Chapter Fifteen
Into the Lion’s Den
Lake somehow found herself being pulled up the stairs to the front door.
“I am not going in there, Adalyn! Do you know who lives here?” She was somehow managing to yell and whisper all at the same time.
“Yep.” Adalyn quickly lifted her knuckles to knock on the door.
“Wait!” Lake swiftly grabbed her hand before it made contact. “You told me this was a party where a bunch of seniors would be getting drunk, not a goddamn gathering of the head of the Kansas City crime family! Trust me, these people are insane. I met that crazy one today, and all he had to do was that flippy thingy with his lighter”—Lake tried to mimic the movement with her wrist—“and I practically piss—”
The front door opened, and Nero appeared.
Lake wished she could crawl into a deep, dark hole and only hoped he hadn’t heard that, but the amused look on his face told her otherwise.
Adalyn tried to break the awkward silence. “Thanks for inviting us, Nero.”
“You’re welcome.” Nero smiled as he opened the door wider for them to enter. “Nice to finally meet you properly, Lake.”
She tried her best to smile as they entered the home. “You, too.”
“There’s a bunch of pizza in the kitchen, and don’t worry, there are seniors here, too,” Nero informed them as he left the foyer, still smiling.
Oh, God.
Adalyn tried her best not to laugh. “Well, at least that was a step up from the last one you met.”
She really wasn’t good at making first impressions. Thankfully, Nero wasn’t as scary as his older brother, but looking at his emerald eyes, she figured he only needed time. “Yeah, well, you’ve got fifteen minutes, remember?”
Adalyn dropped her voice. “Seriously, Lake, look at this house. We can’t see it all in fifteen minutes.”
Lake glanced around at the huge foyer with a grand staircase. There was no telling how the rest of the house looked, and they had only taken one step inside.
“Fine, twenty.” As she moved further in the doorway, she couldn’t help feeling like she had been led into the lion’s den.
As they made their way through, Lake became easily distracted by the extravagant home. This place is definitely fit for a king. The huge kitchen connected to the dining room, which connected to the living room, making it feel even more ginormous with the vaulted ceilings. There were quite a lot of people there, and there was still room to spare.
“I am so glad you both are here!” Maria quickly gave them each a hug. “Come here, you have to meet my friends.”
Lake followed Adalyn and Maria through the people to the couch in the living room, which was quieter and a little more secluded than the rest of the house. She noticed the strawberry-blonde she had seen that night at Poison.
“This is Elle. Elle, this is Adalyn and Lake,” Maria introduced them.
“Hi.” Elle sweetly smiled, her voice matching her looks.
“And this is Chloe,” Maria finished, pointing to the dark-haired girl on the end.
Chloe nervously smiled back at them. “H-Hi.”
Lake couldn’t help noticing the scars which marked the right side of Chloe’s face. One went from a few inches above her eyebrow down her cheek, while the other ran about an inch above and below her lips. Lake could almost see the pain in her shockingly gray eyes.
“Hey,” Lake replied when Chloe let her black hair veil the right side of her face. She instantly felt bad for staring, but it wasn’t even the scars which had caused it; it was how beautiful she was even with the markings.
“Weren’t you the girl at Poison back in January?” Adalyn asked.
Elle laughed. “Yep. I don’t think that was a good night for any of us.”
All the girls burst out with laughter, thinking about how that night really hadn’t panned out for anyone.
Lake and Adalyn sat down on the huge leather ottoman in front of the couch, feeling comfortable talking with the girls.
“You took Nero back, huh?” Adalyn asked, wanting to gossip more than talk.
Nero broke in and answered for her. “It took a bit of persuading, but she finally did.”
“Yes, unfortunately, I did,” Elle teased as Nero leaned over and brushed his lips over hers.
“What kind of pizza do you want?” Nero asked Elle.
Lake turned her head when another voice greeted her, one she hadn’t heard in what seemed like ages.
Looking up, she saw the baby-blues which would every so often enter only her uncontrollable dreams. Her eyes scanned over him, taking in all the changes she had seen from a distance. Vincent’s features had only taken on small ones; he groomed himself a little more immaculately, and his clothes were a little more flawless. However, it was his eyes which had really changed. She could see a different man behind them.
“Lake…? Lake?” His words finally interrupted her thoughts.
Huh? Lake blinked up at him, trying to shake off her stupor. “What?”
“What kind of pizza do you want?”
She turned her head, unable to look at him and talk at the same time. “Um, no thanks. I’m not hungry.” That was a clear lie. She was actually starving from not being able to eat much of anything that day.
“Pepperoni or cheese?” It came out as a demand that time.
Lake faced him again. “I said I wasn’t hung—”
“Adalyn just said you haven’t eaten today,” he quietly growled.
“They are really sensitive about food.” Elle laughed, trying to calm the situation. “Just pick one.”
Lake had forgotten there was anyone around. Awesome.
She sweetly smiled up at Vincent. “Since you don’t ever give me an option, you pick.” She knew he would understand there was more than one meaning behind that.
Vincent’s eyes narrowed on her before he left with Nero and Amo.
“What did Vincent do after Poison when you all got home?” Elle quietly asked. “Nero told me,” she added.
Took my first kiss, screwed another girl, and then took me home where he told me it was all a big mistake.
Lake smiled. “Apparently, he burned our dresses.”
“For good reason.” Vincent returned, shoving a plate in front of her.
Lake grabbed it, looking down at the four huge slices of pepperoni and cheese pizza and then up at Vincent’s smiling face. She had forgotten he was good at playing games, too.
Lake glanced around seeing Vincent hand Adalyn a plate, Nero giving one to Elle and Maria, then Amo setting another in front of Chloe. Something told her none of the girls had a choice in not eating when they all picked up their first slice of pizza.
Lake felt like she fit in once the guys started talking amongst themselves, which allowed the girls to chat again. She had to keep telling herself not to look in Vincent’s direction every now and then, though. Shit, why did you look? A couple of times, she was unsuccessful.
She had begun to notice Chloe wasn’t talking as much as the rest of them and after a fit of giggles, she whispered something to Elle then got up to leave. Lake watched her walk to two backdoors before she disappeared.
Something about Chloe called to her. She felt almost responsible for why she had left.
Getting up, she shoved the barely half-eaten plate back at Vincent. I won. Then she quickly went to the backdoors Chloe had just exited from. Opening them, Lake was taken aback by the beauty of the backyard.
The whole yard was huge with plenty of green grass, but it was the garden which drew her attention, and within it sat a gazebo strung with white lights. It was stunning.
“It’s so gorgeous,” Lake said in awe.
Chloe looked over at Lake and smiled. “I-It is.”
Glancing over at Chloe’s half-covered face, her heart slightly burned. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to stare earlier.”
Chloe looked down at her hands and began to wring them. “It’s okay. I’m u-used to it.”
Lake went to place her hand on Chloe’s shoulder, but Chloe practically jumped ten feet out of the way.
“S-Sorry, I’m germaphobic.” Chloe grabbed the shoulder she had almost touched.
She held up her hands. “No, I’m sorry.”
Lake finally understood why Chloe called to her. Although she could relate to her pain, Lake knew the torture behind Chloe’s eyes was far worse than hers. Not in a million years would I want to know her nightmares.
“If you ever need someone to talk to, I would listen. I know what it’s like to be alone.” Lake went to leave so Chloe could have her time alone but before she did, she felt compelled to say something else. “You shouldn’t hide your face. It’s beautiful.”