Page 136 of Barinov

Even though we were stuck watching her dance on a four inch screen, she was radiant. Ellie was glowing and smiling like nothing else in the world existed. Her turns were graceful, fluid, and each step that Rez added to her choreography was pure perfection. The judges ate it up from the first note to the last spin.

For a second it almost felt normal. Like we weren’t all slowly losing our minds thousands of miles away from each other.

She did incredible. Shattered that competition without even breaking a sweat. I’m so proud of her.

But everyone has been so distracted with Bella being gone, the trials, the Lotus Market, and now Lex and Roman’s new plan to draw out Luca, it’s like Ellie’s win is already fading into the background. So Haley and I have a surprise planned for her when she gets back. Something big enough to make her eyes roll and pretend she hates it.

But even that feels off. Almost as if celebrating anything right now is the wrong color on this canvas of our life.

“This stupid storm is ruining everything,” Ellie continues, her voice pitched with irritation. “I should be there.”

“Darlin’,” Briggs says on the other end of the line. “We’ll get back.”

“When?” she snaps. “Look outside, babe. It’s still dark as shit out there and these chucklenuts are about to blow it with Lex’s idiotic—”

“Hey,” I cut in, opening the door to my car carefully to avoid spilling our drinks all over the leather. “It’s not that stupid.”

“Oh, please.” I can practically hear the friction of Ellie’s eye-roll through the speaker. “This will never work, Cade. We need something bigger, flashier. Something high-class. Another gritty fight night isn’t going to bait him this time, not when he already has what he wants.”

“You have a better idea?” I ask, the skepticism heavy in my voice.

“Plenty!” she shouts. “Look just, wait…” she trails off. In the background, I can hear the rhythmic chirp of a phone. “Babe, answer it.”

There’s a rustle of movement on the line. “Hey Eric,” Briggs’s calm baritone sounds in my ear.

“Ellie, what’s happening?” I press, twisting the key into the ignition. The car engine roars to life, a low growl that fills the cabin.

“Yeah,” Briggs continues, his voice tight. “Understood. We’ll be right there.”

“What is it?” she asks.

“Darlin’,” Briggs answers. “Looks like it’s time to go.”

“Thank God!” The relief in her voice nearly echoes in my ear. “Cade, look it’s like an eight-ish-hour flight. I’ll be on the ground before you know it. Just please don’t let Roman or Lex do anything psychotic until I get there. I promise that I can come up with something that’ll actually draw Luca out that doesn’t involve Lex bleeding all over The Pit. Again.”

I grip the steering wheel tighter as I back out of the parking spot. “I’ll try, but you know Lex. He’s all excited to—”

“Just do it, Cade!” she huffs, the line clicking into silence before I can finish.

The morning rush of Manhattan traffic is so bad today that by the time I finally make it back to NOX, our coffees are pretty much cold. I grab the cups, hand the keys to the valet, and head inside to take the elevators down to The Obsidian.

I spot Haley immediately as I stride down the velvet stairs. She’s perched on Khoza’s broad shoulders near the corner, one hand braced on his bald head for leverage while the other stretches toward the ceiling. She’s wrestling a glittering pink and yellow banner that screams Happy Birthday Champ!

“Higher,” she commands.

“I’m not a ladder, Hales,” Khoza mutters, but he’s steady as a rock anyway.

“You are right now, babe. Higher.”

He lets out a heavy huff but doesn’t argue. His massive hands lock around her calves, anchoring her as he steps up onto the seat of the booth.

“Haley Rosethorne,” Sabine purrs from the bar, slowly stirring honey into a steaming hot mug of what I hope is tea. Her dark brown, amber-flecked eyes track Haley’s dangerous lean. “If you tumble off of him and crack your head wide open, don’t expect me to stitch you closed, chérie.”

“I won’t fall,” Haley shoots back, blowing a stray red wave out of her face before slapping the final piece of tape against the wall. “And if I do, at least the banner will be straight.”

“Where do you want this?” O’Malley says as he rounds the corner with a gigantic bouquet of hot-pink and sunshine-yellow tulips. Ellie’s favorite.

“Ahh!” Haley sequels, hands clasped over her mouth. “Those are gorgeous, Mac! Put them on the table over there,” she adds with a wave of her hand.