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“What just happened?” I whisper, my throat tight.
I can’t tell if I should be glad or terrified that Luca didn’t just have his guards haul us away, or shoot us dead where we stand.
“What happened is we got fucked.” Theo curses under his breath, speaking low. He and the other two men step closer to me, their gazes scanning the crowd around us.
Nothing has changed. Well-dressed people are still sipping expensive champagne as they gather in small groups.
But somehow, everything is different.
Before I can ask what Theo meant, Ryland elaborates. “That thing he said? Mors tua, vita mea? It’s a code. A signal. He just put out a fucking hit on us and basically told everyone in the game that they’ll win if they’re the one to carry it out.”
My stomach drops. The gun strapped to my thigh seems to burn my skin, and I wish desperately that it was in my hand.
“Why haven’t they come after us yet, then?”
As I speak, I check to see where Victoria is, half expecting her to be charging toward us with a weapon drawn.
But she’s not. She’s making her way slowly through the crowd, her movements graceful and purposeful as a predator. She glances toward us, her gaze locking with mine briefly before moving away.
“None of them will do anything on Luca’s territory. Not at his house. It’s fucking sacrosanct. That’s why he hasn’t done anything either.” Marcus slips his hand into mine, tugging me close to him as he turns toward the door we first entered from.
The other two are right beside us, still keeping a tight, protective knot around me. No one screams or shouts or makes any threatening gesture toward us as we move across the room, but the crowd parts for us in an eerie way that makes my heart beat out a panicked rhythm in my chest.
It’s like we don’t exist.
Like we’re already ghosts.
Fighting down my impulse to break into a run, I scan the room as we walk. Ryland’s parents are standing off to one side, and as we pass by them, Ryland’s father turns away.
The movement is subtle, but the message is not.
Ryland’s on his own.
All of us are.
These men’s parents all signed them up for a deadly game, insisting the risk was worth it for the good of their families—but when it comes down to it, they aren’t willing to risk themselves to protect their own damn blood.
Selfish fucking assholes.
Anger burns through me, hot and purifying. It helps me focus, helps push the panic away. We’ll get out of this somehow. We’ll survive this, if for no other reason than to come back later and kick their asses.
We’re only a few yards from the door now, and my stomach feels so tight and heavy it’s like I swallowed a brick.
“Why are we leaving?” I ask, glancing over at Marcus. His face is set in a tight mask. “You said we’re only safe as long as we’re here, right? So why go?”
“Because the longer we stay, the longer we give everyone else to prepare. To call in backup and have an ambush waiting for us. If we get out now, we’ll be on more even footing in the fight.”
His voice is clipped and hard, no emotion in it at all. It’s a stark reminder that these men have been playing this game for a long time. This situation isn’t new for him, or any of them.
Worse, maybe. But
not new.
“We have the flash drive. What if we try to out Luca now? If we could turn people against him—”
“Won’t work.” Ryland pushes the door open, and we step into the hallway, moving quickly toward the front door. A few of the house staff glance our way, but no one tries to stop us. If it weren’t for the adrenaline coursing through me and the sweat slicking my palm, I could almost believe we were leaving under normal circumstances.
“We don’t know what’s on the drive yet,” Theo murmurs quietly. “It may not be the proof we need. And we don’t even know if Luca is aware we have it. I’m guessing not, or he might’ve tried harder to get it from us. But if we raise hell, he’ll definitely figure it out.”
