Page 70 of Phantasm

My stupid fucking heart is beating harder at her words. Can it be true? Is he looking at me?

No. Lauren is wrong.

She turns around and carefully opens the door a smidge then peers through the small gap. “You should break it off before you get hurt.”

Frowning, I stop typing as a flare of annoyance flashes through me. “Before I get hurt? Are you serious? Lauren, you don’t know anything about me.”

I say these words, though deep down, I know the truth. I’m not annoyed at her for pointing out the obvious. Darian will hurt me. My heart isn’t safe with a man like him.

He’s an Elder. One of the higher-ups in the Exodus.

Now repeat that until your heart stops skipping a beat every time Darian enters a room.

I’m annoyed because she wants me to end my dalliance with Darian and pull the plug before it’s too late to walk away, but I’m beginning to realize that I don’t want to.

I’m about to say something else when my thoughts crash to a halt as I click on another file. “What the hell?” I whisper, gulping hard.

“What’s wrong?” Lauren looks at me over her shoulder.

This is it. This is what Beaumont wants to dangle over Darian’s head like a noose.

“Nothing,” I reply, quickly copying the information onto a USB stick with shaky hands.Lauren looks unconvinced as she watches me switch everything off.

I fidget with the items on the desk to ensure nothing is out of place and no evidence is left behind. My husband has hawk eyes and a special knack for sniffing betrayal from a mile away. I’m actually surprised he hasn’t barged in here already.

The USB burns a hole in my pocket as I exit the room with Lauren, but instead of feeling triumphant, guilt gnaws at me.

Can I do this? Can I betray my husband?

You don’t have a choice.

Tonight is the fundraiser, yet another extravagant affair like the previous one.

Lauren carefully applies her peach lipstick in the mirror, looking nothing short of a goddess in her green cocktail dress, which hugs her every curve.

Curled tendrils of hair frame her heart-shaped face when she peers at me in the mirror. “I think some of the rebels will attend tonight.”

I pause, the perfume bottle inches from my pulse point in my neck, fresh notes of magnolia and lotus flowers saturating my nostrils. “The rebels?”

She zips away the lipstick in the makeup bag and spins around. “It’s a possibility. This is a big event. All the major players will be in attendance.”

I turn away from Lauren to hide my expression, my movements stiff as I spray perfume. While it wouldn’t be the first time the Antichrist has infiltrated an event to spy, it’s the first time the thought of it makes me feel this level of unease. The last thing I want is to place Darian and Sinclair in harm’s way.

“I can’t believe it. You’ve been compromised,” Lauren says, stating the obvious. When I fail to turn around, her heels click on the floor. “The Exodus killed your father, or have you forgotten?”

“I haven’t forgotten,” I bite out as I feel her behind me.

“Darian is no better than them.”

Her concern is palpable in the air, and I hate how it stirs the guilt I’ve festered over the last decade. I couldn’t have stopped the events, but I still feel the weight of it.

“He’s an Elder, Cecilia. Do you know what that means?”

Steeling my jaw, I turn around to face her. “I’m fully aware he’s an Elder.”

“Are you?” She shakes her head, and notes of bitterness bleed into her voice. “Heknowswhat happened to your father. Theyalldo. Yet here you are, spreading your legs for him.”

“First of all,” I say, pointing a finger at her, “careful! You’re my friend, but I won’t let you speak to me like that. Secondly, look around you. We’re trapped. Our options are very limited. I may not be a Pawn, but I’m still a pawn in this cruel world, the same as you.”