Page 186 of Vile Boys

Ares pulls me to him, my back pressed against him as his arm envelops me, and he slaps a hand in front of my mouth. “Shh … Don’t scream. Don’t shout. Don’t let anyone know we’re here.”

I frown, confused.

When he finally pulls away his hand, I whisper, “Why?”

He tilts my head toward the building we’re in front of. On the door is a symbol with bones on it … And my whole body feels like it’s going numb.

“Where we’re going, people disappear without a trace,” he whispers into my ear. “Once you’re in there, you don’t exist until you come out safely. Do you understand?”

I nod, my feet wishing I could turn around and flee, but my head telling me to waltz right in there.

That symbol … I remember it as vividly as the day my father died.

“Don’t let go,” Ares says as he hooks his arm through mine, and we walk up to the door.

He knocks a couple of times in a strange pattern, after which a slide is opened. Someone peers at both him and me, and my heart begins to race.

The door opens, and the guy steps aside. “Welcome to The Tomb.”

“The Tomb?” I whisper as we head down the stairs. “What is that?”

“Part of a network of underground dealers and hustlers.”

“Wait … Mafia?” I mutter.

He nods, and we enter a main area where a ton of people dance to music blasting through the square basement. There are many doors and more hallways, most blocked off by scary-looking guards.

“Come with me,” Ares says, hauling me through the crowd.

“What are we doing here?”

“I have a rendezvous with a particularly hard-to-find regular,” he says, swooping me across the dance floor until we’re in the middle, where he wraps his hands around my waist and sways me around.

Ares pulls me close, too close for comfort, as I can hear his heartbeat through his chest. “Pretend we’re dancing.”

He spins me around and pushes my ass against his hips so I’m forced to sway along with him, his hand on my waist, guiding my body to move to the rhythm. One hand grabs my hand and lifts it to drape around his neck, fingers slowly sliding down the back of my arm, causing goose bumps in their wake.

“Make them believe it,” he whispers into my ear.

“Who?” I murmur, having trouble focusing.

I can hear him smirk. “Everyone.”

I try my best to move to the music, but my heart races in my throat because of where I am right now … and with who.

This place is a gateway to hell, and I’m dancing with the devil coaxing me to lick its flames.

His hand slides down my chest, and I suck in a breath as it dips between my legs, only to narrowly avoid my most sensitive area. On purpose, of course.

He spins me around again and pulls me close to his chest, rubbing his hand over my ass. And I don’t think I’ve ever hated something as much as being turned on by dancing with my enemy.

“Do you see that hallway behind me?” he whispers in my ear.

I nod while trying my best to ignore his hand as it rolls around my ass.

“Tell me when you see a chubby man with a yellow bow tie enter.”

That’s oddly specific.

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