Page 57 of Redeemed

Just as his hands fall away, the door slams against the wall, and Colton storms into the bedroom, a white mask in his hand.

“What thehellare you doing?”

Xander

Aftergettingkickedoutof the party, we regroup at Colton’s. I steer my motorcycle into his driveway seconds after he turns in, and Lucas is right beside me.

“What the hell did she think she was doing?” Lucas spits out once we’ve all pulled off our helmets.

“Whatever her drunk little mind planned, it wasn’t very smart,” I say. “What the hell does slapping you prove, anyway?”

“That she doesn’t care about my threat,” Colton says, but it doesn’t sound likehecares much.

I shrug. “I mean, it’s not like you meant it.”

Lucas clenches his fists. “Not the point. The little bitch needs to be put in her place.”

We both look to Colton, expecting him to agree, but he’s gazing into the trees that surround the backyard and the east side of his property.

“Colt?” I ask.

“I want that painting,” he murmurs absentmindedly.

“What painting?” Lucas asks.

“The one that stopped Haven in her tracks. It was hanging just outside the kitchen.”

Frowning, Lucas mutters, “I didn’t even notice.”

“I did,” Colton says.

Because of course he did. He notices everything about her.

“All right, fine.” I rub my hands together. A little Halloween heist sounds like it’s exactly what we need to blow off some steam. “How are we getting back into the party?”

Colton narrows his eyes, thinking. “We’ll need some way to make sure those assholes don’t recognize us. Any other night, I’d be down to beat the living hell out of them, but our focus is on Haven.”

“How about those masks we used back in July?” I ask.

“The ones from The Williamsons’ party?”

I nod. It was the first job we did together after I was finally initiated into the Glass Rooks. It took years, thanks to Haven’s betrayal, but I’m in now, so Lucas and I can stay together. That’s all that matters.

“Dude, we used those to commit acrime,”Lucas says.

“Multiple crimes, actually,” I shoot back with a wink. “And so what? They’re plain white masks. They’re too popular to be used to tie us to anything.”

“Fair point,” Colton says thoughtfully, and then he nods. “They’ll work. We’ll need to change our clothes, too. I’ve got some hoodies inside we can grab.”

“Perfect,” I say with an excited grin. “Still taking the bikes?”

“You two ride together and park a block away from me. I’ll take the BMW and swap out the license plate with a fake.”

“That settles it, then.” I throw one arm around Colton’s shoulder and the other around Lucas’s. “Let’s get this show on the road.”

. . .

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