Page 121 of Until We Burn
“That’s not the point—” Rowan draws in a sharp breath andsnatches the cardholder. “I’m storing this in my pocket to keep it from falling out.”
Stella gawks back at him. “B-But what if I need it?”
“You can call me if you do,” Rowan quips. “Lucky you because I saw tons of spiders inside.”
“If you didn’t have a face like that, I’d bludgeon you with that lightning bolt,” she grumbles.
With both of their tickets scanned, Wallace and Shelby check off their names on the iPad. Before Rowan heads in, he nudges Wallace close and whispers something in his ear.
Diana catches the interaction with knitted brows. She tugs on my shirt.
“What’s wrong?” she whispers. “What are they talking about?”
She’s onto us.
I force a calm smile on my face and shrug. “Rowan’s probably telling Wallace to save him before Stella makes him lose his shit tonight.”
Diana doesn’t laugh. Faint irritation crosses her face. Her worried eyes narrow in suspicion.
The urge to tell her the truth eats away at me. But I have to hold back. She shouldn’t have to worry about more people than she needs to tonight.
The tension in the air grows thicker when we step into Levels. The cold night air dies under the smothering heat rising around the club. Skeletons hang from the walls, cobwebs crawling with fake spiders drape around the LED-lit stair railings, and hazy smoke swirls the ceiling. Over our heads, the mantra “bad decisions only”glows neon red in the dark.
People don’t hesitate to take that mantra seriously.
Vape smoke clouds the air in a sweet haze, the floors are sticky with spilled booze, but no one cares. They dance and sloppily make out to the DJ’s beat on the dancefloor.
Without another word, the six of us split up to get into position.
Diana turns to follow Stella up the stairs towards the lounge.
“Hey.” I gently take her hand, drawing her down a step.
Diana looks over her shoulder at me, her brows raised.
I lift my lips to her ear. “Are we okay?”
“Why wouldn’t we be?”
“You just seem?—”
“Hey, Kai!” Luke beckons me over to the bar. “Let’s go!”
“Merde.”I squeeze Diana’s hand before I look back up at her. “We’ll talk after all this is over, okay?”
Diana snatches her hand away. “You might want to make sure you don’t have any outstanding assignments before you make promises like that.”
She snaps around and goes up the stairs. I watch her go, frustration and confusion riling up inside of me.
Sophia. Simon. And now an angry Diana.
The night hasn’t even started, and shit is already going down.
CHAPTER 49
DIANA
I never thoughtI was capable of being so petty.
