I sighed as I watched our group form in the front of Tony’s building at a half past six. I straightened my high ponytail and grabbed for the half full bottle of water laying in the floorboard of the SUV. Taking a swig, I watched as everyone huddled together laughing and smiling, besides Abraham, Ryker, and Niklaus. Nik was skilled in the art of hiding his true emotions; every time Elsie looked over in his direction, his expression would change just for her.

I didn’t know if I could differentiate between the man I knew, versus who he really was. Nick Black was ruthless, and didn’t care about anyone or anything. He was the prime candidate to inherit The Company, had he not declined it in the first place. Stories and rumors came and went. Sadist. Controlling. Immoral. Numb. Murderer. When so many similar stories crossed over just as many ears, you started to believe the things you heard, even if they were only half truths.

Elsie was the exception. Or at least that’s how it appeared to be.

He had wanted her. So he had her.

But the boy I remembered wouldn’t hurt a soul. He stood up for what he believed in. He was unafraid to tell someone when they were wrong. He was caring and kind. But a decade of change, especially under the thumb of Dominik Black, would have muddled any perception of who I thought my brother might have turned out to be had the shoe been on the other foot.

Giovanni and Sarah lounged on the outskirts of the group, but both seemed content with each other in the moment. According to Elsie, at the few practices I had missed for cheerleading, Sarah had shown up late more often than not with tear-streaked stains framing her face. Whenever a fellow cheerleader tried to offer her any sort of comfort, she bit their heads off. If I didn’t know any better, which I did, it would seem to me that they were on the verge of breaking up. But knowing Sarah’s obsession with appearances, she probably convinced Gio to at least wait until the holidays were over.

‘Tis the season.

I took a last look in the rearview to make sure my face paint hadn’t smeared and then popped out of the truck, high tops crunching against the gravel.

“Jaylyn!” Elsie squealed as she spotted me.

I internally groaned.

I put on that superficial smile that I couldn’t seem to shake. “Hey.”

“Does your costume fit okay?”

I rolled my eyes as I approached them. “Yeah, it’s fine.”

“Did we have to dress as groupies?”

She pouted. “Don’t be a sour sport. Did you bring your other outfit for the frat party later?”

I shook my shoulder to show the bag that was casually slung there. “I wouldn’t forget.”

I tried not to make eye contact with any of the three men impeding on my life and kept my attention on Elsie instead. I leaned forward to adjust the straps on my thigh-high fishnets just as Sarah interjected.

“You guys didn’t say anything to me about matching costumes.” She folded her arms together.

“Oh, hush.” Elsie rolled her eyes and her sarcasm caused me to raise a brow. She reached to her side bag and pulled out a smaller plastic bag, motioning it towards her. “This is your costume for the frat party so that you can match Jay and me.”

Sarah’s nose shriveled and I waited for her to say something that would cause me to pop off. It would be the perfect remedy to the building pressure in my head. The men said nothing as Gio and Nick were lost in their own conversation, and Ryker and Abraham were too busy emitting testosterone for them to be aware of the poison spewing between Elsie and Sarah with just their looks.

I looked between them and waited to see who would give in first.

Eventually, Sarah took the bag from Elsie’s had and turned to pull on Giovanni’s arm.

“Can we go in now?” She whined.

Elsie’s shoulders visibly relaxed.

Niklaus bent over and smiled against her neck and the lump in my throat hardened. “You ready, Bee?”

Her face flushed. “Yeah.”

Abraham said nothing and made his way over to the door and pulled it open, holding it there for everyone to shuffle into the already crowded place. I pulled my leather jacket closer as I stayed near the back, letting them go ahead of me. Ryker stopped and looked at me but said nothing. I looked past him, not really focusing on anything in particular, waiting for him to come to the decision on his own to walk away. I didn’t want to ruin the night for Elsie.

He stepped away and fell in line behind Niklaus, shooting daggers in Abraham’s direction. I tried to squash down the buildup of emotion brimming on the edge of exposure. Following behind him, I could hear Elsie’s excitement as she looked over the crowded bar, nearly everyone in costumes. The hairs on my neck stood on edge as I caught a whiff of burnt cinnamon that immediately mixed with the heavier woodsy smell of Abraham, and it caused my head to swim.

Not now, Jaylyn.

Abraham followed closely behind as we finally were able to get inside and I could feel the wisp of his hand against my lower back, trying to offer comfort. When the pressure deepened, his hand froze and he looked down at me.

“You’re packing?” He raised a brow and smirked.

“Of course, I am.” I snorted. “We’ve had too many close calls lately. And I have a feeling it’s only the beginning.”

“Fair enough.” He chuckled as we all shuffled around the last couple of tables left.

“I need to go let Tony know that we are here for the contest.” Elsie smiled in my direction and I returned it half-heartedly to which she began to pout. “This is supposed to be fun, remember?”

“I know. I’m trying.” Lie.

She sighed. “I know. I’ll get drinks while I’m up there.”

“I’m coming too!” Sarah chimed in.

I rolled my eyes as they shuffled through the crowd and peered over at Giovanni. His guard dropped as soon as Sarah was out of sight and his chest rose and fell like he had been holding his breath the entire time we had been here.

“Are you okay?” I leaned over so I could hear.

“I’m fine, Jay.” He huffed.

“Well, you don’t seem fine.” I growled.

“It’s nothing I can’t handle.”

“Sarah?”

“We really don’t need to talk about it.”

“Okay.” I shrugged my shoulders. “I can’t force you to talk about it, but you might feel a little better if you let some of that pressure you’re obviously building out.”

He looked down at the table and then back up, clearly annoyed. “She’s just super frustrating. And not in the cute way. Not like how Nick is with Elsie.”

I raised an eyebrow, darting over to look at Niklaus.

“She’s suffocating me. She always wants to be around and wants us to do things together and I just need some fucking space. She’s jealous and overbearing. I even failed an assignment in one of my classes because she refused to let me work with my partner because she’s a girl.”

“That’s psycho shit, Gio.” I confirmed.

Niklaus nodded, but said nothing and let me take the reins.

“Have you addressed this with her?”

“Multiple times. It’s like she doesn’t even hear me. I can’t get through to her. It’s like I don’t even like her anymore. I just tolerate her being around so I don’t hurt her feelings.”

“Gio, you need to speak up and tell her the truth if you don’t want to date her anymore. It’s not fair to either of you to pretend otherwise.” I encouraged.

“That’s rich.” He scoffed, but without malice. “Coming from the one person who can’t get their personal affairs in order.”

“Gio, I understand you’re in a shitty situation. But I’m not dating anyone. And I can sleep with who I want.” Of course, he knows. Hell, everyone in the group would know by now and then some. “That’s a lot different than a committed relationship with someone.”

“I know.” He almost pouted. “Sorry.”

“Apology accepted.” I smiled. “You’ll figure it out, alright? Everyone here is ready to back you up in a heartbeat. Even against crazy soon-to-be ex’s.”

“Yeah, yeah. I just don’t know what I want to do yet.”

“And that’s fine. You don’t have to have it all figured out all at once.” I bumped his shoulder. “I clearly don’t.”

He laughed louder than I had expected and Sarah and Elsie had chosen that exact moment to return, drinks in hand. Sarah crammed herself between Giovanni and myself and I had to keep myself from saying something mean, even if the thought was funny. Elsie raised her brow at me as she hand me my drink.

“What’s that about?”

“I’ll tell you later.” I winked at her and tried to smile.

“Okay.” She sipped on her fruity mixed drink and swayed with the music blaring over the crowd.

“Want to dance?” She giggled.

“Absolutely fucking not.” I knew my face would be the look of pure disgust.

“But, Jay…”

“Please don’t make me dance…again.” I could almost hear the whine in my own voice.

“Come on!” She laughed and pulled me towards the crowded dance floor anyways.

I successfully made it without spilling a drop of my drink and had to keep myself from laughing as we extended our arms and moved with the music.

“So, are you going to talk to Ryker?” She asked loudly, trying too hard to be discreet.

“I’m not sure either of us have anything to say to each other right now.” I took a drink and smiled as Elsie turned us around on the dance floor.

“Nik said that he was a mess this afternoon. He checked in on him a couple hours before we left to come here. He feels really bad for the hurtful things he said that he told you. What happened?” She looked at me expectantly, but didn’t miss a beat to the music.

“It’s nothing, Els.” I shrugged, trying to brush it off.

“Didn’t seem like nothing.” She tried to sound uninterested, but I knew better.

“Ryker caught Abraham and me together.” I finally said after convincing myself it was okay to talk about. At least with Elsie.

“Together?” She seemed confused so I gave her a look and her eyes widened. “Oh! Together, together.”

“Yeah.” My face flushed with mild embarrassment.

“Was it good?”

Well, that was unexpected.

“Uh, well.” I paused and my eyes immediately deflected to Abraham leaned up against the bar, nonchalantly talking to Dylan. “Yeah. It was good.”

She followed my eyes and smiled.

“Wait.” I looked back at her. “You’re not mad?”

“Why would I be?” She shrugged and sipped on her drink. “Not that it’s any of my business, but you need to do what makes you happy.”

“Oh, well, I’m not sure if I am happy, to be honest.” Her brow furrowed.

“You can’t wait forever for Ryker to man up. Can’t be mad at you for that.” She took another sip. “I can be mad that you didn’t tell me about your interest in Abraham, though. Last I checked, you hated him.”

“I’m not interested in him.” I lied. “He’s just honest. It’s refreshing.”

“Mhm.” She didn’t believe me, and that was fine.

“I just don’t know what I’m doing.” I stated.

“Do any of us?” She giggled.

I smiled as her questionable look finally gave in and we moved with the music. It was only when a pair of unfamiliar hands grabbed my sides from behind that I popped out of the trance I had put myself. Elsie’s eyes widened and she even took a step back.

I turned and honestly wasn’t even surprised to see a rather large looking man standing behind me with a goofy grin on his face. And for the first time in a long time, I really didn’t want to have to fight a man, in a bar or otherwise. I tried wiggling free after giving him a warning look, but his grip only tightened.

He was definitely drunk.

Ryker came up, flanked by Niklaus and they both looked angry at the situation. Niklaus pulled Elsie into his side. Ryker balled up his fist and reared back ready to strike before Abraham stepped in front of him and said something to him that I couldn’t hear.

“Hey, man.” Abraham turned and put on his charm.

“Get lost.” The man behind me growled.

“Well.” Abraham smirked. “I hate to be the bearer of bad news, bud. But the girl you’re holding on to isn’t really interested.”

“It isn’t any of your business.” The man’s grip became unbelievably tight.

I needed to stop hanging around bars. I rolled my eyes, but secretly hoped it would end in quickly before the stranger felt my handgun tucked into the back of my shorts. I looked up at Abraham; he and I both knew that would mean more trouble than it was worth.

“There is a cute witch hanging out at the counter.” Abraham shifted his argument. “I could buy you both a round and you can see if things hit off, yeah?”

Instantly, the grip the man had on my waist loosened. “Yeah, I’ll take you up on that.”

He abandoned his post behind me and Abraham put one arm over the man’s shoulders, encouraging him to move away and I knew he could tell I was grateful when he gave me one last glance before leading the man away.

Before I could even take a relieved breath, Ryker stepped up. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine.” I said. “Thank you.”

“No problem.” He stood awkwardly in a sea of moving bodies.

“Is it going to be like this from now on?” I asked.

“It doesn’t need to be.”

“Then dance with me.” I extended my hand.

He took it, but the troubled look didn’t leave his face.

We could be normal. Even if it was just for one night.

After the contest was over, and the winners were announced, Elsie pouted with our defeat. I laughed and nudged her shoulder.

“Don’t be upset.” I smiled. “It was still fun.” Maybe not for me, but we were all trying to make it as best as possible for her.

My chest panged at that realization.

Elsie was the only one left out, realistically. It was starting to bother me. Especially knowing what I knew now, she needed to know the truth about everyone. She needed to know what she was getting herself involved in. At the very least, for her safety.

Sarah came stumbling over and dropped into Giovanni’s lap, much to all our annoyance. Hadn’t even been two hours and she was already making a fool of herself and embarrassing Gio in the process.

“Baby, this party is trash. Can we go now?” She glared up at him, and he looked thoroughly unamused.

“I think you need to go home and sleep this off.” He counter argued.

“But, baby…” We all rolled our eyes.

“No. We will drop you off at your dorm.”

“No.” She stood, trying not to sway on her feet and successfully stomped her foot like a child. “I want to go with you.”

“Not like this.” He was firm.

We all shuffled outside, trying to ignore the building tension as their argument escalated to the car.

“Elsie and I will follow you.” I assured him as he hopped into the SUV after securing Sarah in the passenger.

“That’s fine. We’re making a pit stop to drop her off. I’m not dealing with this tonight.” He seemed sullen.

“Absolutely.”

I walked over to Elsie’s car and she grimaced. “That’s got to be too much for anyone to handle.”

“Tell me about it.”

“You want me to drive?” She asked. “That way you can change first?”

“Yeah, that’s fine. Make sure to follow Giovanni. I want to make sure he gets Sarah where she needs to go without any problems.”

“Alright.”

The ride went smoothly and I changed as fast as I could in the back seat.

“Elsie, did you have to pick the sluttiest outfits on the racks?” I laughed as I felt the spank shorts ride up as soon as I had them on.

“You can’t be a hot S.W.A.T. girl without tight clothes, Jay.” She rolled her eyes with amusement. “Wait until you see the guys.”

“I’m a little worried about that.” I laughed. “If they are anything like these costumes, then we are in for a show.”

I zipped up the front of the black corset with an embellished S.W.A.T. logo adorning the right upper corner. The material barely covered the curve of my chest and it felt exposing. I grabbed the utility belt from the bottom of the bag and clicked it around my waist. To my surprise it had an empty holster which I used to put my handgun and clipped it in. No one would be able to tell if it was real or not. The weight of the bag was enough that I looked inside of it to find a pair of handcuffs, still packaged.

“Are these…?” I lifted them out.

“Real?” Elsie laughed. “Yes.”

“Jesus, Els.” I breathed as I opened them and hooked them into the belt, tucking the keys to them in my cleavage.

The car came to a stop and I watched as Giovanni got out of the SUV in front of us and pulled Sarah out. He nodded at me and led her inside.

“Alright, time to switch.”

Elsie and I traded places, and I flipped down the rearview to start taking off the face paint to apply my regular make up. The backseat was nothing short of a storm of giggles as Elsie fought to get her costume on.

“I need a bigger car.” She laughed.

“Or maybe we just do one costume next year for the night, that way we don’t have to make any changes.” I offered.

“Sounds like a plan.” She laughed.

Giovanni exited the building and I watched as he approached the driver’s side of Elsie’s car and I rolled down the window.

“She’s down for the night.” He seemed relieved. “We still going over to Abraham’s street?”

“Yeah.” I glanced between Elsie in the rearview and him. “I’ll follow you.”

“Sure thing.” His shoulders slumped and he got into the SUV and revved the engine, while Elsie climbed into the front seat from the back, proceeding to do exactly as I had done removing the face paint and applying regular makeup.

I enjoyed the ride over to the subdivision, trying harder and harder to forget my burdens for at least one night. We parallel parked a block down from the raging block party ahead. They had the street closed down and booths lining either side. Frat booths were raising money for various fundraisers by way of Halloween themed tents. You could get your palm read, tarot readings, rune stone readings, and the like. Carnival style games were everywhere and multiple booths selling alcohol and food.

It was like a small festival of drunk college students laughing and partying. I decided as we crossed the caution cones and block off tape that I wouldn’t be drinking anything else for the rest of the evening. There were too many people and potential threats to be able to relax.

Elsie’s phone rang and she pulled it out of her bra. “Hey, baby.”

She paused.

“No, we just got here.”

Another pause.

“Where are you at?”

She smiled.

“Okay, we’ll head over. I love you too.”

What. The. Fuck.

My jaw dropped and as soon as she ended the call, my thoughts spilled out like vomit. “What the hell was that?”

“What?” She looked at me confused.

“Did you just tell him you love him?”

Her face deepened a shade.

“Elsie, you haven’t even known him that long, or been dating long enough to say that. Are you crazy?” I was trying to keep the explosion to a minimum. “How much do you even actually know about Nick Black?” The venom seeped into my words.

“Enough to know when I’m serious about the way I feel.” She stated, truthful as always.

Enough? Enough? She didn’t even know that Nick Black isn’t even his real name, let alone enough about our business in one of the leading families of the mafia. She didn’t know enough. Hell, she didn’t know anything other than the pretty words Niklaus spilled into her without thinking about the potential consequences.

God fucking dammit.