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Okay, I kind of do, but I keep that to myself and stare at the wall while Jessa finishes making out with Jay. About a minute later, they’re done, and Jay gives us a shot before we leave. We make our way outside, me whispering an apology to Jessa for making us leave.
“Where’s your driver parked?” Reece asks as he glances around at the cars parked along the night-kissed street illuminated by the faint glow of streetlamps. The moonlight mixes with that, making it easy to see that more people are loitering around than when Jessa and I arrived. An uneasy shiver rolls through my body.
“By the movie theater,” I tell Reece as I link arms with Jessa and start down the sidewalk, my heels clicking against the concrete.
“What?” His tone is laced with anger as he rushes after us.
I get a twisted sense of satisfaction at his reaction and throw an innocent smile over my shoulder. “What else was I supposed to do? I couldn’t let anyone know where I was going, so I had to devise a plan.”
“You shouldn’t have come here at all,” Reece bites out with an edge in his tone, his hands stuffed into his pockets.
Anxiety is reverberating off of his raveling muscles, as potent as the shot I took right before I left the house. It was enough to lessen the tension I felt about the night. Of course, in three days, all of this will be gone, and I’ll be left with nothing but anxiety.
“You don’t need to come with us,” I mumble, turning back around. “I’m perfectly capable of walking myself a few blocks.”
“A few blocks? Try a mile, baby,” he says with a laugh.
Jessa looks at me and mouths, “Baby?”
I shake my head. I’ll deal with Reece’s stupid nickname later. Right now, I’m just ready to get away from him.
I quicken my pace. “I’ll be fine. I walked here on my own without any problems.”
Jessa casts me a disagreeing glance, probably thinking of the creeper who harassed us in the theater.
“Yeah, and you’re lucky,” Reece mumbles then jogs up beside me. “I’m not letting you walk back to the theater alone. It’s too dangerous.”
“No, it’s not,” I argue. “No one ever recognizes who I am. Trystan didn’t even know until I told him my name. They’ll recognize you, though.”
His hands are at his sides now, his fingers twitching as he scans the houses and cars in the area. “That may have been true in the past, but in three days, you’re going to be the most known woman in the mafia world.”
“Don’t remind me.” I quicken my pace as tears threaten to work their way up.
I hate this.
This life.
This world.
I want out.
But Reece refuses to let me walk three steps without reminding me who I am. He follows me while Jessa walks with me, remaining fairly quiet, but I can tell she wants to say something. No one does, though, and tense silence haunts us all the way to the theater.
Before we round the front of the building, I stop and face Reece. The sidewalk is rather dark, and the air is chilly, making goosebumps sprout across my flesh.
“You need to go now,” I tell him, “unless you want me to get busted for going to that party.” Part of me thinks he does.
“I’ll follow you to the edge of the building”—he points to a spot just in front of us—“and watch you from around the corner to make sure you get into the car safely.”
I want to argue, but I’ve tried that a dozen times tonight and haven’t gotten anywhere, so I just nod and start forward with Jessa in tow. Reece does as he says and stops short of stepping out in front of the theater.
“I wonder if that guy’s still here,” Jessa mutters as she looks at the front of the theater and then at the parking lot while I text my driver to pick us up.
It’s late, so hardly anyone is around, and the neon glow of the marquee glows across Jessa’s face, revealing her dilated pupils and flushed cheeks. She looks drunk, and I’m guessing I do, too.
Great. I’m so screwed.
“If he is, I doubt he’ll bother us,” I try to reassure her while sneaking a glance over my shoulder at Reece. I can make out his outline in the shadows, his body slightly contrasting with the night. “And if he does, maybe this time I’ll tase his ass.” I turn back around.
