Page 144 of Midnights
Cam steps forward, slow-clapping. “Impressive. Almost. Except we already know you weren’t working alone.” He shifts his weight, and his voice drips with boredom. “So make it easy on yourself and give us a name.”
The guy presses his lips together, like he's got something to lose if he talks.
I nod slowly, tapping two fingers against my knee. “Right. The hard way, then.”
He doesn't see my fist until it cracks against his face, snapping his head back. His yell cuts short when my hand closes around his throat. It's not hardenough to crush anything—yet. It's just hard enough to remind him every breath he takes is mine to give.
His eyes blow wide, I can see the panic bleeding through the bravado as his legs thrash uselessly against the chair. His pulse hammers under my palm, his body screaming even while his pride clings to silence.
I hold him there, waiting. Waiting for that exact moment the fight drains and the fear sets in.
His body jerks, desperate for air. And then, just as the void opens to swallow him whole, I let go.
He sucks in air like he's drowning. His cough rattles through the chair.
“You… you don’t understand,” he wheezes.
I tilt my head, patience hanging by a thread I'm seconds from cutting. My voice stays calm in a way a blade is calm before it cuts.
“Then help me understand.”
His gaze jerks to Cam, like he's reaching for the lifeline in the room. Wrong move. Cam doesn't save men like him.
His lips part, and I can see the hesitation bleeding through every twitch of his face. I fist his shirt and yank him forward until our noses nearly touch. His breath is shallow and sour with fear.
“Who?” My voice is quiet. Lethal.
His eyes dart to Cam again, and I tighten my grip. “Who?”
“The one with the bloodline. That’s why we’re here.”
What the fuck is he talking about? My pulse doesn't so much as tick, but every instinct sharpens. I glance at Cam—catching the tension in his shoulders.
What does he know?
I give him nothing but silence, let him choke on it until he realizes he's already lost.
Then I turn to Cam. “He's all yours.”
Chapter 24
Come Clean
Raven
Rachel and I have the next couple of days mapped out and it’s officially a boy-free zone. No distractions. No detours. It's just the reset I need to get my head straight again.
We’re not about to act like stage-ten clingers.Ew.
Every steamy, deliciously sinful thought of Kane and his sculpted body, those lips, that perfectly styled hair, all of it. It's going to be shoved into a mental lockbox. For good measure, I toss in the very vivid memory I have of his arms. Okay, and his stupidly perfect smirk. And the way he says my name like it’s something worth holding onto. Once I'm sure I've crammed in every last thing worth drooling over, I slam the box shut, padlock it, and toss it into the deepest, darkest recess of my mind.
Rachel storms into my room, waving her phone like she just won the lottery.
“Good thing you’re ready, because the Uber will be here in four minutes. Thank God you agreed, because if you hadn’t…” She pauses dramatically, putting her hands on her hips. “This would’ve gone a totally different direction.”
By the time we step intoThe Realm, the energy slams into me like a shot straight to the veins. The place is crawling with people, music bleeding into chatter until it's just one big, effortless buzz.
It’s way busier than last time.
