Page 112 of Until We Burn
Luke is flabbergasted beyond belief. “So all three of them were in on it from the start?”
“Basically.”
Rowan curses under his breath just as Wallace and Luke hiss out,“Those little bitches.”
Kai doesn’t flinch. Instead, quiet anger brews through his voice. “So, why are we protecting Sophia?”
“Because I’m tired of watching her endure so much pain and abuse for simply wanting to walk her own path.” My hand curls tighter around Kai’s, as I rustle through the complicated thoughts swarming my mind. “And I’m not only doing this because of Sophia. I want this cycle of lies and betrayal to end with me before I take over the HMG. That all starts with Halloween night. Stella and I need you guys to help us steal Sophia’s phone at the party, so Stella can erase all evidence that Sophia was plotting with my brothers.”
“Say no more,” Luke staunchly declares. “We got your back.”
I smile in gratitude, yet it falters when I glance back at Stella. “Except you guys can’t make any comments about Kai and me being friends with benefits. I don’t want to tell Stella about that until I feel like I can fully trust her.”
“Got it,” Wallace nods. He presses a hand to his chest. “Your secret is safe with us.”
“Absolutely no one will be the wiser,” Luke vows.
Rowan sighs and rolls his eyes. “If that’s the case, Diana and Kai might want to stop holding hands. Might seem a little suspicious.”
Kai and I glance down at our hands. They’re still intertwined from when we greeted each other at the door earlier.
“Oh, shit?—”
“—Sorry.”
Our hands spring apart. My skin tingles from his touch, and I can still smell his cologne despite the careful distance we keep between us.
Enough of that. You have a plan to put into action.
The plan is simple.
We separate Sophia from her friends long enough for her to have her back turned. I’ll grab her phone, answer the security questions on DXMessenger, and pass it to Stella, who will then delete the data that ties her to Gregory and Jonathan’s plans.
But finding ways to take Sophia’s phone is proving harder than we thought.
“Wallace and Shelby are gonna be checking people as they comein,” Luke mentions, “Why can’t they just pretend there’s something wrong with Sophia’s ticket, take it to the back, and have Stella do her thing?”
Wallace winces. “We wouldn’t be able to single her out. Shelby and I are simply crossing off the names of the ticket holders. The bouncers at Levels are the ones scanning tickets and searching people.” Wallace groans something in Korean before he rises onto his feet. “Maybe if I showed Levels’ layout, we can visualize the plan better.”
He connects his iPad to the TV. The night club’s floor plan flashes onto the screen.
“Here is the entrance.” Wallace gestures to the square at the bottom right of the screen. “That’s where Shelby and I will be standing with the bouncers.” His shoulders tuck in as he smiles giddily. “The two of us are going as Ren and Sumire from Persona 5.”
“That was my idea,” Luke boasts.
“How does it feel to finally have a good one?” Rowan asks.
Luke chuckles. “That’s so funny, bro.”
He slaps a glob of guacamole onto Rowan’s taco. Rowan glares at him, while Luke grins back.
“Anyways—”Wallace drawls. “The club has three floors: there’s the lounge, the dance floor, and all the way down the stairs are the bathrooms.”
Wallace taps on a loft space. “This is the lounge. There will be a bar and a few tables. You can try to get Sophia to sit up there since she can put her phone down while she has her drinks.”
“Alright.” Kai nods. “But how are we going to get her up there?”
“One of you can go up to her and offer to buy her a drink?” I suggest. “Sophia rarely has money on her since men usually buy things for her.”
