"You have me now, Brandon. Why are you still keeping that pathetic excuse for a girlfriend?"
"Because she's useful." He pulled Serena closer. "She does my laundry, pays my bills, and runs around doing whatever I ask."
Serena laughed. "Does she still believe you're going to marry her?"
Brandon smirked. "Can you imagine her face when she walks down the aisle alone? God, I'd pay to see it."
Lana Mercer stood beside Brandon's car in the parking lot. The bag of chicken soup was still warm in her hand. This morning he had texted her. [Got a fever. Miss you.]
Fever. Right.
The windows were fogged. Through a clear patch on the glass, she saw two bodies tangled in the back seat. Her boyfriend. Her best friend. So wrapped up in each other they didn't even notice the window was cracked open.
Four years. Four years, and this was what she got.
Her whole body started to burn.
"So when are you dumping her?" Serena purred.
"Today. I'm sick of her already."
Something snapped inside Lana.
She yanked the car door open so hard it nearly came off its hinge.
"Today?" she said. "Great. Let's do it now."
Serena screamed. Brandon jerked up, eyes wide. "Lana? What the hell...?"
Lana's eyes landed on the front seat. A bottle of red wine, half empty. She grabbed it.
"Wine, Brandon? For a sick man?" Her voice shook with rage. "How romantic."
She threw it with everything she had.
Serena scrambled to the far door and snatched Brandon's jacket over herself. She didn't look back once.
The bottle smashed into Brandon's forehead.
CRACK.
"AAAH!" He fell back, clutching his head. Red wine and blood streamed through his fingers. "You crazy bitch! My head! I'm bleeding!"
Serena peeked out from behind the jacket, hugging it to her chest, shaking. "Oh my God. Oh my God, Lana, you're insane!"
Lana looked at the two of them. One bleeding, one hiding, both half-dressed, both pathetic.
"Don't worry, Brandon," she said. "You've got Serena. She'll take care of you. Oh wait, she's hiding behind your jacket."
Serena scrambled back to Brandon's side and clung to him. "Lana, wait! Brandon and I really love each other. We never wanted to hurt you!"
Lana let out a cold laugh.
"A cheating bastard and a backstabbing bitch. Perfect match. I hope you two stay together for the rest of your lives, so you can spend every single day wondering when the other one will betray you too."
She turned and walked away.
Brandon groaned, blood dripping through his fingers. Serena grabbed a tissue and dabbed at his forehead. "I think Lana got the wrong idea. Let me go talk to her."
"You're too nice," Brandon muttered.
"I'll get the first aid kit from the trunk first. Stay here."
She grabbed her dress off the floor of the car and wriggled into it. She smoothed her hair, pulled the door open, and climbed out. The second the door closed, the tears vanished. She took out her phone.
[Follow her. Don't waste my pills.]
She hit send and smiled. "You always get to be the good girl, Lana. Not tonight."
...
Supreme Lounge was the loudest club in Crestbay City. Bass shook the floor. Neon lights slid over the crowd like colored water.
Lana sat alone in a corner booth with a full bottle. She poured, drank, and poured again. The alcohol burned all the way down, but it didn't burn away the picture in her head. Brandon's hand. Serena's laugh.
"Cheater," she told her glass. "Liar. Thief."
She had given him four years of her life. She'd trusted him, defended him, and pictured a future with him. Now, all she could think about was how easily he'd thrown it all away. Her throat tightened. She took another drink, hoping the burn would drown out the ache in her chest.
"Rough night?"
A man in a crisp shirt slid into the seat across from her. "Let me buy you a drink, beautiful."
"No."
"Just one."
"Do you struggle with the word no?" Lana raised her glass. "N-O. Now get lost."
He laughed and raised his hands. "All right. Enjoy your night."
Lana rolled her eyes. Seriously? Was today National Asshole Day? She headed for the restroom, done with men for the night.
The moment she disappeared, the man's smile vanished. He checked his phone.
[Now.]
He slipped back to her booth, poured a small packet of white powder into her unfinished drink, and stirred it before disappearing into the crowd.
Lana returned a few minutes later, dropped into her seat, and took a long drink.
Almost immediately, her head began to spin. She blinked, trying to make sense of the blurred lights.
Then a sharp click of heels cut through the music.
"Look at you," Serena said. "Dumped, drunk, and pathetic."
"Get lost." Lana tried to wave her away, but her arm felt like lead. Heat crept up her neck.
Serena smiled. "What's wrong? Feeling strange?"
Lana struggled to focus. "What... did you do?"
"Just a little something in your drink." Serena leaned closer. "There's a man waiting upstairs. And a camera. Tomorrow, everyone will get to see this little show."
"You disgusting snake..."
"Enjoy your night." Serena snapped her fingers.
Two burly men stepped out of the crowd.
"Room 602."
Lana tried to fight them off, but her legs gave way. Rough hands seized her arms, and the club dissolved into a blur of neon.
Serena's laughter followed her into the darkness.
...
A private party on the sixth floor was winding down. Rhett Harrington shook hands with his friends and watched them leave. His bodyguard was downstairs, loading the last drunk guest into a taxi.
It had been a long day. All he wanted was a hot shower and a bed.
He took a shortcut through the back hallway toward the private elevator. He turned the corner.
Then he stopped.
Two burly men were dragging a struggling woman down the hallway.
"Quit squirming!" one of them snapped, tightening his grip. "Save some energy for the guy in Room 602. Maybe we'll get a turn with you after he's done."
The men finally noticed Rhett standing nearby.
"What the fuck are you staring at?" one barked. "Get lost if you don't want to end up like her."
Rhett's eyes settled on the woman's flushed face, then shifted to the hands digging into her arms.
"Looks like you two have mistaken this hallway for your own playground," he said, his voice ice-cold. "Let me teach you some manners."
Neither man had time to react.
Rhett lunged forward, ripped the woman from their grasp, and caught her before she hit the floor.
She weighed almost nothing. She smelled like wine and flowers.
He lowered her carefully to the carpet and turned back to the men.
The first swung at him. Rhett caught his fist, twisted his arm with a sickening crack, then drove him face-first into the wall.
The second barely got a step closer before Rhett's fist smashed into his jaw. He grabbed the man as he staggered and slammed him hard onto the carpet.
Both men were down before they could land another blow.
Just then, his bodyguards returned.
Rhett glanced at the two men on the floor. "Take them away. Make sure they enjoy your hospitality."
Rhett knelt beside her. Lana's skin burned under his hands. Her breath came in short, uneven bursts.
"Hey. Can you hear me? I'm taking you to a hospital."
He slid one arm under her knees and the other behind her back, lifting her carefully. The dress had slipped off one shoulder, exposing the soft line of her collarbone. His gaze dropped for half a second before he forced it away.
Behave, jerk. She's in trouble.
"Hospital," he said again, mostly to himself. "Hold on."
Two hot hands locked around his neck.
Lana pulled. She was stronger than she looked. Rhett lost his balance and dropped onto one knee. Her face was inches from his. Her eyes were wet and shining.
"Hot," she whispered. "Why am I burning up?"
"Somebody drugged you. A doctor can help."
"No doctors." She pressed her forehead to his. "Please. Help me."
"Not like this."
"I know what I'm doing." Her voice shook, but her eyes were clear. "Today was the worst day of my life. I want one good thing. Just one. And you're the only nice person I met."
His jaw tightened. "You'll hate yourself tomorrow."
"Maybe. But I'll pick who it is." She leaned up until her lips almost touched his. "Please."
Rhett closed his eyes. When he opened them, they were darker.
"Last chance," he said quietly. "Tell me no, and I'll carry you to the car. No questions. Are you sure?"
Lana didn't answer.
She kissed him.
It was clumsy, hungry, and a little desperate. For one second, Rhett didn't move.
Then the last of his control snapped.
His hand slid into her hair, and he kissed her back, hard. He stood up with her still in his arms. She didn't let go. Neither did he. He bumped into the wall once, then again. Neither of them cared.
The elevator doors slid open. She laughed against his mouth. He growled something low.
He kicked the door of the top suite shut behind them. They crossed the dark room in stumbling steps.
The back of his knees hit the bed.
They fell onto it together.
