Page 88 of Burn the World Down

We entered the house, passing through the large front door flanked by giant potted plants. As we moved through the living area, following some other guests, I saw the back sliding doors were all thrown open.

People were packed around the pool, holding drinks. The braziers were on, and several women in tiny dresses were clustered around them to keep warm.

There was a DJ with headphones standing on a raised platform. There were already some guests dancing to the music and a few couples making out.

“Let’s split up,” I said. “Landon and Cole, you have Alden. Bastian and Alessio, you find Bruno. Georgie and I will look for Snyder.”

My friends all nodded.

They dissolved into the crowd with practiced ease. I kept an arm snug around Georgie as we wandered through the party and along the edge of the pool. The gauzy white curtains on the pool gazebos danced around in the breeze. Inside them, I could see people drinking and talking.

“Stay close.” I nabbed a drink off a tray. I needed to look the part.

“Oh, look.” Georgie pointed.

There were acrobats and performers on the grass. I watched a muscular man throw a tiny woman in a glittery leotard into the night sky. She landed on his palm and balanced, her arms in the air.

The crowd around them clapped.

Nearby, a man and a woman in red outfits were spinning burning sticks. They whirled them fast and it looked like a wheel of flames. The crowd oohed and ahhed.

“No expense spared,” Georgie murmured. “Viv was so awed by his parties. At first. She was so sure he’d help her achieve her dreams.”

I pulled her close and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. I knew she still hadn’t properly grieved for her sister.

She would. After she had her revenge. After this was over.

We continued on. Snyder wouldn’t be far away.

The phone in my pocket vibrated. I pulled it out and saw a text from Bastian.

Snyder on the north side of the pool. Near the cabanas.

I guided Georgie that way. We passed more entertainers—two couples who were dancing. They were doing some Latin dances, the men tossing the women around like they weighed nothing. Nearby, partygoers watched and clapped.

Then Georgie stiffened.

I followed her gaze and saw Snyder.

Yeah, the bastard was holding court. He had both arms around two young women. They were smiling up at him, hanging on his every word. He was talking with a small group of people. He was nodding, and occasionally touching the women. A stroke of a hip, a squeeze of an arm, a brush against their cheek.

Then I felt Georgie look to the left. I spotted Shandy. The singer wore a floaty, silver-gray dress. She was watching Snyder with the women, hurt and confusion on her face.

When Snyder let one of the women pepper kisses along his jaw, Shandy looked away, clearly upset.

I squeezed Georgie’s arm. “After tonight, she’ll be free.”

She bobbed her head. “Soon, it will all be over.”

There was a finality in her voice that made my gut clench.

Yes, Snyder would be over, but not us.

Maybe Georgie didn’t realize it yet, but she was mine. I’d warned her when she hadn’t left that there would be consequences.

I was never letting her go.

CHAPTER 32