Page 89 of Scattered Glitter

I take a breath and type.

There’s a red Mustang parked in the lot near the Bellagio, right off Las Vegas Boulevard.

I want you to steal it.

The silence stretches as I wait for her response, mythroat tight with something that feels close to guilt. Jinx shifts beside me, her gaze fixed on me, unblinking as if she knows what I’m doing, what I’m asking of this stranger—stealing a car in the midst of the Strip in broad daylight?

It’s a lot.

Koen is quiet, too, the silence between us thick with tension. The seconds tick by, and I can feel my heart pounding, each beat echoing in my ears.

Then my phone vibrates.

Forget it.

Can’t do it?

Won’t.

Ah, because you can’t.

I’m pushing her, testing her limits, seeing if she’ll break. It’s cruel, maybe, but necessary.

Fuck you.

“Ric, she’s stopped.” Koen’s voice comes through. “She’s… she looks pissed.”

You’re useless to us if you can’t even steal a car.

I don’t need you. Can you say the same?

A reluctant smile pulls at my lips, even as the tension winds tighter inside me. There she is. The fire, the bite. But I need more. I need her todothis.

What I need is to know that you can steal a car.

Trust me, I can.

I don’t trust you with shit.

A beat. Silence. And then.

Test is over. Find someone else.

My stomach twists.

Shit.

“Well, I fucked up,” I mutter, and Koen lets out a sharp curse on the other end.

“She’s fucking walking away,” he spits out, clearly frustrated.

I swallow hard. “Where is she going?”

“I don’t know, on the move, heading away from the Heights. I’m trying to follow, but she’s quick. She’s… wait…”

The sound shifts abruptly like he’s shoved the phone into his pocket. The line crackles with static, and then, barely audible, her voice filters through. It’s faint, distorted, like a conversation heard underwater, but the anger in her tone is unmistakable.

“What? Are you going to make me do it? Compel me into stealing that fucking car?”

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