Page 183 of Midnight Curfew

Something passes between us, and right now—this moment—it feels like he’s kissing me. Only we’re not touching.

“Dallas,” Aracely gasps, breaking the spell. “That was like the best sex I’ve ever had.”

It takes a second for him to register her tease, but he throws her a look. “Thanks,” he spits out.

Jerome laughs as we take the hot towels offered and clean up, an attendant taking a larger cloth and wiping off Aracely’s body.

“That was good,” Jerome tells her, leaning down to grip her hip over the chastity belt. “Maybe someday I’ll catch you when you’re not wearing this.”

“I wouldn’t count on it,” she retorts.

It only makes him smile more. Rising, he refastens his pants and gives me a nod before leaving.

“Thank you for the help,” I tell Aracely.

“You paid well for it.”

And now the night can end. My heart rate picks up its pace, but as we leave the Den and get our clothes back, I don’t hesitate. Because I know that if I don’t slit his throat, he’ll never change.

Neither will I.

I’ll always give in to him. Do I want to fuck him tonight? God, yes. I want to take him home, and I think he wants me to, but then the morning will bring the same shit, so this is necessary. Not only for me, but for Sophia. We need to secure our futures—and it’s past time to be done messing around.

Heading back through the Wolfe Room and out the door, we gather our phones, our wallets, and her handbag.

“It’s after curfew,” Dallas announces, peering over at me. “Are you really in the mood to chase me?”

“No.” I smile, sliding my phone into my pocket. “I’m sure your family has almost finished transporting their liquor anyway.”

I slip my wallet into my breast pocket, feeling them go quiet as they look over at me.

Drawing in a breath, I push down the lump in my throat and address them both. “We fed out that the police were going to be busy boarding up some beach houses on St. Annick,” I point out. “We needed the Jaegers out of the Bay tonight.”

Confusion crosses Dallas’s eyes, but realization dawns for Aracely almost immediately. I would spread a lie about the police being anywhere other than St. Carmen in order to trap them into breaking curfew, but why would I need the ruling family out of Sanoa Bay?

Anger rises in Dallas’s eyes, and he takes a step, about to attack me, but he runs instead. Aracely follows, both of them scrambling up the steps, out of the Wolfe Room, and out into the night.

In moments, I hear yelling and a car peeling out of the parking lot as I ascend the stairs.

Barnes stands in the darkness, throwing his hands up, my car gone.

I’m about to have him call for another car, but Jerome steps out of the Wolfe Room behind me.

“Give me your keys,” I tell him.

No questions asked, he hands me his ring, and the three of us climb into his vehicle. Warmth fills my chest all the way to the Bay. In that way it does when the adrenaline is running, and you can almost be happy because even though something terrible is happening, there’s no going back. The lines have been drawn this time, and it’s an enticing feeling when you’re unhappy. You crave anything different from the status quo.

Ultimately, I’m just tired of being unhappy due to other people’s actions. I’d like it to be because of me for a change.

The mud sloshes under the tires, the rain spilling over the windshield, but as we cross into the Bay, pass the dark Jaeger house, and approach the cemetery, I spot the police lights through the blur.

A figure dressed in black shoves past two officers as he races up to the large crypt, where a small digger sits next to it. The door appears gone.

Jerome looks over at me, but I don’t explain.

We exit the car, rain spilling over my hair and down my face as I head past the police, Aracely, and the few Bay residents who’ve shown up. Grady shoves Dallas to the ground, stopping him in his tracks.

He doesn’t need to go any farther, though. I can see inside the empty tomb from here.