Page 48 of His Deadly Devotion

“Why not?” Aurora asks.

“Because he’s… a spoiled, overindulged, rich-kid asshole,” Zara spits out. “He thinks he owns the whole damn town. Newsflash! He doesn’t.”

“No, that would be you.” Aurora laughs. “He’s not that bad.”

“I agree withherobservation.” I gesture to Zara as I walk around the two girls. “And we are not going to a party, Aurora. We can’t.”

I realize my mistake as soon as the words leave my mouth.Fuck.

Aurora’s brows lift in challenge. She’s going to this party with or without me. If for no other reason than to prove that she can and will do whatever she wants. “You can stay here. I’m going,” she tells me.

I laugh. The thought of her going off to some fucking party without me is funny. As if I’m not following her.

“Great. See you there. I gotta run. I told my dad I wasn’t going to be out long.” Zara smiles.

“How are you getting out tonight, exactly?” Aurora asks her.

“My parents are going to some gala hosted by Vin and Cammi De Bellis. Actually, I’m surprised Ares isn’t being forced to attend,” Zara says.

“Who are Vin and Cammi De Bellis?” I look to Aurora.

“Ares’s parents. His mother does a lot of charity work around the city. Particularly aimed at kids,” Zara answers my question. “She’s actually a really nice lady. How she birthed a demon likeAres I have no idea—never mind. I do. It’s his father’s genes. His father is scary as hell.”

“Don’t listen to her. Vin is not scary,” Aurora tells me.

“Sure he’s not. Anyway, see you tonight.”

“Okay, thanks!” Aurora calls out to Zara’s retreating back.

Great, I guess we’re going to a party with absolutely nobody I know. Not that I need anyone other than the one person I have right here.

“Your brother is going to lose his shit, Aurora,” I warn her.

“He’ll get over it. Are you going to help me plan our escape?” She smirks at me, her eyes twinkling with excitement.

My gut churns. I got a feeling this is a bad idea. Which is exactly why I told Lorenzo to have his men follow us. While I don’t think it’s the best thing for us to be doing right now, like fuck was I gonna let Aurora go off on her own. And I had no doubt she was gonna go off. Even if she had to drug me to do it.

I’m in a foreign country and, other than Bray and Levi, I don’t have a lot of connections here. I don’t know who I can trust. I need help keeping her safe, especially when she has it in her head that she’s leaving the security of her brother’s home. Which she did with ease, mind you. I followed her, step by step, and she got out without anyone seeing us. Not a single guard noticed we left.

Although the tail we have tells me Lorenzo had people waiting for us—if he’s not tailing us himself. She might stab me when she finds out I told her brother we were going out. I’lltake it, though. When it comes to keeping Aurora safe, there is nothing I won’t do.

By the time we pull up to the location on the card, the party is in full swing. We’re also in the middle of nowhere. I have no idea where the fuck we are.

“You sure this is a good idea?” I ask Aurora. “You don’t even like parties.”

“I don’t, but if Zara wanted me here, there’s a reason. She didn’t just come and invite me to a party for the fun of it. She’s planning something and wants backup.”

My eyes widen. Great, just what we need, to be pulled into teenage fucking drama. “Whatever she’s planning, it’s not your problem to fix it. We have enough of our own bullshit to worry about,” I grunt.

“It’s as if you don’t know me at all.” Aurora smiles in a way that tells me tonight is going to be nothing but trouble.

“Fine,” I huff. “But do not leave my side, Aurora.”

“You think I’m going to leave you alone with all these Aussie girls? They’d eat you alive within minutes.” She shakes her head.

“No, they wouldn’t, because I wouldn’t let them.” Opening the car door, which I still don’t know how Aurora managed to arrange, I get out and walk around to the passenger side. Only to find that she’s already out of the car. So I take her hand in mine and we walk into what looks like a warehouse full of drunken teenagers.

“Let’s find Zara or Ares. Either way, I suspect they’ll be near each other,” Aurora yells into my ear over the music.