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Ice chuckled and gestured for me to sit in the middle between him and Mannix.
Mannix leaned forward and spoke to the driver, his voice too soft for me to hear. The driver nodded a couple of times and pulled the car away from the curb.
"It should only take us about ten minutes to get there, depending on traffic." Mannix sat back like a prince in his royal carriage. "Are you ready?"
I toyed with the USB stick, but nodded. "I think so. I mean, we've gone over this a hundred times, but there's still a lot that could go wrong. This—" I held up the stick, "should work perfectly."
I hoped.
It was everything else we could fuck up. So many variables we couldn't possibly account for.
"It'll be fine," Ice said. "Better than fine. It'll befun. What could be better than inviting ourselves to a fancy party held by our enemy?" He sounded like he was ready to have the time of his life. Knowing Ice, that was exactly what he planned to do.
"Just about anything," I said. "If they catch us—"
"They won't catch us," Mannix said firmly. "We planned out every detail. Everything should go smoothly. And if it doesn't, we'll deal with it. Don't worry, we've got you. Your job is to get in, do what you need to do and get out. And look hot doing it."
He made it sound so easy I almost relaxed, but I kept turning the USB around and around in my hand.
Mannix caught my chin between his thumb and forefinger and turned my face towards him.
"Do you trust us?" He looked at me intently, searching for an honest response in my eyes.
"I trust you," I said softly. I did, but I was scared. It all seemed so easy when we were planning everything, but now, it was getting more and more real by the moment. Was it too late to turn back and go home? No one had to know we were ever there.
"Then trust that we know what we're doing. We'll be in and out in less than ten minutes, and no one will know we were there. When we're done, it'll take Samuel Bell a decade to fix what we've done. Reuben Brantley might even give us a medal." He grinned.
As far as I could tell, Reuben Brantley didn't give medals, but his opinion was clearly important to the guys. In their world—ourworld—the kind of power that might be bestowed on them by Brantley was everything. If we succeeded tonight, the impact would last for years.
If we failed, the four of us would end up dead, or worse. I didn't let myself think about what might happen. Whatever it was, it wouldn't be pretty for anyone.
"What does Leo think about this?" I hadn't seen him or Mum before we left.
Mannix's eyes flicked away from me, evasively. "He doesn't know. I spoke to Ric DiMarco about it. He supplied the car and the money for your dress. He has faith that we'll succeed."
I blinked at him a couple of times. "You went over your father's head?"
He placed a hand on my thigh, and slid it up under the hem of my dress.
"If we don't succeed, no one can blame my father. And if we do succeed, then he can't take the credit."
I suspected the latter was the point. Mannix wanted to own this operation. To use it to make a name for himself. I wasn't going to judge him for that. We all wanted to stand on our own two feet, independent of our parents.
This was exactly the kind of thing my mother warned me about when she suggested the guys were trouble. If she knew about this, she'd be worried at best and furious at worst.
Especially if she knew it was my idea.
Not the party, as such, but the virus. Given a chance, I might have thought of coming here tonight, while Bell was distracted with the festivities, instead of Mannix.
Maybe the guys’ mothers should be warning them about me.
"Is Leo going to be pissed off at us?" I asked.
Regardless of Mannix's reasons for doing things the way he did, I didn't want my stepfather angry with me. That may lead to friction between him and Mum. I didn't want to be the cause of any problems between them. Although, at this point, my mother would take Leo's side over mine. While that thought should sting, I'd take the guy's side over hers in a bunch of things, including me staying in Dusk Bay and not fleeing somewhere that may or may not be safer.
"Only if we fail," Mannix said. "Then he'll distance himself from us and all of this as quickly as he can."
I could totally see that. Leo would do whatever he had to do to cover his own ass.
