by Kate Brian
“The real fun?” Ariana asked.
“Pumpkin carving, bobbing for apples, crap like that,” Soomie said, waving her drink around.
“Really?” Ariana said, amused.
“Brigit lived for that stuff, so I figured, why not?” Soomie said. “And believe it or not, that’s where almost everyone is. They think they’re sophisticated and above it all, but they’re so not.”
Ariana laughed. “Okay. I’ll go up and check it out.”
“I’m right behind you,” Soomie said. “I just have to check on the caterers.”
“Okay. I’ll see you up there,” Ariana replied. “Oh, hey. Do you know where Lexa is?” she asked casually. “She hasn’t left yet, has she?”
“No,” Soomie said. “She’s upstairs somewhere.”
“Cool,” Ariana said.
She made her way slowly up the slim staircase, pressing her back against the wall as a guy dressed as some Star Wars robot tromped down past her. On the second floor the music was pumping and strobe lights lit the dining room, affording flashing glimpses of goblins and ghouls and sports stars and superheroes. Kaitlynn was out there, moving to the music, but there was no sign of Lexa and Conrad. Ariana turned up the next flight of stairs and almost slammed into Marilyn Monroe making out with Shrek.
“Sorry,” she said. But they didn’t even come up for air. Both bedroom doors were closed, so Ariana quickly took the last flight of stairs and shoved open the door to the roof.
The night air was cool, but not biting. There were three long tables set up for pumpkin carving, and every seat seemed to be taken. Orange globe lights were strung from tall cornstalks all around the periphery of the roof, and overhead a huge full moon hung low over the city. Ariana walked around slowly, her heart pounding, looking out for Lexa, but also searching for her Frankenstein. As she came around to the back of the roof, behind the raised doorway, she spotted Palmer. He was standing with Rob, Christian, and Adam, cheering Landon on as he dove his face into a huge vat of apples and water. Even with a green face, a high forehead, and bolts sticking out of his neck, Palmer was the handsomest guy on the roof.
“Come on, Lan! You can do it!” Palmer shouted. “Where’re your teeth, man?”
His friends cracked up laughing. Then Landon whipped his head up, his hair flicking back, spraying all of them in the face with a million droplets of water. They all shouted and raised their arms as Landon bit through the apple in his mouth and smiled.
“Told you I could do it,” he said.
Ariana smiled. Her pulse racing, she wove slowly through the mingling crowd, waiting for Palmer to look up and spot her. She waited and waited, but he was too preoccupied with dotting the water from his face without messing up his makeup. Finally, Ariana was able to sneak up behind him and slip her hand into his.
“Hello, husband,” she whispered in his ear.
Palmer turned around, took one look at her, and grinned. “You came.”
“I did.”
Then she stood up on her toes and kissed him. She kissed him until the other guys noticed and started shouting. Until they started clapping. Until they finally got bored and walked away.
“Wow,” Palmer said, his eyelids heavy as he pulled away. “And in front of all these people. What if Lexa were here?”
Ariana smiled, looping her arm around her neck. “I’m no longer concerned about Lexa Greene,” she said, her voice husky.
“Really?” he said. “What changed?”
“I remembered who I am,” Ariana said.
Palmer’s green brow knit. “Frankenstein’s wife?”
Ariana laughed. “Exactly.”
“Well then, bride,” Palmer said. “Would you like to go downstairs and dance?”
Reluctantly, Ariana pulled away from him. “Maybe later. Right now I have something I need to take care of.”
Palmer bit his lip. “Your task?” he whispered. “I heard you hadn’t finished it yet.”
Ariana’s skin warmed. “Yeah. My task. But don’t worry. It’ll all be over by the end of the night. If I don’t see you again here, I’ll come by your room later, okay?”
“Works for me,” Palmer replied with a grin. “Happy Halloween, my wife,” he said, giving her a long, firm kiss.
Ariana couldn’t have stopped smiling if she’d tried. “Happy Halloween, my husband.”
MASTER MANIPULATOR
Ariana waited on the landing of the third floor, standing in the shadows, until she saw Palmer and his friends heading downstairs for some food. Then she quickly made her way up to the roof and toward the front of the house, where she would have a bird’s eye view of the street below. As the party swelled and ebbed around her, Ariana patiently watched until she saw a girl in a blond wig and a black coat, carrying a gold clutch, rush out the front door and into a waiting cab. Her pulse raced in excitement.
Game on.
Quickly Ariana returned to the second floor. Kaitlynn was right where Ariana had last seen her, doing her own private dance in the center of the dance floor as if no one else was there, her eyes closed, her arms thrown over her head. Ariana watched her for a moment, letting Kaitlynn have her fun. But then, it was time. Time to put the final phase of the plan in motion. Time to end this, once and for all. Kaitlynn had a job to do, even though she didn’t know it yet. A skitter of excitement raced over Ariana’s skin but was quickly cooled by an icy cold shell of resolve. She took a deep breath, stormed through the room, and grabbed Kaitlynn’s arm.
“Come on. We have to go,” she said urgently.
“What? Go where?” Kaitlynn demanded, tripping in her cat-heels as she was dragged from the room.
“Anywhere,” Ariana said under her breath as she reached the top of the stairs. She looked around behind her, checking over both her shoulders. “The jig is up, Lily. We’re going on the run. Now.”
Kaitlynn’s eyes widened, an almost comical sight behind the black vinyl mask. “What? Why? What happened?”
Ariana huffed an impatient sigh and pulled Kaitlynn toward the far wall and the window overlooking the tiny, fenced-in backyard. She took in a shaky breath and looked Kaitlynn in the eye. “Lexa is hiring a private investigator to look into Lillian Oswald’s past.”
“What?” Kaitlynn stepped backward into the wall. “No. She wouldn’t. She doesn’t have the balls.”
“Apparently she does,” Ariana replied through her teeth. “And if he finds out the truth about you, he’s going to find out the truth about me. We have to get out of here, Kaitlynn. We’ve had our fun, but it’s over. We’ve gotta bail.”
Ariana moved away, going for the stairs, but Kaitlynn’s hand shot out and grabbed her arm. “Wait a minute.”
“We don’t have a minute,” Ariana said impatiently.
“You said she’s hiring a PI, not that she already hired him,” Kaitlynn said, her eyes flat. “Has she met with him yet?”
Ariana blinked, confused. “No. Not yet. They’re meeting to night.”
Kaitlynn’s eyes narrowed. “Where?”
Ariana hesitated for a long moment. “What does it matter? Wait. You’re not thinking of—”
“We have worked way too hard to get where we are,” Kaitlynn said fiercely, stepping up to Ariana. “And I am not going to let that self-serving bitch ruin it. So tell me. Where the hell are they?”
“I . . . she said . . .” Ariana blinked a few times, tears of uncertainty shining in her eyes. “She said she was going to meet him at her parents’ house to avoid suspicion.”
“Address, please?” Kaitlynn said stoically.
Ariana fumbled with her purse and extracted her cell. She scrolled to Lexa’s name and turned the screen to face Kaitlynn. Her eyes flicked to the address.
“Thanks, A,” she said, shoving past Ariana. “I’ll see you back at the room.”
“Wait. Shouldn’t we . . . I don’t know . . . think about this?” Ariana said.
Kaitlynn paused at the top of the stairs, her hand clutching the filigree on t
he banister. She looked at Ariana and laughed derisively. “Being on the outside has softened you, A. Don’t worry. I got this. You can thank me later.”
Then she barreled down the stairs and was gone. Ariana turned shakily toward the window and looked down at the revelers below. Then she focused on her own reflection in the pane, took a deep breath, and lifted her lips in a smile as cold as ice.
FREED
Ariana had the cab drop her off five blocks from Lexa’s parents’ house. As the car pulled away, she yanked out her cell phone, dialed Nathan Dove, and started walking. He picked up on the third ring.
“Hello, Mr. Dove, this is Lexa Greene,” Ariana said. “I’m so sorry, but I’m going to have to cancel our meeting.”
“I was just on my way to meet you,” the man replied, his voice gruff.
“I’m sorry for the late notice, but at least this way I won’t take up any more of your time,” Ariana said as she speed-walked along ivy-covered brick walls and past iron gates with serious security systems. She only hoped that Lexa’s place didn’t have such daunting barriers.
“Kids,” Nathan Dove said. Then the line went dead.
Ariana shoved her phone back into her bag as she came around the corner and spotted the white-columned Greene manse across the street. She blew out a relieved sigh when she saw that the gates had, mercifully, been left open. Most likely Lexa had left them ajar for the private investigator.
As she scurried across the street, Ariana caught a disturbed look from an elderly couple walking their puggles. She almost shot them an annoyed glare in return until she remembered that she was dressed up as the Bride of Frankenstein. It might have been Halloween, but this wasn’t exactly a big neighborhood for trick-or-treating. She ignored them, raced to the far sidewalk, and ducked through the gates in front of Lexa’s house. The driveway was long and steep, and by the time Ariana made it to the front door she was out of breath. She narrowed her eyes to better see in the dark and saw that the door had been left yawning open. Kaitlynn was already here.
Steeling herself, Ariana ran for the door, imagining what must have occurred. Kaitlynn had probably decided to simply ring the front bell, knowing that Lexa would be surprised to see her, but would let her in. They were, after all, friends—even if Lexa was planning on having Lillian vetted by a detective. Then, the moment the door had swung open wide enough, Kaitlynn had attacked. The element of surprise was always quite helpful in situations such as these, a fact that both Ariana and Kaitlynn knew well.
Sure enough, as soon as Ariana’s foot hit the front step, she heard a crash. She ducked through the door, her heart in her throat, and followed the noise to the parlor just off the foyer. She froze when she saw Kaitlynn and Lexa locked in a struggle. Lexa’s blond Heidi Klum wig was strewn on the floor, and she’d lost one stiletto heel as Kaitlynn dragged her backward, her fingers clenched around her throat. Ariana ducked behind a tremendous planter. She watched as Lexa’s thin fingers clawed at Kaitlynn’s white-knuckled hands. Watched as Kaitlynn clenched her jaw and pressed her lips together, her eyes narrowed and nostrils flared from the effort. Watched as Lexa’s legs began to twitch. As her life began to leave her.
It was fascinating, watching it all from the outside. Playing the part of spectator.
Lexa’s eyes started to roll into the back of her head, and Ariana took her cue. She plucked a large blue-and-white china vase from a table, walked up behind Kaitlynn, and smashed the vase into the back of her head, right near the base of her skull. Kaitlynn slumped forward, releasing her grip on Lexa, who fell to the floor choking and coughing and writhing around, her miniskirt riding so far upward that her black panties were exposed.
Ariana stood over Kaitlynn for a moment, her chest heaving up and down. This was going to feel so, so good. It was all she could do to keep from smiling. She had to be careful, though. Lexa might see.
Kaitlynn turned over with a groan and blinked a few times, clearly dazed. But when her eyes fell on Ariana, it was like everything snapped into focus. She shoved herself to her feet, her teeth clenched, and let out an inhuman shriek, vaulting herself at Ariana.
This time, however, Ariana was the one who was ready for the assault. As Lexa crawled across the room, her back to Ariana, Ariana grabbed the charging Kaitlynn by the shoulders, turned to the side, and used Kaitlynn’s own momentum to fling her through the nearest window. The crash was satisfying, the blood even more so. Kaitlynn lay crooked forward over the windowsill, scratches all over her arms, a gash through the black vinyl around her stomach. Ariana plucked a particularly sharp shard of glass from the window frame and hovered over Kaitlynn as she struggled to turn over, coughing up blood and spittle.
“You said . . . you said we were friends,” she whispered to Ariana, convulsing.
“I say a lot of things,” Ariana whispered to her. She lifted the shard of glass and let Kaitlynn get a nice, long look at it. “This is for Brigit,” she whispered.
Kaitlynn’s green eyes widened just before Ariana slashed her across the throat. She twitched twice, big full-body twitches as her lifeblood seeped out all over the bushes just outside the window frame. And then, with one last gurgling cough, she closed her eyes, and it was over.
It was finally, finally over.
Ariana lifted Kaitlynn’s hand, slid the purple bangle from her wrist, and shoved it on over her own hand, adding it to the red one she already wore. She could practically hear Brigit’s laugh of triumph in her ears.
“Ana!” Lexa ran up behind Ariana and barreled into the back of her shoulder, clinging to her as she looked down at Kaitlynn’s broken, bloody corpse. “Omigod, Ana. What did you do?” she choked out.
Ariana dropped the shard of glass with which she had just freed herself and turned to Lexa, shaking. “I just saved your life.”
“We have to call the police,” Lexa said, turning away from the body, tears streaming down her face. The fake eyelashes were peeling free and her black eyeliner was smudged all the way to her cheekbone. Her hand went to her throat, where Ariana could see a series of angry red bruises left behind by Kaitlynn’s fingers.
“Wait!” Ariana blurted, sounding panicked, even to her own ears. Lexa froze and Ariana wrung her hands on the skirt of her costume for effect. The white fabric was already splattered with red dots, and the blood on her hands made it much worse. Such a shame. She was going to have to burn her outfit and lose the deposit. Although, for now, the blood did lend a certain added touch of Halloween spookiness to the ensemble. “Just wait. We have to think.”
“Think? About what?” Lexa said, groping in her purse for her phone. She was shaking all over and gasping for breath. “Ana, Lillian’s dead!”
It was all Ariana could do to keep from grinning at the words. Lillian’s dead. Dead, dead, dead. The word danced a happy jig in her head. She took a deep breath and reminded herself she was supposed to be freaking out.
“I know. I know, okay? I just . . . let’s just take a second and calm down.” Ariana crossed over to Lexa, biting down on her own tongue to bring tears into her eyes. She sat down on the brocade couch, tugging Lexa with her, making sure to keep the bloody bit of her dress folded toward her lap.
“Calm down? Are you serious? Lily just tried to choke me to death and now she’s over there . . . she’s over there. . . .” She looked at the window, horrified, then looked away, covering her mouth with her quaking hand. “We have to call the police. We have to!”
“Omigod,” Ariana said, crossing her arms over her stomach and leaning forward, as if the realization of what she’d done had just hit her. She and Lexa had to be in this together. Lexa could never suspect the truth of tonight’s events. “Omigod, omigod, omigod.”
“Okay. It’s going to be okay,” Lexa rambled. “Ana, take a breath. If you lose it, I’m gonna lose it, and we can’t both lose it right now.”
Ariana breathed in deeply through her nose, letting Lexa comfort her.
“But you’re right,” she said tremulously, lookin
g over at the body as if horrified. “Lillian’s dead. And I—”
“You saved my life,” Lexa said, with the faintest hint of clearheadedness.
Exactly, Ariana thought. Let’s let that fact sink in now, shall we?
Her plan was working like a charm. By setting Kaitlynn up to try to kill Lexa, then swooping in at the last minute to play the hero, Ariana had earned Lexa’s trust. Her gratitude. Her undying devotion. Plus one big, fat future favor.
Lexa just hadn’t realized any of this yet. But she would. Jasper had been right. She had not only found a way to fix the situation, she had found a way to twist it in her favor. The only person on Earth who knew Ariana’s true identity was dead. And Lexa—the one person who could make or break her future—was forever in her debt.
Ariana was too proud of herself for words.
“She was going to kill me, Ana,” Lexa said. “But you . . . you stopped her.”
For a long moment, Lexa and Ariana looked into each other’s eyes, and Ariana knew that Lexa understood. The two of them were bonded for life. And Lexa no longer had the power to hold anything over Ariana’s head ever again.
“The police will understand,” Lexa said, reaching into her bag for their phone. “You were just trying to help me.”
“But what if they don’t?” Ariana said, her bottom lip trembling as she shoved herself up from the couch. Lexa’s brows came together and Ariana looked around the room wildly, as if confused—terrified. “What if they think . . . what if they think we murdered her?”
“What? Why would they think that?” Lexa said, getting up as well. She fiddled with her cell phone with both hands.
“Think about it, Lex,” Ariana said desperately, throwing her hands out. “You were hiring a PI to look into Lillian’s past. It’s going to look like you had something against her.”
Lexa whirled around to face the door, one hand flying to her mouth. “Omigod. Dove! He’s on his way here right now!”
She hit a speed dial button on her cell phone. Ariana knew what Lexa was about to do, and that it was pointless, but she let her do it anyway.
