Page 17 of Pretty Lies

A laugh echoed through the speaker.

“Just ask,” he said.

“Well, are you trying to be like … in? With all of it—the Outfit?”

“What else was I gonna do?”

Della climbed the front stairs to her townhouse, replying, “I guess we just never talked about it.”

“Because nobody talks about it. That’s the point.”

Yeah.

Maybe.

Then, she had another thought as she dug through her bag for the set of keys that always managed to find their way to the very bottom. It never failed.

“I bet Jennika went to the club, and we weren’t there—”

“She’ll be fine. Girl goes there more than you know. Everybody knows her face.”

“Oh.”

“Mmhmm.”

“Everybody’s got secrets, huh?”

J laughed. “Whatever. Get some fucking sleep, ye—”

Her brother didn’t finish his sentence. Or if he did, she didn’t hear it. As she reached to put the key into the lock of her front door, she realized it wasn’t locked at all. It wasn’t even closed completely. She hadn’t left the porch light on, so it was too dark to tell until it was too late.

And it was too late …

She didn’t even see that bat coming.