Page 104 of Make Them Cry
“You mean you brought your entire closet,” I tease, stepping into my strappy heels. “But thank you.”
Lark shrugs and finally pulls the red dress on over her head. It hugs her curves in all the right ways. She catches her reflection in the mirror and frowns, smoothing it down.
Juno narrows her eyes. “What’s with the face?”
“Nothing,” Lark says too quickly.
“Oh no. Don’t pull that with us,” I say, grabbing my makeup bag and sitting next to her. “Spill.”
Lark hesitates. Her fingers twist the fabric at her hip. “It’s just… tonight I have to go with Knight.”
“You say that like he’s a leper,” Juno mutters.
“I say that like he’sGage’s best friendand has never seen me as anything more than the tagalong little sister who’s not really part of your little gang. Not really.”
I laugh. “Yes you are.”
“He thinks I’m annoying.”
Juno raises her brow. “Lark. Girl. Knight is not blind. Or stupid. You walk into that room in that dress, and he’s going to have to recite code algorithms in his head to keep from spontaneously combusting.”
Lark flushes, but the smallest flicker of hope crosses her face. “Do you think?”
“Oh, honey,” I say, reaching for my lipstick. “He alreadylooksat you like he knows he’d destroy anyone who hurt you. He just doesn’t know what todowith those feelings yet.”
“Men are slow,” Juno says. “Like dial-up.”
We dissolve into giggles and for a minute, it’s like we’re just normal women getting ready for a party—not an op that could expose the identity of a dangerous manipulator with connections to blackmail, surveillance, and possible murder.
I press the lipstick to my mouth, carefully filling in the bold red that Gage said he loved on me once—softly, in that growly voice of his. The thought of him waiting for me tonight, wearing a suit, his dark eyes heated and possessive as he slides his hand around my waist…
My stomach flips.
“You thinking about lover boy?” Juno teases, smirking.
“Shut up.”
She lifts her glass. “It’s okay. We all want you with Gage. He’s protective, brilliant, hot as sin, and apparently he has a thing for watching you brush your teeth.”
“Okay, that happened one time!”
Lark cracks up. “He’s obsessed. It’s cute.”
“I’m not used to this,” I admit softly. “The attention. The care. Being… seen. Like,reallyseen.”
Juno’s smile softens. “You deserve all of it. And more.”
I blink back the sudden sting in my eyes. “Tonight’s going to be intense.”
“Yes,” Juno says, standing. “But we’re not going in alone. We’re going in together.”
“And the men will be there to back us up. Like a private army,” Lark adds.
I nod and take one last look in the mirror. The woman staring back isn’t the girl who flinched when her phone buzzed or second-guessed every move.
She’s stronger. Sharper. And maybe ready for whatever comes next.
The rideto the venue is quiet, charged. We’re meeting the rest of the crew at the event. Arrow, Knight, and Gage are already there.
