Page 19 of Colton

Hers likely involves getting ourselves entangled with a secret gang — if such a thing exists over there, which, given the vibes I’m getting, it likely does — maybe fall in love with the boss, and somehow live happily ever after… not mine, though.

“Probably,” Grace shrugs, her eyes glued to the road ahead. “I mean, with the reputation of people leading the city, and the city itself, I think every single street will have something exciting for us.”

“Have you decided on a restaurant?”

Grace nods, her smile widening. “Yup! There’s a specific place that serves mysterious food.”

I lift a brow. “Mysterious, how, exactly?”

“You tell them your preferences, or if you have any allergies, and they whip out something delicious for you. It’s a highly rated restaurant. Oh, guess who owns it!”

“Uh.. no idea?”

“The Hill family.”

“Artemis?” I ask, taken aback.

I don’t know why I’m surprised. I didn’t ask her what her family was doing for a living, so being a restaurant owner seems possible. Especially since she’s from the founding family, and extremely rich, it must mean her family’s been in the business for quite some time.

“Yes, the one and only,” Grace snorts. “I really don’t like her. She’s not done anything to me, it’s just a feeling that I’m getting… and I don’t like it, not one bit.”

“I’ll trust your gut feeling, then.”

“Is your assignment with her complete?”

I nod. “We have to present it together on Monday, and I’m free of her afterwards.”

“Thank God,” Grace breathes out, the tension in her shoulders easing a little. “I genuinely don’t want her anywhere near you.”

I have nothing to say to that. Instead, I nod, and look straight ahead. One of Grace’s favorite songs comes on, and she blasts the volume all the way up, making me laugh a little. The tense conversation is forgotten as we sing along to the old song, and before I know it, we find ourselves right in front of the massive, cold, and unwelcoming gates.

◆◆◆

“I thought we were going to die,” I put my palm over my chest, slumping next to the car, and sitting on the ground pathetically. I can feel the rise of my heartbeat, and it’s not fucking normal. My body is trembling, and I take the bottle of water Grace offers without so much as looking at her.

“You’re overreacting… as always,” she rolls her eyes. “Done with self-pitying?”

“No, give me five more minutes.”

I chug on the water like it’s the last time I’ll drink it, because honestly, it feels like that. The liquid slides down my throat with ease, the coldness of it making me relax ever so slightly.

At the gates, we were greeted by ten — yes, ten. As in one-zero — guards. Not only did they inspect every inch of the car, and even looked underneath the car, but they also carefully took out every item out of our bags, and it took them an hour to clear us.

And this is all with the damned entry pass. I don’t even want to imagine the treatment we would’ve received had it not been for the little, metal card.

“Do you think they’re going to arrest us if we breathe the wrong way?” I whisper.

“If you don’t pull yourself out of this mindset, I’m driving off and leaving you here.”

“Don’t you dare!” I warn, getting back on my feet, dusting off my ass and legs. “But that was terrifying.”

Grace blinks, exasperated. “For you, yes. I was chatting with the guards, asking them for sight-seeing places. They were quite nice.”

“They had weapons!” I hiss. “Do you think they’re guarding some massive, government secret in here?”

“Could be,” Grace ponders as I slowly slide back into the passenger seat, buckling myself. “Or maybe the government owns this city and they’re conducting experiments here?”

A deafening silence falls inside the car.