Page 60 of Lush

Erik offered me his fist. I dapped it back, watching as he stood. He paused at the whiteboard before my office, tapping it.

“If you can help me figure this out, maybe we can be friends.” His flat tone made it hard to tell if he was serious. “Have some more of that weird drink you made.”

I leaned back, raising an eyebrow. “Is this Erik King trying to bond with me? Guess hell froze over.”

“Hell’s still hot, trust me. Just don’t make me regret this.” He smirked, turning to my whiteboard. “Rebel Spirits?”

He gave me the deuces and left.

I just sat there, staring at the board, letting it all sink in. Finally, I stood, gathering my things and shoving them into my bag. I needed to get out of here.

Outside the glow of the streetlights cast an eerie halo around my motorcycle, its chrome gleaming in the dark. I mounted the bike and revved the engine, and the deep rumble vibrated through my body. How the fuck was I gonna survive this?

But then, a movement caught my eye. A dark sedan loomed near the entrance of my parking lot, parked at an awkward angle, half in the shadows, the other half positioned to see the gym’s entrance.

My heart skipped a beat, instinct kicking in.

I squinted, my pulse quickening as I tried to make out the figure inside. The tinted windows reflected nothing. I killed the engine and climbed off the bike, the silence around me amplifying the rustle of leaves and the distant hum of the town.

Think, Reese, think.

I stepped closer. Through the windshield, I saw a silhouette. The figure was hunched over the steering wheel, and I couldn’t tell if it was a man or woman.

I couldn’t afford to make a mistake. The shadow inside was still, too still. I kept walking toward the car. Then the unmistakable sound of an engine starting, breaking the silence like a shot.

The headlights flared on, spilling harsh white light across the pavement, blinding me.

Before I could react, the tires squealed, rubber-on-asphalt sound as the sedan shot forward. I flinched, stumbling back as it sped out of the lot, the taillights a streak of red against the night as the tires screeched.

But just before it disappeared, something caught my eye—adecal on the rear windshield. Faint, barely visible in the dark, but I knew I’d seen it before. A crest. A seal. My phone blared suddenly, a shrill sound that cut through the air. The shock of what just happened made me fumbled for it.

Laurene’s name flashed on the screen. I barely managed to speak before her voice shattered through the line.

“Reese. Please. Help me.”

CHAPTER 13

Laurene

AN HOUR BEFORE…

I shouldn’t have toldhim about Blair.

No. Mistakes meant you weren’t cut out for it. I was. This house taught me survival was not about trust. It was about getting the most out of things. However…

Remembering Reese’s reaction to Blair hurt. If I wanted his trust…ifI dared to hope for that, then I had to be someone worthy of it. Was that even really me?

With Gigi in Chicago, the mansion was unsettlingly still. But I wasn’t gonna let fear keep me cooped up. I heard hushed voices from downstairs.

I promised myself I’d be tougher when I returned to Lush. Hardened. The woman I’d become in Paris didn’t bow, didn’t falter. She learned to make it in a sink-or-swim world. And I’d swum. Fiercely.

But here, in this house, it was so much harder to keep my head above water.

Now I felt…ashamed.Lost. I felt like I was looking at the girl I used to be. Dutiful. Refined.

But Lush wasn’t Paris.

Things were tougher here, the stakes higher, and the consequences more brutal. And I wasn’t sure the woman I’d becomethere could survive this world without fracturing into pieces of the girl I used to be.

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