Page 9

“He must be here somewhere. I should go find him.” I poured myself another shot and quickly downed it. That was the one advantage of my car breaking down tonight. I no longer had to drive home.

Nicole also had another shot before she hopped off the kitchen counter. “Well, if he’s in the basement, I’ll let you know. I’m going down there to see if the boys are still playing poker.”

“Try not to steal all their money this time,” Mia said with a shake of her head. “You were getting filthy looks for weeks after the last time you played poker with the boys.”

“It’s not my fault they suck at cards.” Nicole shrugged. “I’ll see you guys later.”

As Nicole headed off in search of her poker game, Mia jumped down from her spot on the counter and grabbed my arm. “Okay, Vi, let’s dance.”

“No, Mia, I need to find Jeremy.”

She huffed. “Jeremy can wait. Plus, if he’s here, you’ll only be on the dance floor a few minutes before he gets jealous and comes to drag you off. Don’t waste your time searching for him. This will be way quicker.”

I ignored her dig at Jeremy. He wouldn’t be jealous. Especially not if he was as upset with me as I expected.

"Come on,” she purred at me. “You’ve had a shitty day, but you’ll feel a lot better after a quick dance. And then we’ll look for him together.”

Dancing did sound a lot more appealing than confronting an angry Jeremy. “I guess we could have one dance.”

“That’s the spirit.” Mia didn’t give me a chance to reconsider as she pulled me toward the large open-plan living room where everyone was dancing.

We squeezed into the middle of the crowd, and I quickly realized Mia had been right about one thing; it was fun to let loose on the dance floor, and it was a welcome distraction from the anxiety I’d been feeling ever since I’d realized we were going to be late for Jeremy’s game and my day started to go rapidly downhill.

Jeremy didn’t show up to sweep me away, despite Mia’s prediction, and we ended up dancing for song after song.

A few guys tried to dance with Mia, but I was almost completely ignored.

It was hardly surprising. I felt completely invisible to the male population of Sunshine Hills.

No one was willing to cross my boyfriend.

It was fine by me as I was finally enjoying myself. But when I noticed a few Saints hockey players nearby, I was reminded about Jeremy. If they were here, he surely wasn’t far away. I’d put it off long enough. It was time I found him and checked he was okay.

Before I could say anything to Mia, I felt a shift in the atmosphere of the room.

The lively and carefree energy turned tense, and a sense of unease rippled across the dance floor as the people around me seemed to freeze in place.

It felt like a storm had just rolled in, bringing ominous clouds that cast a shadow over everything and everyone.

The people around me were fixated on something behind me.

“Oh my god,” Mia gasped. “What are they doing here?”

Following her gaze, I turned and found Reed Darling staring across the room at me.

My stomach dropped at the sight of him. He was standing near one of the entrances to the living room, flanked by two guys who were just as tall and imposing as he was.

There was no question their presence had caused the apprehension that was now suffocating the room, and a space had formed around them as everyone shrank back.

I swallowed because the friendly expression that had been on Reed’s face when I’d met him earlier was nowhere to be seen.

There was nothing kind or playful in his eyes now.

Standing there, with his gaze intense and his muscles rippling beneath the fabric of his shirt, he exuded a threatening aura.

And the two guys beside him only heightened the sense of danger.

The one on his right towered over everyone in the room, his expression as dark as a cloud full of rain and thunder.

And while the guy to Reed’s left looked slightly younger, there was a menacing glint in his eyes and a subtle curve to his lips that suggested he was enjoying the reaction their arrival had caused.

I could certainly understand why the three boys had forced everyone to take an instinctive step back.

But, as Reed continued to watch me, his mouth twitched as though he was fighting off a smile.

“Why is Reed Darling looking at you that way?” Mia hissed.

I didn’t get a chance to respond as she grabbed my wrist and yanked me away. She pulled me across the crowded dance floor to the door on the opposite side of the room from Reed, which led out to the corridor. I could hear people chattering about the boys’ dramatic arrival as we passed.

“What are the Darling Devils doing here?” one girl gasped, peering past me toward where Reed had made his entrance.

“It’s probably to deal drugs,” the guy next to her said.

“Nah, they like to show up at parties like this to intimidate their competition,” a guy I recognized from my math class replied. “I bet they’re here to make sure our star players can’t play this season…”

“Either that or they’re done with the girls at their school and have come to steal all of ours,” his friend grunted. “Have you heard the way they fly through women?”

“They can steal me,” another girl said with a giggle. “Especially Reed. He’s so hot.”

“Bethany!” the first girl shouted at her.

We moved off before I could hear anything else, but, by the sounds of it, everyone had a theory about Reed and his brothers, and not one of them was good.

It was only once we were deeper in the house that Mia slowed.

She stopped at the bottom of the stairs, finally let go of my wrist, and turned to me.

“Mia, what the hell?” I said, rubbing the skin she’d been grasping so tightly.

“Why was Reed Darling looking at you that way?” She repeated her question with surprising concern.

I frowned slightly, knowing I was going to have to come clean. “Uh, you remember how I told you a guy from Ransom helped me with my car…”

“ Reed Darling helped you?”

“Yeah, and…”

“And I told you what he’s like,” she interrupted. “How dangerous he and his brothers are. Weren’t you terrified?”

“Not really…” I muttered. “He seemed nice.”

“ Nice ?” She shook her head with disbelief before glancing over her shoulder, as if she was afraid she might find Reed standing there. “What do you think they’re doing here? They don’t come to parties this side of the river…”

“Uh, well, I don’t think it’s drugs, girls, or general mayhem,” I started. “I might have invited him…”

“ What ?” She faced me once more.

“I was being polite since he helped me with my car. I didn’t think he’d actually come…” I was suddenly grateful I hadn’t seen Jeremy around tonight. I couldn’t imagine him understanding why I’d invited the captain of his rival hockey team to join us.

“You were being polite?” Mia repeated my words as though the mere concept was impossible to believe.

“What? I can be friendly.”

“I know that. But you chose to be friendly with the scariest guy in a hundred-mile radius. It’s like trying to comprehend a bunny cuddling a rattlesnake.”

“I’m not a bunny, and he’s hardly a rattlesnake.”

“No, he’s worse,” she replied. “He’s a Devil.”

Mia stepped closer to me and put her hands on my shoulders, holding me firmly in place before she continued. “Listen, Vi. Reed Darling is not a nice person. I was trying to tell you at the game, but you ran off before I got a chance…”

"Tell me what?”

“Reed is the reason Jeremy’s nose isn’t perfectly straight.”

“What?”

“He broke your boyfriend’s nose, Violet.”

I felt the blood drain from my skin. I knew Reed didn’t have the best reputation, but if I’d known he’d physically hurt Jeremy, I never would have accepted his help.

“What happened?” I whispered.

“They got into a fight during a hockey game freshman year. It wasn’t pretty…”

“I thought fighting was normal in hockey.”

“Not like this. People still talk about it, even now. And Jeremy and the rest of the team absolutely hate Reed.” I was really beginning to wish I hadn’t bailed on Mia’s Darling Devils lesson at the game today. Instead, I’d stupidly gone and made friends with the worst of them.

“I think we should get you out of here,” Mia continued. “I didn’t like the way he was looking at you. And you’ve clearly lost your mind.”

"I haven’t lost my mind, Mia.”

“You have if you’re calling Reed Darling nice .” She placed a hand against my forehead. “Maybe you’re sick.”

“I’m not sick.” I pushed her hand away. “And I’m not fleeing the party. I still need to find Jeremy.”

“Vi, as soon as Jeremy and the other Saints players find out those Darling boys are here, there’s going to be chaos. And how do you think your boyfriend is going to react when he hears you invited them.”

Mia had a point. I hadn’t been thinking about Jeremy when I’d invited Reed to the party. I didn’t know about their fight then, but even so, I should have known better. Jeremy was already avoiding my calls after I missed his game today. This might be the final straw.

“All the more reason why I should find Jeremy now and talk to him,” I said. “Can you help me look?—"

I stopped mid-sentence when I saw Mia’s eyes widen, and she grabbed my wrist once again. “Darling Devil coming this way.”

I went to look over my shoulder, but Mia dragged me toward the stairs. “Quick, get up there,” she ordered.

“But, Mia?—”

“Go!” She lifted the little rope that was barricading the staircase and practically pushed me under. “You can’t be seen with him.”

This all felt a little ridiculous, but judging by the reactions of everyone at the party when the Darling brothers arrived, Mia was probably right. I didn’t want Jeremy to see me talking to Reed.

“Okay, okay,” I said as I ducked under the rope and hurried up the stairs. “Thanks, Mia,” I called over my shoulder, but she’d already disappeared into the crowd.