Page 227 of Gathered Sparkle

“Nico!” Koen cuts him off. “Put your fucking earpiece in case you get pulled away.”

There’s rustling over the line, a muffled curse, and then Nicholas’s voice. “Done.”

“Sparkle?”

“I’m in the Lambo. Fuck, what do I do?”

“You move your ass down here,” Koen’s voice is laced with an edge of panic I’ve never heard from him. “And try to get to Sylus.”

I glance at the car, at the transmitter sitting on the passenger seat, and the ramp ahead. “What about the car and the evidence plastered on the Strip and—”

“I don’t give a fuck about that!” Koen snaps.“I can’t get up there now. Come the hell down. We have to get out of here.”

“Koen!” Ezra’s growl cuts in.

“I’m trying!” Koen snaps, strained.

What the hell is going on down there?

“Fuck!” Ezra barks. “Dove, don’t let go!”

“Ouch.” Levi gasps. “I can’t… I—”

“What’s happening?” Ace demands, his breath harsh.

“People are grabbing Levi!” Nicholas bites out, panic lacing his words. “I can’t hold them.”

And I’m sitting here safe in a fucking Lamborghini.

My mind races, spiraling with their voices. The chaos. The crowd. The panic swallowing them whole. They’re outnumbered, overwhelmed, drowning in the crush of bodies below.

Chaos. That’s what this is. It’s chaos swallowing them.

And chaos is opportunity.

Pickpocketing. Sleight of hand. It’s all about creating distractions. Using the noise, the confusion, to your advantage. You guide their attention somewhere else so you can slip away unseen. A little bit of magic, a little bit of misdirection.

It’s all in the art of making them look the other way.

My lips move before I even realize it. “They need a distraction.”

“What was that, Sparkle?”

“The jump.” Cold resolve locks in my veins. “If I do the jump, it would distract them.”

The comms go silent for a beat. Just chaos crackling in the background.

Then Koen explodes. “Don’t you fucking dare, Novalee!”

“Of course it would distract them!” Sylus snaps. “They’d all stop to watch a Lamborghini pancake itself against a wall! I’d still rather have you alive.”

“I can do it.”

“No, you can’t!” Koen is panting. “This isn’t simply driving. It took me three years. Three years! To know the exact speed, the timing, the angle. You’ll kill yourself if you try. Get the fuck out of the Plaza.”

“I’m already in the car.”

“Stop that shit right now.” Ezra’s voice is sharp. “You’re going to crash, fall off the fucking roof—”

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