Total pages in book: 187
Estimated words: 184867 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 924(@200wpm)___ 739(@250wpm)___ 616(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 184867 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 924(@200wpm)___ 739(@250wpm)___ 616(@300wpm)
“Thanks,” the guy says before he flicks his fingers at his other men. “You’ll hear from us.”
“Of course,” my father says as they turn around. “Rest assured, I will deal with my son.”
When his gaze settles on me, I can practically see the fire blazing behind his eyes, and as the door closes, the darkness surrounds us once again.
And the only sound is my heart as it beats wildly out of control.
CRYSTAL
I dance to the rhythm of the music, trying to get lost in the sound of this fabulous song they’re playing in Club RIVERA. Lana and Brooke dance alongside me, and we bump our butts and swirl around each other in a sultry manner. Lana’s hair sways from left to right as she dances to the rhythm, her moves attracting so much attention that it’s hard not to get flustered. I’m not used to all the attention being on us, but I can live with it as long as it’s not Tartarus boys glaring at me from a corner.
But I doubt they’d come here to a club owned by the Rivera family, the father of the leader of the Skull & Serpent Society.
Felix, Penelope, Dylan, and Alistair all chat, dance, and drink in the VIP section. I briefly said hi to them before I went to the dance floor with the girls.
Tonight, the club wanted everyone to grab a red mask at the entrance to hide their identity, and I have to say it does make me more outgoing and more willing to let go in the music.
I take some more sips of my alcohol, feeling the buzz rushing through my veins. But suddenly, Lana begins to wobble, and she nearly falls into me.
“Wow,” she murmurs.
“You all right?” I ask.
“Yeah, yeah, just getting a little tipsy,” she says.
“I’m gonna go to the bathroom. You wanna come?” Brooke yells over the music.
Lana shakes her head. “I’m good. You go ahead.”
But my bladder is filling up quickly. “I have to pee.” I adjust my dress as it’s crept up from all the dancing we did. “I’m coming with you.”
Brooke hooks her arm through mine, and I put my drink on the table somewhere, then we head off to the bathroom. The place is filled with girls chatting about the latest drama while doing their makeup. I do my thing in a stall and wait for Brooke to finish too.
“Oh God … I’m gonna be sick.”
I can hear Brooke throwing up in the stall, and I rush inside to hold her hair so it doesn’t get all sticky and filthy.
“Fuck. I’m sorry, Crystal,” she says.
“No, no, it’s okay.”
She goes on and on with no end in sight, then begins to cry. “I didn’t wanna ruin the evening.”
“You didn’t ruin anything,” I say, comforting her. “We had a good time. We just drank too much.”
I’m feeling dizzy too, but I didn’t drink nearly as much as she did.
“I always get too excited,” she says before throwing up more.
“Just get it out of your system,” I say, rubbing her back. “You’ll feel much better soon.”
After an hour, she’s all done and slumps against the toilet. I grab some paper towels and rinse it under the water so she can dab her face with them.
“God, I’m so glad it’s finished,” she murmurs. “Thanks for helping me.”
I smile. “Of course. That’s what friends are for.”
“You think … we could keep dancing?”
I snort. “If you want to, sure. What’s stopping us?”
She grins, and I help her get up. “Lana’s waiting for us. Better get back in the game before she steals all the hot boys from under our noses.”
I laugh as we exit the bathroom and head back to our spot, but Lana’s nowhere to be found.
“That’s weird. I could’ve sworn we left her here. Right?” Brooke asks.
I nod and look around, but I don’t see her anywhere, not even near the VIP area where her brother is. Where could she be?
We check the bar as well as the top floor and several exclusive rooms, but we can’t find her anywhere.
“This is making me nervous as fuck,” Brooke says. “Felix told me to watch her.”
Brooke pulls out her phone and texts her while I watch.
Brooke: Where R U?
But Lana still doesn’t appear to have read it.
I sigh out loud and open the bathroom door and call out her name, “Lana?”
No response.
Brooke: Hello? Earth to Lana?
Brooke: This isn’t funny.
“Do you think she’s playing hide-and-seek?” she mutters.
“Why would she?” I retort, confused.
“I don’t know.”
“We must’ve missed something,” I say.
“Well, these red masks we’re forced to wear don’t fucking help either,” Brooke says, getting more and more annoyed.
So I grab my phone too and send her a message.
Me: Lana, please RE! Are u OK? You disappeared on us.
“Oh God,” Brooke panics. “What do we do? If Felix finds out she’s missing, he’s gonna kill me.”