My belly full of liquor sloshed. I grimaced and bent over, gripping the metal accordion doors while trying not to vomit. Things were swaying and I didn’t know if it was the elevator or me.

What if Remington was here? That could explain the lights going out. He liked inspiring chaos. If that was true, then Lacey was headed right down into his sights. Being near him at all was bad enough because he liked killing bystanders. It was his favorite part of a battle. But to make matters worse, he’d already seen her with me. Already had a small display of her power and got suspicious or frustrated or whatever a dead-eyed psychopath like him felt.

If he killed her and I unintentionally caused that…

More nausea roiled up in my gut. My face was probably as green as grass when the elevator car finally made it to the first floor. The exit was also in a closet, so I stumbled out, fighting against towers of cardboard boxes filled with toilet paper. Finally, I found the broom closet door and burst out.

Conveniently, Lacey was in my line of sight. I could see her in the main gambling hall. She shook her pale, holographic hair as she took long strides across the carpet. Her eyes slid around the room as she held her head high. Leave it to her to look like a queen swaggering through her subjects even while running away from me.

I tumbled after her while kicking away a few towels from the closet. She stopped suddenly at a slot machine, wrapping her hand around the lever of some man’s machine. His face turned red as he began to yell at her. Lacey ignored him, her eyes watching the slot machine as she pulled the handle down. The reels took off, spinning wildly until they all landed on the seven.

“Jackpot!” The machine mechanically screamed, lights and alarms going off. Lacey turned and walked away as the man squealed in delight, struggling to thrust a bucket under the spout of the machine as it barfed up a fountain of coins.

“Still lucky,” she mouthed, a little smirk curling the left side of her mouth. I snorted and raced away from her, trying to beat her to the garage exits. Her bike was still lying on its side in some alley but knowing her luck, she’d likely find a car turned on, unlocked, door open and waiting for her.

I smiled as I snuck up to the exit and leaned against the wall where she couldn’t see me. It was more than a little entertaining when I shocked her. Every single time I got one up on her, she looked utterly confused and entirely infuriated.

A chuckle came from my mouth as I anticipated getting to see that again. She was close enough now I could hear her talking to herself.

“We aren’t that bad. Help us,” she mocked. “Now let me bite you! Fucking perverted cat. Hmm, and the potentially insane incubus…” she trailed off with a hazy quality to her voice. “Ugh, but then that fucking Irish giant.” Did mentioning me last mean I ranked lower than the other two in her mind? I frowned and then stepped out from my hiding spot, no longer entertained with eavesdropping.