Page 42 of Raise Hell

He takes it, still seeming a little confused. “Okay. Uh, have fun.”

“Thanks, sweetie.” I grab Felicia and pull her inside before she can say anything stupid, like asking where I got the invitation. “Come find us if they don’t leave you out here all night.”

The dummy’s face breaks into a wide smile. “Definitely.”

It’s always good to give guys something else to think about. That makes them less likely to notice that their pockets feel lighter before you have a chance to get away.

Felicia stops short as soon as the front door shuts behind us. “Did you just pick that guy’s pocket?”

Guess she saw that. I hesitate a beat, expecting her to protest. “Yeah, maybe.”

“That is so awesome.”

Okay, this girl is cooler than I thought.

Slipping my arm through hers, I pull us forward. “It’s easy, I’ll teach you sometime.”

Havoc House is both less and more than I expected as I take in our surroundings. It’s obvious that boys live here, considering the clutter covering every surface and the posters of half-naked women on the walls. But the heavy oak paneling and the chandelier hovering over our heads make it clear this house would sell for millions of dollars if it ever made it on the market.

The historic house is entirely wasted on a bunch of spoiled teenage boys.

“We’re going to do a circuit separately. It won’t look good if we cling to each other all night like terrified little birds,” I tell Felicia. “Make sure as many people see you as possible, but don’t make any eye contact. If anyone tries to talk to you, tell them you’re looking for someone and keep walking. I’ll meet you by the keg over there in ten minutes.”

She looks at me like I just asked her to swallow a mouthful of broken glass. “You can’t leave me alone.”

“We have to set the tone right from the beginning. Everyone who sees you will want to know more about the mysterious hot girl in the red dress.”

More importantly, it will give me some time to search Havoc House without having to explain to her why I’m sneaking around.

Felicia still looks more than a little uncertain, but complies when I shoo her away. I wait a beat, watching her go. At some point, I’m going to have to teach her how to walk in heels. She looks a bit like a giraffe using stairs for the first time.

As soon as she’s out of sight, I melt back into the crowd and make my way toward the stairs. It won’t be long before Drake or one of his friends figures out I’m here, so I have to use the time I have wisely.

The mess is worse upstairs, and I marvel that boys this rich don’t just pay for maid service. But it might take more money than they want to spend to convince some poor housekeeper to take on all this. I pick my way past bags of trash that are piled up in the hallways, skirting around a low table still littered with the detritus from a game of beer pong.

It’s still early enough in the party that none of the Havoc Boys have picked their victims for the night, so their bedrooms are likely empty. If I get caught, I’m ready with the excuse that I was just looking for a bathroom.

All the doors look the same, so I pick one at random. I press my ear against it but don’t hear any sound from the outside. No light escapes from the gap at the bottom of the door, so I can only assume that means it’s unoccupied.

I try the knob and it doesn’t budge.

“Fuck,” I whisper.

I slip further down the hallway, my steps silent on the wooden floor. I try another door.

Also locked.

Every single damn door in the hallway is locked.

I should have known they wouldn’t be stupid enough to leave their rooms unlocked with strangers in the house.

Whatever secrets they’re keeping aren’t going to be that easy to discover.

A door opens behind me, and I nearly jump out of my skin. As I turn, my excuse is already on my lips. “Is this the bathroom…”

Drake looks as surprised as I am. “What the hell are you doing here?”

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