Sweet Peril (33 page)

Dang it. I shook out my arms. Okay, enough roaring. Time to move.

Once we had the dance down, we left to find the perfect outfits. Blake knew just where to go—swanky, over-the-top stores with glittering shirts for women and tight shirts for men. Only certain types of boys could pull off the club look, and Blake was one of them.

The night was hot, but I felt self-conscious in the backless halter top Blake picked out. I kept trying to hike up the low-rise black pants, to no avail.

“What if this thing comes untied?” I asked, feeling the bow at my neck and lower back as we walked down the darkened sidewalk. “Are you sure you can’t see in through the sides? I can’t believe I let you talk me into this.”

“Don’t worry, I double-knotted it, and all your goodies are safe. You look hot. Kai would kill me if he knew I let you out in that.”

My self-consciousness waned as we entered the club and I saw that my outfit would not be getting any special attention. The giant room was three stories high, with balconies tapering down to a view of the dance floor in the center. Next to me, Blake hollered so I could hear him over the blasting music.

“Ever wondered how it would feel to have thousands of
eyes on you? ’Cause you’re about to find out.”

He started forward and I grabbed his hand, suddenly terrified.

“Relax, girl.”

“I’m not ready!”

He shrugged one shoulder. “Maybe you need a drink?”

I gave my head an adamant shake, while that greedy little voice inside me had a tantrum.

“Look, Anna. I’m not trying to be a creeper here. I got your back tonight. You can drink.”

I bit my lip. It would be so nice to let go, and I knew Blake had no expectations except that I have fun and be willing to take risks. He may have been the world’s biggest flirt, but I didn’t get any vibes of attraction from him. He was safe. It was my own self I didn’t trust.

“I don’t want to get drunk,” I told him.

“I won’t let you.”

“Once I start drinking, I want more. And I’ll get mad and sneaky. I might be mean if you don’t let me have more.”

“You think you can take me?” He laughed. “I ain’t scared of you, girl.”

“But . . .” I felt my argument weakening. “I don’t have a stamp like you.” I pointed to his hand. I could have used my fake ID, but I hadn’t been planning on drinking.

“Nobody’s paying attention. Trust me. Come on.”

I rejoiced on the inside. He was the exact friend I needed at my side tonight.

Blake got me a beer, then scared away a guy who tried to hit on me, telling him to step away from his best friend’s girl.
It warmed me to know Kaidan had a best friend and to hear Blake call me Kai’s girl.

By the time I’d had my drink and we made it to the center of the dance floor, I was relaxed and ready to go. Blake had requested the song we’d practiced to, and when it came on Blake got serious while I attempted not to break into laughter. It didn’t take long for the crowd to spread, creating an opening where Blake and I were in motion, synchronized and more fluid than when we’d practiced at Kaidan’s place. I could not believe I was doing this. Veronica would freaking love it. Having an audience made me tighten my moves and halfway through I finally lost my nervous smile. I found myself playing it up the more people cheered.

I’d worn my hair down and straight. Blake said hair was a girl’s best prop. Mine swished with my movements. I understood what he meant now, and I used all my assets to give these people a show. Everyone whistled and cheered. The song ended and I hugged Blake, laughing and out of breath.

And so the night went, with Blake keeping me at a steady buzz, never letting me stop moving long enough to overthink or overanalyze what might be happening on the other side of the world. Even after we got back to Kaidan’s place, Blake was intent on wearing me out. He made me change into my bathing suit, while he borrowed Kai’s swim trunks, and the two of us went swimming in the middle of the night. We weren’t the only ones there, but when Blake began doing trick flips and dives, others came out of their apartments to watch. Someone turned on music and brought drinks, making it an official starlight pool party. I kept my cell phone nearby, checking it
occasionally, but no calls came.

I thought about Jay and Veronica back home. They thought I was visiting Dad, but I’d told them I might be seeing Kai. They didn’t understand the dynamics there, about how my family and Kai’s were “related,” except that our dads were somehow connected.

With a drunken grin, I climbed from the pool, picked up my phone, and texted Jay and Veronica.

Guess what? Me and Kai are BFGF!

I giggled, waiting.

Two seconds later it rang. Veronica. When I answered she said, “Shut the front door, you are
not
!” I laughed and she went on. “Are you really boyfriend-girlfriend? Oh, my gawd! How did this happen? What time is it there? Have you even gone to sleep? This is totally worth being woken up before six for. Tell me every single detail, and I swear if you leave anything out I’ll kill you. And if he’s stringing you along, he’s so dead!”

I couldn’t stop laughing through her entire rambling tirade. A text came in from Jay saying:

If this is a joke u r in big trbl 4 wakin me up. Call me when u get home
.

I tried to explain everything to Veronica in as much detail as possible without making it sound strange. She kept screeching in my ear.

“I’ll let you go back to sleep,” I told her after I was done gushing. “Do me a favor and tell Jay something for me, would you?”

“Sure,” she said, yawning now.

“Tell him Kai
so
wrote that single. I was right.”

“You got it. In your face, Jay, from Anna. Good night, girl. I’m happy for you. But I meant what I said about killing him if he’s playing you.”

“I know, sweets. Don’t worry.”

We hung up, and Blake was standing there with another drink. When I finished it, he yanked me into the water, making me go around and around the edges with him and all the other people to cause a whirlpool effect that dragged us around like a current.

We got hungry around three in the morning, and ordered a ton of pizza from an all-night pizza place. Afterward, Blake talked a guy into letting him borrow his skateboard, and he once again entertained all of us. If it had wheels, Blake could work it.

“Is he your boyfriend?” a girl behind me asked.

I turned to the group of girls watching Blake. They were all coifed and beautiful in their bikinis, not having gone in the water. My wet hair was pulled back in a ponytail by this point and I was wrapped in a towel. “No, he’s my boyfriend’s best friend. We’re watching his place while he’s . . . out of town.”

A pang of fear jabbed me when I thought about Kai.

“What’s your name?” asked a brunette with glossy lips.

“Anna.” I smiled.

“Hey. I’m Jenny,” she said. “This is Daniela and Tara.”

“Hey,” I said to them.

“So, your boyfriend lives here?” asked the blonde, Daniela. She had a cool accent—something European.

“Yes,” I answered, pointing up to his apartment.

The girls all shared looks, raising their sculpted eyebrows.

“Wait,” said Jenny. “Is he that guy in the band?”

The third girl, named Tara, gasped. “The
drummer
?” When I nodded, they shared awed looks.

“Oh my gawd, don’t get mad at me for saying this,” said Jenny, “but he’s a total piece of eye candy.” Her friends all laughed.

“Yum drum,” whispered Tara, and Daniela playfully shoved her.

Jenny got serious. “But don’t worry. He, like, never comes out or talks to anyone. Now we know why.” She winked at me. “You are so adorable. Where are you from?”

“Georgia.”

This was met with a round of
awww
s. “Hey, you’re a Southern girl,” said Tara. “You should like this.”

She held out a bottle of bourbon and I felt a tug toward it. My fingers reached out.

“Maybe just one drink,” I said.

Daniela grinned and turned up the music.

Fifteen minutes and three shots later I’d dropped my towel and was dancing with the girls and telling them how much I loved them, while they drunkenly swore to sabotage the efforts of any girl who tried to talk to my man. We’d formed a circle and were singing at the top of our lungs to a song on the radio. Blake threw a heavy arm over my shoulder and pushed his way into our group. The girls screamed with laughter when he started dancing in the middle. And then he accidentally kicked over the empty bottle of bourbon.

“My bad,” he said, righting the bottle. Then his head
swung up to look at me. I grinned, swaying, and he muttered, “Oh, snap. Little girl’s been into the liquor.”

“Dance with us, Blake!” I said, clapping my hands. My new friends all cheered.

“No, ma’am. It’s time to get you to bed.”

He grabbed my hand, but I wiggled away. He chased me around the group of girls, me yelling about needing one more drink until he caught me and threw me over his shoulder.

“Don’t leave!” Jenny begged.

“Sorry,” Blake told her. “I promised her man I wouldn’t let her get too drunk. She gets all crazy and starts kissing random dudes.”

“Shut up!” I screamed, pounding his back. “That’s not true!”

At least, not anymore.

Blake smacked my butt. Hard. I screamed again, lifting my hands to protect my behind as he moved us away from the laughing crowd. “I’m telling Kai!”

He laughed all the way up the stairs and into Kaidan’s apartment as I flailed. He tossed me on the bed where I crawled to Kaidan’s pillow and buried my face in it, breathing him in.

Blake left and came back with a glass of water, setting it on the nightstand.

My hand fumbled to pull the phone from my pocket, so Blake plucked it out and handed it to me. I clutched it to my chest after reading the time. Six in the morning.

“He loves you, you know,” Blake said in an unexpected moment of seriousness.

“I know,” I whispered. And my heart melted with the
sureness of that knowledge.

“Good. Now drink this water and go to sleep.”

With effort, I sat up partway and drank the whole glass. He took it from me.

“Thank you, Blake.”

“Nah,” he said quietly. “Thank
you
.”

He left me to go pass out on the couch, and I fell asleep without a single thought in my mind. Exactly as Blake had intended.

A
familiar, yet irritating sound forced my eyes open some hours later. I was deliriously confused and my mouth was drained of moisture, as if I’d been gnawing a sock. I attempted to swallow, and blinked through fuzzy eyes.
Where am I?
On the third ring of my cell phone I jolted up in bed. With shaking hands and a queasy stomach, I answered.

“Hello?” My voice came out husky.

The other end of the line crackled. “Anna? Is that you?”

I pressed a hand over my heart, so relieved to hear Kai’s voice. I cleared my throat. “It’s me.”

“Sounds like you smoked a pack of ciggies.”

I smiled. If he was making jokes, then he was okay.

“Did you get Z?” I asked.

“Yes.”

“Oh, thank you, God,” I whispered. “That was fast. Did it go okay?”

“Not exactly, although Kope was brilliant.” His voice held a reluctant admiration.

“What do you mean not exactly?”

“We can’t find Flynn. He sent a message just as we were getting her out. Said he thought he was being tailed. There was a lot of commotion nearby, but we haven’t heard from him since.”

I gripped the sheets as icy fear clawed my belly.

“Have you told my dad?”

“Yes. He hasn’t heard from Flynn either. He told us to head for the airport with or without him.”

“Oh, my gosh,” I whispered. I imagined Flynn’s gigantic smile.
Please let him be okay
. “Do you think someone saw you guys?”

“No. I think he would’ve looked like a spy if he was caught keeping watch from his vantage point, but no humans would think to link us.”

“Let’s think positive,” I said, more for my benefit than his. “I’m sure he’s fine. Right?”

“Yeah.” But he didn’t sound so sure. “Your dad’s got human helpers here, too. I’m sure they’re on it. We’re keeping an eye out for him.”

Right now I desperately wanted them on a plane, headed to safety.
All
of them.

“Is Z okay?” I stood, grasping my pounding head, and padded to the bathroom for a drink of water.

“She’s skittish and won’t speak, but she’s coming along
without complaint now that she’s recognized Kope, and I showed her your picture. We had one incident, but nothing to worry about. Is everything all right there?”

“Yes. Everything’s fine here. I just want you to come home.”

There was a crackly pause, and then, “I like hearing you say that.”

Home
. It was a wonderful word. “I love you, Kai. Be safe.”

“We will. I’ll text you with our flight information. I’ve got to run.”

When we hung up, I drank a glass of water and climbed back into bed, all nervous energy as I thought about Flynn. He was strong—a fighter in more ways than one. It’d be hard to take him down. Still . . . what if he’d been captured? What if we exchanged one jailed Neph for another?