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CHAPTER3
Evie
Somewhere along the scenic drive from the university to the Summer Burnout, I succumbed to my exhaustion and fell asleep, despite Kat’s driving. Saying Kat is a reckless driver is like saying water is damp. If there was ever someone who shouldn’t be allowed behind the wheel of a fast car, it’s my roommate.
My blissful nap is cut short when my head bangs against the window of Kat’s canary-yellow Lamborghini.
“Ow.”
“Hey, how you feeling?”
“Fine, considering.” I make a point of rubbing my head. “Why?”
“You may have a concussion,” Kat says airily as she rummages around between my feet for something. “That’s like the tenth time you’ve hit your head. It’s amazing the amount of G-Force you can pick up around these hairpin bends.”
I push her away when it’s obvious she can’t find what she’s looking for. “I’ll get it,” I grumble. My eyes are burning from my rude awakening and, possibly, all the makeup. I shove my hands under the seat, and roll my eyes to her when my fingers brush cool glass.
She makes grabby hands at me. “Gimme.”
“I’m sure they have enough inside…” I pull out the bottle, and Kat snatches it from my unresisting fingers.
“They keep all the good shit locked up. Big, huh?” Her voice muffles at the last word as she tips the bottle of tequila to her lips.
We’ve joined a line of cars waiting to be let through a set of massive wrought-iron gates. The little I can see of the mansion beyond is…
“Holy shit.”
“Wait until you see the inside.”
A guy wearing black shades and a stony face walks up to Kat’s window and raps on the glass with a knuckle.
“Put it away!” I hiss.
She waves me off dismissively, shoving the bottle between her thighs as she presses a button on her door to roll down the window.
“Hola,” she says, and then cocks her head in my direction. “She’s with me.”
The bodyguard ducks his head to stare at me. “Name.”
“Evie Larsen.”
“She’s not on the list.”
“ButIam,” Kat says, propping her arm on the leather-clad steering wheel of her Lamborghini and leaning to the side so the guard has no choice but to look at her, not me. “And unless you want to explain to Liam why you sent home the life of his fucking party, I suggest you let us in.”
The guard grunts unhappily, and then turns away to mutter something incoherent into his walkie-talkie. He receives an unintelligible response that’s mostly static, and then waves us through.
Kat revs her engine like she’s at the start of a quarter mile, earning her a sour look from the guard as he heads to the car behind us.
“You’d think they could afford better help.” She takes another sip from the bottle and holds it out to me.
That’s about the same time we crest a small rise and a large portion of the property comes into view.
I grab the bottle and take a gulp. Then another. Not so much because of the huge mansion, but because of all the cars. Theluxurycars. There’s not a clunker or a beater anywhere in sight.
Students are streaming toward the mansion’s front door. The sun is already setting, the mansion lit up from inside against the steady approach of twilight. A distant thump of music permeates the air, nearly drowning out the crackles and pops of cicadas.
Kat makes a puking sound when I slip my backpack over one shoulder. “Babe,please. For the love of God, leave that thing behind.”
