Page 125 of Vengeful Princess

I finished the rest of my cake and coffee while Eden chattered away about which clubs had the best DJs and what she planned to wear for our night out. She told me her cousin was potentially in the city, so we could stay in one of the Kelly Hotels for the night.

The idea of meeting Declan Kelly didn’t exactly fill me with joy, but if I refused, Eden would want to know why. And besides, he would probably be too busy with mafia business to care about meeting some girl his cousin knew.

“Great!” Eden beamed when I finally tuned back into our one-sided conversation. “I’ll call Declan!”

Shit, what had I signed up for?

Strobe lights flashed, music thumped from nearby speakers, and the stench of cheap aftershave clung to my slinky, sequined dress. Eden pushed another pink drink with a garish umbrella into my hand and leaned in to yell in my ear.

“Let’s dance when we’ve drunk these.”

I nodded and smiled with what I hoped was enthusiasm. She grinned and slurped half of her drink. It looked like my acting skills were on point this evening. Yay. I didn’t want Eden to think I was bored when she’d gone to so much trouble to do my hair and makeup.

It wasn’t like I was having a bad time. Far from it. The club was upmarket, and the DJ was someone famous, or so Eden claimed. It just wasn’t my scene.

Although I’d hung out in plenty of clubs in the last few years, it had always been for work. And by work, I mean luring some guy into a back room so Torrance could ‘chat’ to him. Or worse.

Hitting a nightclub with a female friend was a new experience. Maybe I just needed a few more pink drinks and the fun element would become clearer. Yeah, that was it.

I downed the rest of the dreadful cocktail with a grimace. Fuck knows what was in it, but it was way too sweet for my palate. I preferred vodka. It didn’t leave a nasty aftertaste.

“Gross,” Eden concurred as she finished her drink and stood. “I’ll pick something nicer next time. OK, time to dance!”

I watched as she wobbled on her heels. The girl was well on her way to being off her face. At this rate, I’d be carrying her back to our hotel. Which would be fun, given she’d insisted I wear some ridiculous boots with 4-inch heels.

Eden pulled me toward the dance floor and forced her way through the crowds until she found a spot in the middle, overlooked by the VIP balcony. When I glanced up, I couldn’t see if anyone was watching us. The reflective glass allowed anyone up there an unfettered view without letting the bottom feeders down here have the same privilege.

If Cassian and his friends were here, that was where they’d be. Luckily for me, they were busy. I knew this because Landon had messaged me earlier, letting me know he and the guyswere heading to Blackwood Manor for the weekend. He seemed miserable that I wasn’t invited, but I was more than relieved not to be asked. The last thing I needed was to meet Lucian Forsyth over the breakfast table.

Landon thought I was having a chill night in with a Netflix show, followed by a boring weekend of studying.

Kyril had been quiet since our threesome, but I figured Landon would have told him about my plans.

Was it bad that I kind of missed the crazy Russian?

Probably.

I shoved all thoughts of the guys from my head and let the music wash over me.

After three more drinks, I was ready to leave, but Eden was on a roll, determined to get shit-faced and forget about Michael. I had a sneaking suspicion she really liked him but was too used to dating assholes to know a decent guy when one came along.

But what did I know?

Nothing, apparently.

“The idiot keeps texting me,” she slurred as we stumbled off the dance floor. Well, she stumbled while I attempted to hold her upright. “Why is he texting me?”

“Maybe he’s a nice guy?”

“He is a nice guy,” she admitted, before waving at the bartender. “Drinks! We need more drinks!” she called. The back of my neck prickled, like someone was staring at me, and I turned around slowly.

Two guys wearing generic suits stood leaning against a concrete pillar, but they weren’t looking at me. Eden was their focus. My eyes narrowed as I pretended to scan the dance floor while keeping an eye on them. The taller of the twopulled a phone from his pocket and swiped the screen. He said something to his companion and then they turned away.

Strange.

Were they hoping to get laid? I guess from a guy’s perspective, Eden was worth hitting on because she was attractive but drunk enough to ignore too many red flags. Thank fuck I was with her.

Eden pushed another ghastly cocktail at me and when I looked around for a second time, the two suits had disappeared. Two predators on the prowl, it seemed.

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