Page 66 of Dark Prince

Fuck you, karma. Fuck you right up the ass.

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“What wereyou saying about being immune?” Sienna laughs from the driver’s seat of her Mercedes while I’m half curled into a ball in the passenger seat with the seat leaned as far back as it’ll recline. If she didn’t drive like a teenager that just got their license and now thinks they’re the next race car driver in the making, I wouldn’t even have the seat belt around me. That’s how shitty I feel right now. Her jerky and aggressive driving is making it all worse.

“Kiss my ass.”

“Kind of hard not to miss it now,” she says, not taking her eyes off the road. Doesn’t stop the smirk from crawling up her mouth.

“Bitch, you didn’t even know I was pregnant until what, two days ago? Let me guess, your twin told you first. Had he even boarded the plane yet?”

“Actually, he told me a week ago. Before you. So, ha! Eat that,” she gloats, pissing me off. I roll my eyes and turn to face the window. It’s nighttime, but the city is lit up and there are people everywhere. I figured we’d head to her father’s, where I left my father’s SUV earlier. I was mad when I stormed out, but I didn’t have a car, so I did what a girl had to do—I hot-wired his shit and tore out. He taught Krishna and I how to do it when we were kids, so really, it serves him right. Plus, Ren wasn’t the only person I was angry with. My parents and even my brother topped that list too. For once, Sienna is the least annoying person I know.

“Do me a favor and check Ren’s location on your phone. Make sure he’s still at Headliners. I’m going to be irritated if I drove you all the way to the city for nothing.”

“And how would I do that?” I ask, knowing damn well I can look at his device location if I want. I’ve just chosen not to in the last twenty-four hours, and believe me, it was fucking torture not to tap on that application.

“Bitch, don’t play dumb. It’s a perfectly normal thing to track their asses. Besides, you’re a psycho bitch, you know damn well you can find him at the drop of a hat, so do it.”

“Whatever.” I sit up and pull my cell phone out from where I have it tucked between my hip and leather leggings. Without a pocket, it was my only option unless I wanted to hold it, which I did not, nor did I want to haul a purse around all night.

Opening the app, I wait for it to load. Besides Ren, I have Krishna’s and my Mom’s location, but it surprises me when I see Domenico, Sienna, and Matteo. “What the fuck?”

A snicker comes from my left. “Babe, Dom is the biggest psycho of all of us if you haven’t figured that out yet.” Her gaze flicks to mine briefly before returning to the road. “I’m guessing we’re all in there now? You’re on mine too. It was a shock to me as well. Made this bullshit real.”

“Are you saying you’re okay with Ren and me now?”

“I’m saying you’re baking his goods, so I’m being the bigger person and accepting a reality I have no control over. Welcome to the family, you stupid cow. After the kids are born, I want a rematch.”

“Bring it. I’ll kick your ass again and enjoy every second of it . . . again.” I drop my phone to my lap. “Yeah, he’s at the club,” I confirm, wondering why he’s even there.

She turns down a street I’ve walked down hundreds of times and it makes me peer up to the blue neon sign high above the strip club’s entrance that reads HEADLINERS in all capital letters. There’s a line that’s already started to form outside, telling me the club has reached the fire marshall’s maximum capacity. It’s a short line, but it’s also still early in the night.

As she passes the front, Sienna slows but not by much, and then takes a sharp right down an alley. I see Ren’s black Range Rover almost immediately, the front of the SUV facing us. She parks and I unclip my seat belt.

“Wait here.” She glances at me as she opens the driver’s side door, the car still running. “I’m going to run up and get him, then we’re crashing the boys’ bachelor party.”

“Or we could find a better one,” I suggest, my back falling against the seat since I’m not getting out. She doesn’t reply, getting out and slamming the door closed. There’s a side entrance that faces the side of Ren’s vehicle, and it makes me wonder if this is where he used to park every time I worked when he’d come here to see me.

For whatever reason, I’m not even mad about that anymore. If anything, it makes my insides flutter, loving his possessive side and the fact that he didn’t ask me to quit. For two years, I danced in a private booth the size of a walk-in closet—and not a big one.

When Sienna isn’t back after five minutes, I shoot her a text and then get out of the car, needing fresh air. It’s not cold, but it’s cool and feels good against my bare arms. With my tight pants, I’m wearing a slinky sleeveless top in a pink so bright, I’m like a neon sign. It pairs well and shows off my arm tattoos; not that I have a ton, but I have enough that they’re noticeable. As much of a prude as Matteo’s mom comes off, I’m surprised I didn’t catch her gawking at them. Maybe she isn’t as bad as she tries to portray.

It’s strange, her admitting to being friends with Ren’s mom but no one knew. Surely Tony did, but if so, why didn’t he say anything? As far as I know, Sienna developed a crush on Matteo in grade school and never outgrew it, and that’s the only way they knew each other. Guess they could have had a falling out before Ren’s mother was killed.

When I’m close to the side entrance, something on the ground catches my attention. I’m about to kick it with my boot when I realize it’s a phone. Bending down, I pick it up and turn it over. The screen lights up and I gasp, seeing the lone snowflake wallpaper on the home screen. He hasn’t changed his screen’s background in two years. This is Ren’s phone, but what is it doing outside?

My stomach twists in knots, telling me something isn’t right. I type in the four-digit code, unlocking his phone. He has a lot of new messages that haven’t been read. I go to his message app, scanning who he’s been talking to and see a number I’d recognize anywhere.

I gasp, only this time it’s deeper. Dimitri Sokolov. I open the message, reading the conversation and see the photo of Sienna and me outside of Martina’s house when we’d just arrived four hours ago.

Twisting, I charge to the driver’s side of Sienna’s car. Yanking on the handle, I pull the door open and jump in. I shift it in reverse at the same time I’m glancing up to peek in the rearview mirror, seeing Ren’s sister exit the club, but I don’t wait for her. I hit the gas and back out of the alley and onto the main road.

I have my phone in my hand, pressing The Devil’s contact, hoping I chose the right direction. He answers on the first ring as if he was expecting my call. “Want to know how I’m going to catch my little bird?” There’s humor in his tone that has me gritting my teeth. “With bait, of course. I finally have something you’d do anything for, ptichka. It’s time to climb in your cage where you belong.”

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