19. MADDY

19

MADDY

Seeing Ty in board shorts and an unbuttoned white beach shirt is like seeing a surfer boy transform into a New England one, if you know what I mean. His blond shoulder-length hair, perfect tan, and white smile are the same as they were on the Eastside, but the hut he used to share with others is a far cry from the two-floor villa he now shares with Dani and his sister Ray-Ray after he got his inheritance settled.

His arms wrap around me in greeting when I walk out onto the pool deck of his villa.

"Maddy, Maddy, Maddy!" he chants excitedly, already a bit tipsy and happy, as he picks me up from the floor and spins me around. "The hell you've been? I barely ever see you."

I laugh, happy to be around the people I know and dozens I only know from their medical files.

The pool deck is packed. The DJ is playing house music. Someone is making cocktails at the deck bar. Many are swimming.

There's Kai and Callie, Guff, Owen and Ya-Ya, and the rest of our Outcast crew.

"Bo is coming after work," Ty says, already pushing a cocktail into my hand as we walk to the others spread on multiple sunbeds around a small table.

The Elites are in their own small circles. I get it. Despite the fight that put the Outcasts on the Eastside, they all used to be friends. Since Archer is done with his binging and his war with Kai is over, it's as if their friendship finally healed the rest of us.

I notice Sonny "Little" in the pool with several Elites.

When I asked about the occasion for such a big party, Ty simply said, "A Hurricane Party."

See, on the Eastside, we used to get ready for the hurricanes with grim awareness. Sure, we tried to cheer each other up, but living on a beach during a hurricane can be dangerous. Hell, it can be deadly.

Here, the heavy storm clouds above us that are almost a constant in the last weeks despite the usual heat are a reason for a celebration. When the hurricane passes, there will be another one, I'm sure.

These occasional parties bring back memories. I used to be the center of attention. Now I stay in the shadows.

So, when everyone starts doing Cherry Bombs, I know I should skip. But I really want to let loose.

And so I do. Down one. And then another one. Ty laughs and jokes about the Eastside and fishing for lobsters, and we all start talking about how we used to be. Someone passes me another cocktail, and of course I drink it.

Dammit.

I shouldn't, but it feels so good.

A young waiter, a local barely fifteen, brings a tray of shots. Callie jokes when she passes them around. My eyes skim over the waiter when I catch his intense stare.

He casts his gaze down, then smiles to himself. For a second, I think he is trying to flirt, except another scenario suddenly runs through my mind, making my blood chill.

He walks away. I watch him, something in my mind not sitting right. But instead of taking the empty tray to the bar, he holds it in his hands, clasped behind his back, and scans the pool area as if searching for someone.

"Bottoms up, dude!" Guff nudges me.

I throw back the sweet shot. When I look across the swimming pool deck, that same waiter is exactly where he stood a minute ago, his eyes on me again.

Odd.

Again, paranoia will get the best of me.

The arrival of some new girls catches my attention because one face is vaguely familiar.

"Who is that?" I ask Ty.

Despite living on the Eastside for two years, this is Ty's crew, the Elites, most of them formerly from Deene University.

"Oh, that's Siena and her crew."

I feel instant poison spreading through my veins, but I can't help probing. "And she is?"

"The daughter of the former majority leader of the US Senate. Her mom died during the bombings. But I don't know her much. She wasn't from Deene. Somewhere else, I think."

Long white pants, high heels, a loose blouse that hides her curves, long, dark straight hair that hangs along her wide face, full lips, and dark eyes crowned with thick brows. I'm simmering with bitterness that this is actually Raven's type, and I can't stop watching her.

Sure, Raven holds my secret. He is in for a short ride. Striking a deal with persona non grata is an adrenalin rush for him. Yet something about him draws me in like quicksand. Warping around me. Taking me in inch by inch, fast, uncontrollably, irrationally. And though I know there's only one outcome—disastrous and gloomy—I can't help feeling the desire to give in to it.

But not when he's involved with other girls.

I should stay away from her, but like I said, alcohol. I grab another shot from the tray, down it, and make my way to Siena.

She holds a cocktail in one hand, slowly sipping from a straw, but her eyes are in the phone in her other hand.

"Hey," I say.

She gives me the quick once-over and goes back to typing on the phone with one thumb.

If I learned anything from years of mingling is that straightforwardness has the best results, though not often pleasant.

"You are Raven's girl, no?" I ask.

And that makes her freeze in her spot.

Bingo!

Except, the way she reacts doesn't make me cheer but instead boil in anger.

Slowly, she turns to face me, her attention solely on me.

"Mind your own business," she hisses, rises from her chair, and walks away.

Did I get my answers? Not quite. But if she is involved with Raven, why in the world wouldn't she say so, and why did her expression become almost murderous?

I watch her for a while, her fidgety moves as she walks up to the girls she came in with, her whispers to them, and the way they stare at me.

I smile coldly and nod to them. Fuck off.

I don't feel like being here. My mood falls, and I can't explain it. Except when I scan the pool deck, I halt, seeing the familiar figure by the open deck doors.

Here he is.

Raven leans against the doorframe in a conversation with Kai. Kai is dressed in board shorts only, barefoot, his inked body glorious, while Raven wears his signature black, long sleeved shirt and jeans. He nods to something Kai says, but his eyes are on me. There's a flicker of satisfaction when he sees me notice him.

How long has he been there? Did he see me talk to Siena?

No matter what I do, when he shows up, I sense it like the imminent danger. Like a trap. A sweet trap. And I can't help but take little steps closer to it.

Raven makes me feel alive. With him, I don't need to hide who I am, watch every move and curate my behavior so as not to come off brazen or too confident. I feel more like my former self. And I miss being Milena.

I go to the bathroom, intentionally striding past Kai and Raven without acknowledging him. I need a moment to recoup. I adjust my outfit, cursing at the fact that I didn't change into something sexier. I check myself in the mirror, fix my stubbornly frizzy hair, and leave the bathroom.

In the kitchen, waiters hustle to arrange drinks. I once had this luxury, too—staff and servers and drivers, throwing money around like it was confetti. It's an achingly familiar feeling, especially after two years on the Eastside fending for myself.

I'm tipsy, very tipsy, and I don't want to get carried away. So I go for the fridge, trying to find water, when I hear the click of a camera.

I turn around. Several servers cleaning and dropping off dishes are not looking at me. But I heard it, distinctively.

I study their hands, but everyone seems preoccupied, so I shake off the uneasy feeling and blame the paranoia on being tipsy. But when I round the corner, there's that same waiter-boy. "Excuse me," he blurts out and walks hurriedly past me.

I swear, he took a picture of me. Maybe I should tell Raven. He is supposed to protect me, right? Maybe I should actually talk to Archer and Kat.

There are so many maybes, and I just want to stop thinking about it for one day.

I straighten my shoulders and walk onto the pool deck, past Kai and Raven still talking.

Siena, on the opposite side of the pool, still doesn't seem to notice Raven. But just her presence here is irritating. It fucking bothers me.

But I can't think of that. Raven and I are not an item.

Still, bitterness pecks at my brain.

I see QiShan lying on a sunbed, sunglasses perched on his head, his swim shorts dangerously low on his hips. He is rolling what looks like a joint.

Perfect.

I walk straight toward him, take a seat beside him, and lean on my hand to bring my face close to his. "Care to share?"

He looks at me with interest, a smile spreading on his lips. "Yeah, babe. Wanna hit something better?"

Since moving to the Westside, I've hung out with QiShan a couple of times. He is a party head, a lady's man, and, by all definitions, hot.

I know Raven is watching me, always is. So, I lean close to QiShan and whisper, "Sure."

He laughs. "I like you, Maddy. You are such a mystery." He puts the joint between his lips and lights it.

My phone dings with a message notification.

Surprise-surprise, it's from Raven.

Raven: Don't play games, Maddy.

I suppress a smile, toss my phone aside, and take the joint out of QiShan's hand.

Raven can watch. He can get angry. In fact, I want him angry, want to see what he does, how his mood swings. You can tell a lot about a man by how he handles his rage.

I completely ignore everything and everyone as I chat with QiShan and even let him put his hand on my back.

When my phone dings with another notification, I expect it to be another warning from Raven.

Instead, it's an unknown number.

Unknown: I have my eyes on you.

I frown. There are no "unknown number" identifications on Zion, considering Zion has its own network. Unless someone who knows what they are doing messes with me on purpose.

Is it Raven? Is it his way of intimidating me?

Then a picture starts loading from that same number, and my breath catches in my throat.

It's a picture of me back in Russia, seven or so years ago, when I was around fifteen. The worst thing about it is that it has never been on social media or the internet. It could only come from someone who has access to my old pictures in Russia.

I sober up in seconds.

"You all right, doll?" QiShan asks.

I get up slowly from the sunbed, still staring at the picture on my phone screen, then turn to look for Raven.

Sure, we are playing games, but of all people, he is the one who would probably find the most reasonable explanation or get his IT guys on it.

Except Raven is gone.