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But this was weird. The vibe wasn’t right. I tried to catch the gazes of the other women, but none of them looked my way. But none seemed particularly bothered to be in the minority either. A couple seemed to be loving it, flirting and chatting away with the guys who surrounded them.
“Maybe we’re overthinking it. Maybe Caleb just has no friends who are women.”
“That checks,” Vaughn mumbled. “He got laid a lot in college ’cause he’s a pretty boy, but none of the girls liked him much once they got to know him. He never had a girlfriend last long.”
Until Bliss. I blamed her previous shitty self-esteem for her making such a bad choice in being with Caleb. Thank God she’d found herself and kicked Caleb to the curb.
Shame I’d also fallen for his charms.
I spotted Hugh holding court on a pool lounger and shuddered. His pockmarked face starred in my nightmares, right alongside Caleb’s and Leonn’s. I’d never forget it. I’d probably have nightmares as long as I lived, while he just got to sit there like royalty, enjoying himself without a care in the world.
“That’s him, isn’t it?” Fang asked in a voice barely above a whisper. “The third guy.”
Vaughn nodded for me, because I was too busy trying to keep myself calm.
How could someone be so cruel and then just go on with their life, like nothing had even happened? Why did he get to do that while I suffered every damn day?
“Vaughn,” I croaked out. “You know them. Go sit with them. Get him drunk. Let him talk. Find out anything you can about him. I want to know all his weak spots.”
So I could use each and every one to torture him.
Vaughn hesitated, but I begged him with big eyes. “Please. I need to know who they are. Where they work. If they have families. Who they’re friends with. Their strengths. Their weaknesses.” There was a crack in my voice as I begged. “Knowledge is power, right?” I swallowed thickly. “I have so little power left. I just need something…”
To my surprise, Vaughn put his arm around my neck and drew me in, kissing the top of my head.
When I gazed up at him, questions in my eyes, he jerked his head over at the bodyguard.
“He was watching, and I said you were my girl. Need to make it seem real, right?”
Oh.
I stepped out of his embrace, and he headed over to Hugh and some other guys.
Kian watched him go, tension across his entire frame. Eventually, he turned away. “I need a fucking drink. This party is too much.”
We’d barely been here ten minutes, but I couldn’t agree more.
“There’s a guy from my gym over by the drink table. I’ll go say hi and get us something.” He looked to Fang. “You got her?”
“Always.”
Maybe it was the party and the vague sense of danger I felt in the air, but I’d never been happier to hear someone say they had my back. I made a circular motion with my finger. “We’re going to do a lap. We’ll be back by the time you finish talking to your friend.”
Kian nodded. “Rebel…”
“Yeah?” I gazed up into his warm eyes.
“Just be careful, okay? The worst thing you can do as a fighter is get cocky and underestimate your opponent.”
I didn’t think I was underestimating Caleb. I knew exactly what he was capable of. The bruises might have faded, but I’d carry the scars always.
Fang and I left Kian and wandered toward the house, but we were stopped by black-and-yellow warning tape that had the back doors closed off. A printed sign pointed partygoers toward the pool house bathroom, but it was clear they didn’t want anyone in the house itself.
Fang gazed down at me. “I’m assuming the tape isn’t going to persuade you to leave it be?”
“You know me so well.” I glanced around, making sure no one was paying any attention, then ducked beneath it.
Fang grumbled, but he followed. We stuck to the shadows and moved quickly to the back door, but I didn’t think anyone was really paying us any attention. The party was very much all in the other direction.