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"Tell them what this is," I ordered Julian.

He smirked at me. "I think it's hot when you're bossy. You can boss me around any time."

"You can say that now," Damien muttered irately, "but you didn't have her doing it to you in a house that was on fire. That shit was not hot then, I can assure you of that."

Geez, was he going to hold that against me forever? It was one time.

"Both of you shut the fuck up," Rain snarled.

I sighed. Boys were so overrated sometimes.

"Once you consume the purple stuff," I told them, "it makes it so that people can't tell whether or not you're lying."

"Purple stuff," Julian muttered. There was a smile in his voice and I could tell he found me amusing. "You're adorable."

"How do you know this for sure?" Quinton asked.

"Because she drank some of it and tried it out on me," Julian answered him happily. "I've also been drinking the stuff every day and I can assure you it works. I've been lying to lots of people and nobody has noticed yet."

I snickered. I could only imagine the things he'd been saying to people, the lies he'd been spreading. And no one was the wiser.

"I'm guessing it's here because you want us to take it before we go to the dinner tonight?" I asked.

Julian nodded. "I've also been giving it to Marcus as well. I figured he could use it."

Rain went to snatch a vial off the counter but Julian shoved his hand away.

"I don't think you need anything to help you lie better than you already do," Julian commented in a dark voice.

I couldn't agree with him more.

I plucked a vial up off the counter and pulled the tiny cork free. Before anyone could stop me, I put the vial to my lips and drank it dry. I put the empty vial back on the counter and looked around at all the wide eyes staring back at me.

"Well," I said, "hurry up so we can go and get this over with already."

Everyone except for Rain picked up a vial and drank.

"Don't forget to text me," he barked at me, before skulking out of the kitchen.

"And you think I'm bossy," Quinton grumbled.

They were two of a kind, that's for sure.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Irode in Quinton's sedan with him and Tyson. Dash rode with Julian and Damien, with Julian driving. And the twins rode together in their truck, always separate, but together with each other. This time was different, though, because they’d taken my guards with them. Guards, I might add, who were extremely upset that I had made them ride in a different car than the one I was in.

I didn’t care and couldn’t get away from them fast enough.

The ride over was so quiet that I imagined if we rolled the windows down we'd hear the distinct sound of crickets chirping and not much else. I almost asked if it was okay to turn the radio on, but the pissed off vibe Quinton was throwing off made me too afraid to ask. I didn't want to talk to him because I knew if he opened his mouth a serious lecture about what I had been doing with Julian would come pouring out and I really didn't need to be verbally sparring with him at the moment. Not when we were walking into would be enemy territory, again.

The motel loomed up ahead, the torches burning bright and falsely giving off a warm welcome. I'd been here twice before and neither time had been pleasant, but the last time I'd witnessed extreme sex with the Council and a psycho falling to his death.

I seriously hoped no one died tonight, because I didn't think I could handle anymore death in my life, even if it was the people I didn't like who were doing the dying.

A woman I had never seen before stood outside at the bottom of the stairs, waiting for us.

"Do you know who this chick is?" I asked my silent companions.