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Lucien lifted the desk chair and placed it in the middle of the room. “Now comes the easy part.”
He climbed on, his cane clutched in his hand. Carefully, he lifted a ceiling panel, pulled a small, round object from his coat, and—
Thunk.
The speaker landed somewhere above me.
“I’ve got five more for him and another six for Giovanni,” Lucien said. “Spread them around.”
I claimed my three, going straight for the closet. Speaker number two found its place behind a shoebox. “What about Levi and Owen? They’re still in the hospital, but when they get out, we’re doing this to them too, right?”
“When they get out from the hospital, my dear, they’ll pray we send them back.”
“Perfect.”
Lucien and I hid his speakers all over Wesley’s and Giovanni’s rooms. Some in obvious hiding places and others in spots they wouldn’t think to look.
We shut the door on Giovanni’s.
“From here, Wilder does what he does,” Lucien said. “I hope you don’t have plans tonight. I’d be honored if you attended a movie with me.”
Lucien offered me his elbow which I happily slid an arm through. “It’d be my pleasure.”
“SNUGGLE UP WITH ME, darling.” Rafael patted the spot beside him on the couch. “I’ve got your caramel popcorn right here.”
I laughed, running and bouncing down next to him. “Luring me in with caramel popcorn. Effective.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
I nudged him. “Am I going to have to give you the same speech? I can’t fall prey to your spinning web of flirtiness while this ring is on my finger.”
“Hmm.” Rafael leaned back in his seat, dropping it faster than normal.
“Hmm what?”
“You said can’t fall prey to me instead of won’t. Word choice is everything, Sinclair.”
“I meant won’t,” I said quickly.
Rafael sang back, “But it’s not what you said.”
“I’m about to take my popcorn and go.”
“And you’d come back,” he said, “because I’ve got this too.”
Rafael reached down beside the couch and revealed two cans of my favorite peach soda. I swiped at one and he tipped out of the way, making me fall across his lap and spill half the popcorn. We cracked up—me so light and happy like I could only be before I brought pain to Royals.
Lucien and Cato were set up in their seats. A sandwich and a bowl of pills for Cato. Lucien’s snack of choice was that glass of red liquid. I hadn’t yet found the courage to ask what it was.
Moving back and forth behind the television, Wilder connected wires, fiddled with technical stuff, and hooked up two laptops to the big screen.
“It’s up,” Wilder announced.
On cue, the television turned on, displaying split-screen video of two darkened figures on a mattress, lit up by moonlight.
Wilder dropped next to me, passing over a laptop.
“Ready?”
“I’m ready.”
He pointed. “That key for Wesley. That one for Giovanni.”
I bashed them both. Viking metal blared out of the speakers—ear-pounding in our living room, even worse in theirs.
“Fuck!”
“What the—!”
The lumps shot out of bed, one of them tipping off and crashing to the floor. I lifted my fingers just as Wesley and Giovanni snapped on their lights. Wesley whipped around, chest heaving as he struggled to figure out what caused that sound. His pajama bottoms were half up his ass from the wedgie he gave himself falling out of the bed.
Giovanni was having the same reaction, except he was butt-ass naked and his bedmate Annika was freaking out along with him.
“I didn’t know she’d be there,” I said around a mouthful of popcorn, “but it’s a lovely bonus.”
Rafael adopted a deep, announcer’s voice. “It’s the look of confusion on Giovanni’s stupid face that gets me. What was that noise? What is noise? Wow, is that what I look like with bed head?
“What are your thoughts, Luce?”
“It’s Wesley that concerns me, Rafa,” Lucien replied, the both of them teasing giggles out of me. “He ran back and forth from the bed to the door five times now. I believe he’s literally had the sense scared out of him.”
I jabbed the buttons again, making all three of them clap their hands over their heads—mouths open in shouts I didn’t hear over the music. My laugh rang out through the Gallery. “This is amazing. Wilder, how does it work? How’d you even come up with it?”
“This was a joint collaboration, Sinclair,” Wilder said. “Rafael thought it up.”
Rafael swept out his arms. “No one knows the misery of relentless, discordant sounds more than me.”
“Cato chased the guy out of the store, so Lucien could steal the speakers.” Lucien bowed in his seat. Cato went on with his meal, fixed on the show. “I hacked into their computers, turned on their webcams, and linked with the Bluetooth speakers hidden in their rooms. Oh, and Cato did one more thing that should be obvi— Ah, there he goes.”
Wesley made his choice, racing to the door. He twisted the knob, and nothing. Yanking, pulling, and throwing his weight back, Wesley strained to get out. The door didn’t budge.
