Page 56 of The Demons We Hide

“Not yet,” Gio replies. “But I hope you don’t mind if we share you for a bit.”

We share our toys… his words from before penetrate my otherwise alcohol and pleasure addled mind as Lex moves in closer to my front. He finds my free hand and puts it around his own neck. His hips touch mine, his cock higher up on my abdomen than Gio’s against my ass. Both of them are hard, the stiff lengths of them rubbing against me through the fabric of our clothes.

When I’d agreed to come with them for the weekend, this hadn’t been my plan. Yet, here we are—hours away from home—and all I can feel in my blood is fire. We’re not in Silverwood. No one here knows who I am, who they are. We are just like everyone around us—invisible lovers hidden in plain sight.

I release a breath and simply sink further into this fantasy. Lex and Gio dance with me, one pressed to my front and the other to my back. By the time I’ve grown dizzy with fatigue and I’m panting out each breath, the crowd around us has thinned somewhat.

“Do you need a break?” Lex’s question—murmured against my cheek—makes me shiver, but I nod.

Without missing a beat, both Gio and Lex lead me off the dance floor and towards the bar counter that G and I had been at earlier. Lyle the bartender catches sight of us and hurries to mix up the same drink I’d had before. He slaps it down along with two beers before striding back down the line of other customers. G hooks his fingers around the long necks of the beers and takes my drink in his other hand. Lex tugs me along behind them and to my surprise, they don’t lead me back up the staircase, but towards an alcove around the back of the dance floor.

“Where—” I never finish the question as the answer appears as several booths that are more like holes in the wall with curtains and pillowed benches surrounding tables. Nolan sits at one, chatting amicably with his cousin.

Zeke is dressed in dark slacks and a matching button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. His hair is brushed back from his face and he appears far older now than he had earlier. How much older? I wonder.

When he catches sight of us, he says something to Nolan, who looks up and nods. Before we even make it to the booth, Zeke slides out of his spot with ease and makes his exit in the opposite direction. I follow him with my gaze, curiosity burning in my gut.

Gio nudges one of the curtains aside and holds it open for me. I’m sweaty, sticky, and hot, and now that I’m no longer surrounded by a throng of bodies, I’m beginning to shiver from the cool air pumping into the club. So, at the promise of a more enclosed space away from the air vents, I climb onto the nearest bench and wrap my arms around myself. A moment later, Lex slides in next to me.

He tosses a heavy limb over my shoulders, but when I glance up, he’s not looking at me.

“Here.” Gio slides my drink onto the table and in my direction before handing Lex his.

I cast a look around the table, taking in Nolan’s even expression and Lex’s gaze as he watches the people outside of the booth. Twisting my fingers around my glass, I lift it to my lips and take a long drink. The fruity and light flavor hits my tongue and I sigh as it eases my somewhat raw throat.

“So…” I begin. “What’s the reason for this trip?”

At once, all three pairs of eyes are on me. “What do you mean?” Nolan asks. “We’re visiting Eastpoint tomorrow for a tour. We told you that.”

I snort. If they think I bought that, then they’re not as smart as I originally gave them credit for. Placing a single finger atop the rim of my glass, I arch an eyebrow in his direction. “I’m sure that’s true,” I tell him, “but there’s something else going on, isn’t there?”

Silence meets that question, and I know I’m right.

“Does it have to do with Darrio Vargas?” At my question, Gio stiffens and shoots Nolan a look. It’s not worry or even accusation, but more of an expression that begs him to figure out how to get out of this conversation without giving me any of the information I’m asking for.

One thing I know, though, is that the Scorpion Kings don’t make plans for nothing. They’re here, in Eastpoint, for a reason, and with the way they all stiffened at the mention of Darrio Vargas, I think I already know. My next question is… why? Why do they work for him when it seems clear that Gio doesn’t care for his dad? Do they not have a choice?

The Scorpion Kings don’t strike me as the type of men who bow to others’ will, at least not without a reason. If I’m going to start letting them in again, then I need to be fully in. I need to knoweverything.

As soon as that thought occurs to me, I realize that it’s too late. I’ve already started letting them in again. Even before I knew what I was doing. Shaking off that reminder, I lock my jaw and lift my gaze to Nolan’s. He’s their leader, therefore, he’s the one I need to break.

Dark-brown eyes with threads of crimson woven through them peer back at me as he carefully lifts the neck of his beer to his lips and takes a long drag from the bottle. A beat passes where the only sound is that of the music and chatter outside of the booth.

Nolan sets his beer back down. “Don’t ask questions when you’re not ready for the answers.”

I lean forward, shrugging off Lex’s arm. “Who are you to tell me I’m not fucking ready?”

He doesn’t back away from my challenge. “The one with the answers, Princess.” Nolan reaches up and touches the tip of my nose. “Just enjoy this little vacation for now and don’t worry about what we do in the shadows.”

Ice fills my veins, coating my arteries in frost. “I will find out what you’re hiding,” I warn him.

Nolan frowns. “I’m saying this for your own good, Juliet,” he says, dropping his voice into that deep baritone that’s almost raspy. “Don’t stick your nose where it doesn’t belong, and everything you want will happen. You’ll graduate and you’ll leave Silverwood behind and you’ll end up here one day—at Eastpoint.”

My desire for that exact outcome overwhelms me. Escaping Silverwood. Moving to Eastpoint. Actually making it into college—possibly using that program they were talking about. I want it so bad that I ache with it. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to turn a blind eye to whatever they’re doing.

If they’re going to be in my life, if they truly won’t leave me the fuck alone, then what they do will eventually affect me. Whether I want it to or not. The fact that they won’t tell me is suspicious. I cast a look to one side, taking in Lex’s dispassionate expression and Gio’s downward gaze as he picks at the label on the beer bottle in front of him.

I closed my eyes to everyone around me before. I ignored any and all signs of my parents falling apart, of my best friend’s betrayal, or my ex’s betrayal. I can’t do that anymore. I won’t.

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