by J. L. Weil
She had me there. Zoe had a spark for life that was contagious. Enough so, that I was actually contemplating getting out of bed. The more I thought about it, the more appealing it became. Maybe I could get her to give me some dirt. I was getting squat from her brother, and I had so many questions: Zane. Crash. Rose. “Where are we going?”
“You’ll see,” she sung in that pretty lilt of hers. “Be ready in fifteen.”
“Better make it twenty,” I answered, staring at my reflection in the mirror. It was going to take an act of God to make myself look presentable. Lazy day equaled no shower. I needed an entire team of professionals to pull me together. Hmm, I wondered if Rose staffed her own stylist. It wouldn’t surprise me.
Rolling off the bed, I snuck a quick sniff under my arms. “Ew.” I rushed into the bathroom, cranking on the shower to hot. Ten minutes later I was in a towel, staring at a closet three times the size of mine at home.
I pushed aside all the clothes Rose had stuffed the closet with. Lace, pink, and floral were not my style. If there wasn’t black in it somewhere, it wouldn’t touch my body. Tugging on a pair of self-ripped jeans I’d found shoved in the back, I paired it with a peek-a-boo tank. The outfit definitely accentuated the important parts, butt and boobs.
Highlighting my eyes with a quick coat of mascara and a thick line of black eyeliner, I ran a brush through my blonde hair, adding a little bit of hairspray to tame the flyaways. After a sheen application of my favorite lip-gloss, I was ready to paint the night red. I smacked my lips, shoved my ID and cell phone into my back pocket, and checked the clock.
Two minutes to spare.
I took a breath, surveying myself in the full-length mirror. Not bad under short notice. It would have to do, because my phone buzzed. It was a text from Zoe.
I’m outside the gate. Hurry ;)
On my way. I quickly sent back as I opened the terrace doors.
For a brief moment, I felt guilty about sneaking out, but as soon as I saw Zane leaning on the side of a sleek car, I was feeling nothing but the hum of excitement and annoyance.
He wore a dark scowl.
I scuffed the sole of my shoe on the gravel. “Zoe failed to mention you would be with her.”
“Zoe is full of surprises,” he mumbled.
I rolled my eyes. “And you are full of piss and vinegar.”
A lock of wavy hair fell into his eyes as he shot me a crooked smile. “At least you are starting to get me.”
I leaned my weight to one side. “I take it she didn’t tell you I was tagging along.”
“Nope. She knew I never would have agreed.”
“And why is that?”
“As long as you stay out of my way, we won’t have a problem,” he warned through a gritted smile.
“Ditto.” I reached for the door handle, but he beat me to it, and I slipped into the seat, trying to disregard my racing heart. “Are you going to tell me where we’re going?” I asked Zoe, meeting her smiling aqua eyes as she twisted in the driver’s seat.
“I like you,” Zach said. “Direct and to the point.” He was sitting shotgun, which meant that…
Zane climbed into the backseat with me, frowning. I scooted over to the other side, securing my seat belt. Oh goodie. Confined in a small space with Zaney. Why was Zoe subjecting me to such torturous treatment?
She shifted the car into drive and hit the gas. Let’s just say Zoe was the definition of a “girl driver.” If my seat belt hadn’t been strapped on, I would have ended up in Zane’s lap. Her long midnight hair was swept up into a ponytail at the crown of her head. “We’re going to Raven Hallow’s best kept secret. Only locals know about it. You are going to love it.”
It was unlikely that I would be having any kind of fun if grouchy didn’t get an attitude adjustment. “I’m not going to be shunned, being the outsider, am I?”
“Hardly,” Zach snorted. “You are Morain’s granddaughter. That makes you freaking royalty, and one of us.”
That’s what I was afraid of. “Good to know.” They might not have considered me a summer girl, but that didn’t mean everyone else didn’t. And honestly, I was a summer girl. This wasn’t my home, would never be. At the end of summer, Raven Hallow would be dust in the wind.
I slid my gaze to the guy across from me, who clearly had his boxers in a wad. I wondered if he wore boxers. He struck me as a boxer brief sort of guy. Why was I thinking about his underwear type? At least it kept my mind off other parts of his body.
Eyes of steel pinned his sister in the rearview mirror. “Zoe, this is a bad idea and you know it.”
“Do you ever quit?” I snapped, cutting him a death look.
Zane tipped forward, the leather groaning under his weight as he closed the space between us. “Not when I know I’m right, Princess.”
I sent him a look of pure hatred.
“Don’t make me stop this car,” Zoe threatened like a soccer mom. “The two of you need to learn to play nice.”
Zach snickered.
Zoe glanced over her shoulder at Zane when she should have kept her eyes on the road. “What harm could it do to show her? I think it’s brilliant.”
“You would,” he grumbled. “Do I need to remind you that all your ideas backfire?”
This was going to be a long ride. Zoe and Zach struck me as double trouble. Must be a twin thing.
Zach hung an arm out the window. “That’s because you’re way too serious.”
Stretching out all six-foot plus frame, Zane settled back into the seat. “You should really reconsider who you hang out with.”
My hands itched to smack those icy eyeballs out of his head. “Buzz off.”
“If the two of you stopped bickering and just admitted there’s something between you, we would all have more fun tonight,” Zach said.
Zane’s lips thinned.
I clamped my mouth shut, staring straight ahead. Not happening. Tonight, I wasn’t going to give him the time of day. I was going to…
Dammit. I still had no idea what we were doing or where we were going for that matter.
The car stopped. Just in time, too. I couldn’t be in the car with Zane another second, not without doing something idiotic. It was a toss-up. Slap him or kiss him.
The minute I was free and breathing easily again, Zoe looped her arm through mine, leading me down the sidewalk. A sparkle of excitement and anticipation glimmered in her eyes. “You’re in for a night you won’t forget. I promise.”
Zane expelled a menacing sigh.
A small, evil part of me reveled in his exasperation, but there was something about the way Zoe spoke that gave me goose bumps. I smiled. “Great. Just what I’m looking for.”
We turned the corner, Zane and Zach trailing behind us, and approached a flight of concrete stairs going down. My hand trailed on the railing until we came to a set of metal doors. Etched on the entrance of each was what looked like two birds, a raven and a crow, but it wasn’t the symbols that captured my eye. It was the glistening prism of color that appeared 3D.
I blinked, positive my eyes were playing tricks on me.
And they were. The raven and the crow were nothing but two stunning marks on shitty metal doors. They weren’t moving, flapping their wings, or flying toward me as they had a moment ago.
Wow. It was definitely not a good sign that I was already seeing shit. I hadn’t even had a drink yet, and it was hardly late enough to be loopy.
“You okay?” Zoe asked, tugging on my arm.
“Yeah,” I said, forcing a smile. I stepped through the revolving metal doors, Zoe on one side and Zach on the other, a twin sandwich.
Chapter 10
“Welcome to the Atmosfear,” Zach grinned, holding open his arms.
What a lovely name for a club. Cheery.
However, this was not a club. At least not like the ones I’d been to in Chicago.
It was…
Spellbinding. My eyes didn’t know where to look first. There was so much activity
and none normal.
It was a black light party, the lights dazzling and cascading over the mob of thumping and bumping bodies in rhythmic intervals. At first the flashing was dizzying. Good thing I wasn’t prone to seizures and my eyes were used to the erratic beams. The dance floor was packed with bodies, mostly half-naked girls. Their skin shimmered as if they had been dusted with golden glitter, but it was their veins that set them apart. They glowed. Blue. Red. Black. Pink. It was a network of rainbow bodies.
I was mesmerized, unable to take my eyes off the action.
The Twilight Zone didn’t have shit on my life. “A club, huh?” I murmured. “Just what I need.” A pick-me-up. My step became a little bit lighter.
Zach grinned. “I knew you were cool.”
Glad someone thought so. One thing was certain as I scanned the crowd; everyone in this joint had a mark similar to what I’d seen on the entrance—like I’d seen on Zane. Except this time, I knew there was nothing wrong with my eyes. The marks, they were moving. I kept my expression blank, because the last thing I wanted was to be shown the door. The detective in me was dying to uncover answers, and this club was a perfect place to start. Zoe and I were going to have ourselves a girl chat.
Zane shook his head, glancing from me to Zoe. “You’re responsible for her. Don’t make me say I told you so.” Then he took off in ground-eating strides, leaving me with the twins.
“What a prick,” Zoe mumbled under my breath, taking the words straight from my mouth. I instantly loved Zoe. She didn’t take shit, and that said a lot having three overbearing brothers.
The bitter scent of alcohol was pungent in the air, along with the stench of sweaty bodies and strong perfumes. A mist of color water vapors was pumped into the center of the dance floor.
“Come on. Let’s get a drink,” Zoe leaned in and yelled in my ear.
Weaving us in and around the crowd, I trailed behind Zoe, doing my best not to knock into anyone. She grabbed two drinks from the bar, handing me one. I had the glass to my lips when I noticed the cloudy green liquid that filled the cup. Now I’d seen some pretty strange mixed drinks, but not like this. Lifting the glass to my nose, I sniffed. It had a sweet scent like apples with a hint of cinnamon, reminding me of fall. For a brief moment, I missed my home, but then Zoe was clicking our glasses together.
“Bottoms up.”
Zach lifted his glass in a toast, and the three of us downed our drinks in one big guzzle. I was going to pay for that later. I had just broken my cardinal rule. No liquor. I was going to blame that on Zaney as well. If he hadn’t come across as such an asshole, I wouldn’t need something to take the edge off. One thing was certain; Parker wasn’t going to be here to save me, so I needed to keep it together. I was switching to water.
“Let’s dance,” Zoe said, grabbing my hand.
I barely had time to set down the tumbler, sloshing water over my hand, as she tugged me onto the dance floor. My body did what it did naturally at the sound of a really good beat, swayed with the music. I threw my head back, spinning and laughing, a sense of freedom I hadn’t felt in forever cascading through me. As we danced, Zoe lifted her arms above her head. That was when I noticed the mark. It was identical to the one I’d seen on Zane, my shock causing me to stumble. I knew it was going to be impossible to communicate over the roaring music, but it didn’t stop me from asking, “You have a tattoo?” I watched her mouth move in confusion, so I yelled out again.
“What?” she screamed a second time.
I gave up, waving a hand that it wasn’t important, but I couldn’t help thinking she was dodging the question like her brother. Too bad they didn’t know me well enough to know that I never gave up.
After that I just let loose, tucking the little tidbit about the tattoos away in my brain. My hair flared around me as Zoe and I shook our tail feathers. She was quite the mover and the shaker, although, not to toot my own horn, I was a tad better.
Until the alcohol kicked in. With my blood pumping, the small amount of liquor I’d consumed started to cloud my vision, and the dancing gave me a buzz. I had not a care in the world. It was glorious.
But not part of the plan.
Forgetting my problems and having a good time with new friends was uplifting, but that hadn’t been the reason I’d risked sneaking out. I was supposed to be uncovering dirt on Zane and on my family.
My Sherlock Holmes skills sucked.
Zoe leaned into my ear. “I’m going to get another drink. Do you want one?”
I shook my head, running the back of my hand over my brow as Zoe sashayed to the bar. My feet moved from side to side while I people-watched, curious. Zach was whispering into a pretty little redhead’s ear. I had caught a glimpse of Zander earlier in the evening, but he was nowhere in sight. Zoe was fighting off the advances of some young guy. And then I was suddenly aware of someone’s eyes on me, prickles skirting down my spine. I knew who it was. Only one person in the entire universe made me feel like this.
Zane.
My eyes were drawn to him on their own accord. Bam. I was hit by the intensity in his eyes, sucking the air straight from my lungs. He was with a group, but it didn’t really matter. They were background noise compared to Zane. At first sight, he always stunned me, knocking me off my feet.
I was ogling, but so was he.
We were caught in some parallel spell, my body still moving on autopilot, until a pair of pretty fabulous boobs brushed up against Zane. I saw red. The skank placed a hand on his arm, angling her body toward him.
Oh hell no.
I scowled, ready to kick some ho ass.
There was a giggle behind me, halting my irrational butt kicking, and before I could strut my shit across the floor, a brunette swayed forward, mimicking my moves. Her face was radiant with sheen of perspiration that only emphasized her attractiveness. She brushed damp pieces of hair off her neck, smiling. “Your mind better catch up with your body, girl, because your body totally wants to have sex with him.”
It was impossible to not be envious. She had everything going for her. A slender, killer body. Long, lush hair that whirled as she danced. Graceful, fluid movements. “That obvious, huh?” I replied.
“It’s inevitable. The definition of a Hunter: tall, dangerous, strong, and sexy. The female population is unable to resist.”
I laughed. “You nailed it.”
The crop sweater and low-rise skirt exposed her midsection. “Did I see you come in with him?”
I nodded. “But we can’t really stand each other.”
She smiled beautifully. “Yeah, sure. I’d almost buy that, maybe if he wasn’t constantly scoping you out in the crowd.”
“He is not,” I argued. Risking a glance back at Zane, our eyes collided. I whipped my head away. Note to self: do not make eye contact.
Drop-dead Gorgeous tossed her hair, laughing. “Right. And you aren’t daydreaming about what you are going to name your kids.”
“Do you know Zane?”
“I know his type. And that clinging ginger, Venus, is not it.” Her slender nose scrunched. “I can’t stand that whore.”
My eyes twinkled. “And you are my new best friend.”
She held out her hand. “I’m Aspyn, bestie.”
“Piper.” She opened her mouth to say something, but I cut her off. “Don’t tell me, you already knew that.”
She just smiled. “Guess you’ve been getting that a lot, huh?”
I winced. “You have no idea.”
“It’s not every day that a Raven returns to the Hallow.”
“So I’ve heard,” I said, pretending I knew what she was talking about when, in fact, I was clueless. What I needed to do was figure out what a Raven was and why everyone thought I was one. Could be another nickname, but I didn’t think so.
“Let me give you a little piece of advice,” Aspyn said, the beat of the electronic music vibrating the floor. “You want to get his attention? Dance with his brother.”
I chewed on m
y lip. It was a wicked, troublesome plan… I loved it. “I just might try it.”
Aspyn grabbed both of my hands, lifting them over our heads. “I like a girl who isn’t afraid to go after what she wants.” She sent me into a whirl and yelled, “Good luck!”
My eyes focused on Zander who appeared out of nowhere, looking at me with irises tinged purple. I liked purple. But I wasn’t sure how I felt about the eldest Hunter, let alone using him to make his younger brother jealous. I highly doubted he would be okay with that scheme as well, and something told me that Zander was a good guy. My body tensed for a moment before relaxing as he smiled warmly and placed a hand firmly on my back.
It was too late to change my mind now. We were moving over the dance floor.
“This saves me from having to ask you to dance.” He had a pleasant timber to his voice that lacked Zane’s edge and cockiness.
Was I doomed to compare every male to him?
I even detected the same touch of Celtic accent, yet it didn’t make my pulse jump. My laugh wasn’t entirely forced. “You were going to ask me to dance?”
He shifted just a fraction of an inch. “I’ve been working on an excuse to come talk to you all night.”
“You have?” I asked, startled.
He cracked a smile. “Don’t sound so surprised.”
My stomach did a topsy-turvy thing. I wanted Zander to like me, but not like me. This was shaping into an awkward situation. “Well, I am.”
“You’re a great dancer. Are you having fun?”
Compliments made me nervous. I tucked my hair behind my ear. “Actually, I am.”
“Atmosfear hasn’t frightened you off?”
Zander made me nervous. Like a klutz, I stepped on his shoe. Bet he no longer thinks I’m a good dancer, I thought, blushing. “I’ll admit it is different, but sometimes different can be good.” I was thinking of Zane. Zander was nothing like Zane, which was exactly what I needed. Zander wasn’t the kind of guy that would crush my heart into a million little pieces and then scatter the fragments into the street.
“We should go out sometime,” he suggested. “Grab something to eat and watch the sunset.” He made it sound casual, but I knew what he was asking.
