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The pussy - lube on the handle makes my hand slip along the shaft. I lose my grip and the power behind the thrust, dropping Caspian.

“Fuck!” Duke yells, covering his bleeding head.

“Fuck!” I yell, because he’s blocking the door.

“What did you do?” He hobbles backward one step, giving me the room to get out.

I get into the bedroom and yes, I can run. The cart Manuel gave me is charged, no screwdriver needed. If I don’t hesitate, I can go to the main house, find Tonya, and get out of here, all without pants.

But as Duke takes his first step toward me, he kicks the screwdriver I dropped. It spins on the tile.

Fuck. I can’t leave Caspian behind.

I snap up the bag of guy clothes. “I guess I like it rough.”

Swinging the bag as hard as I can, I smash his face with it. It’s not heavy enough to do damage, but it disorients him and gives me time to grab the screwdriver.

I run like the damned devil and make it to the cart.

I’m ready to go, when I realize that, yeah, I have my screwdriver, but my toolbelt is still in the bathroom.

Shit fuck motherfucker cock and god damn balls!

I can hear Duke barking into the phone from the guest house. He’s not coming out for me. I’ve already beaten him. He won’t attack again and risk me killing him. Not when he’s paying a security detail.

There’s not a ton of time here. I reach behind me, and the first heavy thing I can grab is a cordless drill case. I turn on the cart, get out, and put the case on the go pedal. Then I duck into the bushes and pray.

The case isn’t heavy enough to send the cart speeding the way I’d speed if I was in it, but it trundles down the path long enough for Duke to see.

Now that he thinks I’m gone, he runs out, still gushing blood from the flathead gouge, and shouts into his phone, “She’s heading for the pool house.” He rushes to follow the cart, but not enough to catch it.

I scurry to the back of the house and enter through the bedroom.

My toolbelt is right where I left it, every one of Caspian’s crew securely lodged in their places.

I jam my feet in my sneakers, then grab my pants and the belt.

Once I’m in the dark forest, I dress quickly, then wrap the belt around my waist and slide my screwdriver in his loop.

The music at the main house is thumping and the dogs are barking.

I assaulted the owner of the compound and now they’re coming for me.

I can climb a wall, but I can’t leave Tonya roofied at a fuck-in.

And it’s not like I can call the Catalina authorities.

They’re bought and paid for. I didn’t even need Dan to tell me that would be the case.

Calling LAPD would be an epic waste of time.

The first thing they’d do would be to call the sheriff here, who’d say he had it under control and put his feet up on the desk while he counted his Bitcoin.

So this is on me. I remove the hammer from the belt and hold it up, claw side forward, while I run through the forest, skirting the perimeter of the property, avoiding the dogs, until the main house is in sight.

It has to have twenty rooms over three stories, all of them lit up like a Christmas tree.

The music’s going hard. There’s a line of golf carts and even a couple of expensive cars twisting out the front gate.

The back, by the pool, is still underpopulated.

There are only a few women wearing nothing but heels and carnival masks by the bar setups, talking to douchebags in tuxedos and either masks or Oakley sunglasses.

I scamper from bush to bush, dropping scent every which way. I don’t know if that’ll confuse the dogs or drive them right to me. I have to get in sooner rather than later so I can get the hell out.

I slink up to the pool fence and the bar set-up. When the bartender turns around and rubs his eyes, I recognize Manuel from the guardhouse.

“Hey, Manuel!” I whisper-shout.

He bends and squints. “Julia . ?Cómo estás?”

“Pretty good. How about you?”

“Tired.” He stands and pretends to arrange the wine glasses while he talks. “It’s late to be walking around, no ?”

“I know, I know.”

“You going to this thing?” He jerks his thumb toward the party in the main house.

“Nah, but… you got an extra mask?”

“I could get in trouble.”

“I’m not your guest. Maybe I found it on the ground. You did an overnight at the guardhouse. Now you’re here. You’re exhausted. I’m a hallucination.”

He chuckles and puts his hand in his pocket. While he bends for a beer, he lets the mask slip to the other side of the fence.

“Piece of advice,” he says when he stands. “Put it on to get out. Stay far away.”

“ Gracias .” I slide my hammer into my belt and put on the mask.

I won’t fit in unless I’m some very specific asshole’s fantasy, so I act the part, swinging open the gate and sauntering onto the patio as if someone’s waiting for me.

No one even looks my way. The security guard I’m behind will though, because his radio is squawking some code that I’m sure means “If you see a bitch in a tool belt and ponytail, detain her ass.”

I get out from behind him and go into the kitchen as if I own the place.

Suddenly, I’m surrounded by more naked women in masks and high heels like the ones who were out by the pool.

More men in tuxes and either masks or Oaklies.

The scene is the douchebag version of that Tom Cruise movie. It has to be on purpose.

No imagination.

More security. I dodge into a hallway and wind up backing into a guy. I spin around, ready to run or fight.

“Julia?”

I know that fucking jaw and those thick, moisturized lips. I want to punch them.

“Fucking Dan? What the fuck ?”

I’ve never been such a shitty judge of character in my whole life and I’m going to beat myself up real good about this… later.

“Thank God,” he whispers, grabbing my arm. I shake him off.

“Don’t touch me.”

He puts up his hands. “Listen.”

“You’re one of them?”

His brow knots and a space opens between his lips as if he’s both shocked and insulted. Nice act. But he’s here, so he’s no Mr. Fucking Nice Guy.

“You found her.” Tonya comes from the same doorway I did, wearing a robe and one of the lady masks.

“Ton—”

“Let’s go.” She grabs my arm and pulls me down the hall, back toward the kitchen. She’s on her feet, but bangs her shoulder into a doorjamb as if she’s dizzy.

Dan pushes past me and puts his arm around Tonya’s waist to hold her up, then looks over his shoulder.

“Follow or don’t.” He opens a narrow door to an unlit hall.

“Where are you taking us?” I hiss.

He pulls me into the dark.