Page 118 of Kings & Carnage

I expected her to be surprised, but when she turned to look at me there was satisfaction in her eyes instead.

“Oh, hi Willa. I’ve been hearing all about the Spring Fever masquerade," she said. "I figured I'd check it out for myself since my best friend didn't want to hang out with me.”

"You know that's not true," I said. "I always want to hang out with you. It's just to— ”

"Too dangerous?" She looked around with a shrug. "It doesn't look dangerous to me. And you're here with your Kings so it must not be dangerous at all.”

She was slurring her words, way too drunk to be in a situation like this alone.

"No disrespect, Willa," the Rook said. I recognized him, a nice-enough guy named Ilya, "but I think your friend here is old enough to know what she wants.”

"No disrespect Ilya, but you don't know what the fuck you're talking about,” I said.

He held up his hands in surrender, casting a glance at Oscar, who was glaring daggers at him. "I'm going to grab a drink.” He looked at Mara. “Mara you said, right? I'll catch up with you later.”

He ambled off and Mara glared at me. "Thanks a lot.”

"I'm just looking out for you," I said.

"No, you're looking out for you," she said, her voice rising in anger. "That's all you care about now.”

I shook my head. "That's not true." I hadn't told her about Alexa or the Knights because I hadn't wanted to worry her. "I'm just trying to protect you.”

"Maybe I don't need you to protect me," she said. "Maybe I just need you to be my friend.”

"I am your friend," I said. "And that's why I'm going to get you out of here.”

"That's impossible, because I don't want to leave," she said, pushing off the wall and staggering forward. She really was hammered. "I'm going to the basement. That's where the kink is.”

It sounded absolutely ridiculous coming from her drunken mouth.

"Yeah, you're not going anywhere but home with me." I had no idea what to do with her while Rock and Neo finished upstairs, but I wasn't leaving her like this.

I put my arm around her waist, trying to steady her, but she shoved me off.

Now I was the one who stumbled in my four-inch gold heels.

Oscar lurched toward me, his attention torn from Laszlo Nagy by my altercation with Mara. He took two steps forward and I saw Nagy turn and leave the room behind him.

I shook my head, trying to convey the fact that our mark was getting away, Neo and Rock presumably still upstairs digging through Nagy’s offices, but Oscar's gaze was pinned on me, the urgency on his face making it clear I was his priority.

Next to me, Mara was muttering, slapping my hands off her arms as I tried to usher her out of the room.

It was a moment of confusion — Laszlo leaving the room unbeknownst to Oscar, Mara fighting me every step of the way, Oscar working his way through the crowd of fucking — like literally fucking — people to get to me.

Then, as if things couldn't get any worse, the shriek of a fire alarm.

I covered my ears by instinct, then shook my head to try and clear it around the piercing sound.

Smoke had started to fill the room from an unknown source and Mara looked around, confused.

I searched for Oscar across the room but everyone else had started to panic, pushing and shoving as they tried to make their way to the narrow hall leading to the front door.

I grabbed Mara's arm but she shook me off and disappeared into the haze, too drunk to understand or care what was happening as the smoke grew thicker.

I coughed, the acrid smoke winding its way down my throat and into my lungs. I was frantic to find Mara and Oscar, but I couldn't see a thing, and a moment later I felt a gust of cold air as someone opened a back door off the kitchen.

I was carried toward it by the teeming crowd, and I swiveled my head in every direction, desperately hoping for a glimpse of Mara and Oscar, hoping they were already outside or headed that way, closer than I knew but hidden because of the smoke.

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