Page 59 of Lawton

Brittney glared at her. "Well, it wouldn't be justme."

"But—" Amber choked on a sob. "I planned this party."

"Webothdid," Brittney corrected. "Youcan'tkick us out."

My jaw was tight. "Oh yeah? Why not?"

"For one thing, because we don't have a car." She tossed back her hair. "Remember?"

I did remember. I'd had Brittney and Amber picked up personally – for my sake, not theirs. I gave them a hard look. "I know. That's why I'm calling you a driver." I went to the door and opened it. "By the time he shows up, you'd better be dressed and ready."

Brittney crossed her arms. "Or what?"

It was a good question. I didn't have the answer. So instead, I walked out and slammed the door behind me. And then I ripped off that fucking bow and hurled it across the hall.

It went like three feet before it floated to the floor in a harmless heap. Talk about unsatisfying.

Feeling surprisingly sober now, I stalked down the stairs and shouldered my way through the crowd, ignoring everyone and everything as I headed out the same side door as before. As soon as I was outside, I pulled out my cell phone and called the main number for the drivers. By prior arrangement, they were staged and ready at a parking lot five minutes away.

I ordered one of the cars now, and told the rest to be ready. An hour, two hours, five hours – I still didn't know. I'd paid for twelve hours flat, so waiting wouldn't be a problem either way. Knowing how crazy things could get, I'd even ordered a couple of party-busses, just in case.

That done, I made my way to the back of the house, where I'd seen Bishop earlier. I felt my eyebrows furrow. He was gone. And that wasn't the only thing that was different. The rear security lights were on, flooding the back yard with light.

Why? More crashers? It had to be.

I peered across the yard and spotted Bishop heading out through the trees. He was moving straight toward Chloe's place. I tensed. What the hell? A split-second later, I was striding out after him.

Chapter 28

I'd made it halfway to the back fence when Bishop turned to call out, "Hey Lawton!" He sounded amused. "You got another one!"

So he'd spotted me? Obviously, he had. But I didn't give a rat's ass about that. And I sure as hell didn't think any of this was funny – not if Chloe was involved.

Bishop had stopped a few feet from the property line, but I couldn’t see much past him. Dodging my way through the trees, I was desperate to know who he'd caught.

Was it the douchebag? It wouldn’t be surprising. The guy did seem the party-crashing type. Or maybe it was someone else. A fan? A friend? A stranger?

What if they'd run into Chloe? Was she home? Was she okay?

Near the fence, I came to a stop and felt my breath hitch. Shewasn'tokay. She was here – on the ground, wearing nearly nothing. She sat with bare legs stretched out in front of her and her palms pressed into the mulch, like she'd been trying – and failing – to push herself up.

I rushed forward. "You okay?" I crouched beside her. "What happened?"

Her hair was wet, and her lips were blue. The only answer she gave was a long, violent shudder.

I reached for her hand. It was ice-cold. "God, you're freezing." And no wonder. All she wore was a thin white tank top and matching lace panties. I looked around and saw no other clothing – no shoes, no socks, no pants. Definitely no jacket. What the hell was going on?

Had someone tried to hurt her?

She looked up and tried to smile. I spotted the remnants of tears on her pale cheeks and bits of mulch in her disheveled hair.

My muscles tensed. Who had done this to her? The douchebag? He was the logical choice, given everything I knew, which granted, wasn't a lot. I didn't know anything for sure. But I wasgoingto find out.

First things first. I pulled off my shirt and thrust it at her. "Here. Put this on."

When she hesitated, I started doing it myself, pulling the shirt over her head and nudging her arms into the long, white sleeves. Finally, I yanked the thing downward until the fabric covered as much as possible.

It wasn't enough. Her bare, trembling legs were still exposed. But then, she pulled up her knees, tucking them under the shirt until all I saw were the tips of her toes.