on the expansive shore.

In the distance, relatively close to the coast, several massive rocks rose out of the water. Even groups of rocks that resembled small islets, covered with vegetation as if these rocks had once been part of the island.

Miles stopped the car.

“Damn, the Copelands actually have a damn party beach and I didn't know about it?” I exclaimed, fascinated by all the possibilities of what one could possibly do here.

Miles laughed. “The Copelands have many things they don't appreciate.”

“Oh, no…” Bay's voice filled with nervousness. “The Rolanows are here too.”

Miles followed her gaze and his grin disappeared for a split second when he spotted Mikhail.

“We can still turn back,” Bay said, a slight tension in her voice.