Page 85 of Pretty Poisoned

"No," Luca says more forcefully.

"She'll be fine," Declan argues. "Wear something pretty tonight, Teagan."

"Where are you taking me?" I ask.

"I have some business outside of town. Don't worry about it; you'll be fine," Declan says.

But the uneasy look on Luca's face has the opposite effect on me. I'm really fucking worried.

"Five minutes, Luca," he adds before pulling the door closed behind him.

"Fuck," Luca mutters under his breath, pacing in front of me.

"What's going on?" I ask.

He sits beside me at the foot of the bed, pushes his hands through his hair, takes a deep breath, and turns to me. "Nothing," he says. "Nothing that concerns you. We're going to get in a car, go to a house, then Declan will talk to some people,and we'll leave—that's it. You don't have to talk to anyone or do anything. You just stay with me…okay?"

"Okay," I tell him.

He kisses my lips. "That's my good girl," he says. "I'll see you at the show, okay, baby?"

I nod.

"Don't tell the girls or Brady, all right?" Luca says. "And you should wear the black lace dress River got for you."

"That's kind of a lot for a concert, isn't it?"

He shrugs. "You'll look pretty. You always look pretty," he says sadly. He hugs me tightly—like he doesn't want to let go—then leans in and kisses me on the mouth. "Bye, Teag."

"Bye," I tell him.

He smiles, kisses me one more time, and leaves me there, sitting at the foot of the bed in the empty room. After a few minutes, I get up and spend extra time on my hair and makeup before slipping into that black lace dress Luca asked me to wear and meeting everyone downstairs.

"You look fancy, Teagan," Hazel says when she sees me. "Is that one that Riv picked out? It looks like something she would wear."

"Yeah. I just felt like dressing up," I tell her.

We get into the back of a car and head to the venue, the three of them drinking and laughing while I just stare out the window. And when we get to the show, I can't even enjoy it. All I can think about is what is going to come after. All I can do is worry about what could possibly have Luca so upset.

After the show, I anxiously wait for Luca backstage like he told me to. When he comes out, he's wearing a suit and tie. He kissesme on the cheek and throws his arm around my shoulders, and then we walk out the back door and get into the back of a black limo.

I slide all the way over beside him. "Luca?"

"Hmm?"

"You're making me nervous," I tell him.

Like I said, Luca is never quiet. I always know what he's thinking.

"I've never seen you act like this. And we…" I pause, lowering my voice even though there's a partition between us and whoever is driving the vehicle. "We buried a body together."

"I'm sorry," he says.

"You hosed me down in your backyard in thirty-five-degree weather and smiled about it."

"Mmm…I was in a weird mood."

"Luca!"

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