We were able to dance to the last minute of it, but it was clear that Brayden was disappointed. I wanted to make it up to him somehow and, in spite of everything that had happened, still have the normal high school dance experience I’d wanted.

“The night’s young,” I teased. “I’ll go request one for you, and then you can try to guess when it comes on.” Considering I didn’t listen to the radio, it probably wouldn’t be that hard to guess. I made the request and then joined Brayden for another slow song. I was still a little anxious about what had happened earlier but told myself all was well now. Jill had left. Eddie had taken care of Angeline. All I had to do was relax and—

A vibration startled me as I danced. I was wearing a tiny, red dress purse over my shoulder. It was lost in the folds of my gown, but the buzz of my cell phone was unmistakable. Apologizing to Brayden, I stopped dancing to check the message. It was from Adrian: We need 2 talk.

Great, I thought as my heart sank. Could this night be any more of a disaster?

I texted back: I’m busy.

His response: I’ll be fast. I’m close by.

A feeling of dread crept over me: How close?

The response was about as bad as I could expect: The parking lot.

CHAPTER 14

“OH, LORD,” I SAID.

“What’s wrong?” asked Brayden. “Is everything okay?”

“Hard to say.” I put the phone back in my purse. “I hate to do this, but I have to go take care of something outside. I’ll be back as quickly as I can.”

“Do you want me to go with you?”

I hesitated. “No, it’s okay.” I had no idea what to expect out there. It was best if Brayden wasn’t subjected to it. “I’ll hurry.”

“Sydney, wait.” Brayden caught hold of my arm. “This… this is the song you requested, isn’t it?” The one we’d been dancing to had just ended, and a new one was on—or, well, an old one. It was about thirty years old.

I sighed. “Yes. It is. I’ll be fast, I promise.”

The temperature outside was pleasant, warm but not oppressively so. We were allegedly due for a rare bit of rain. As I walked toward the parking lot, some of Wolfe’s lessons came back to me. Check your surroundings. Watch for people lurking near cars. Stay in the light. Make sure to—

“Adrian!”

All reasonable thoughts vanished from my head. Adrian was lying on my car.

I ran over to Latte as fast as the dress would allow me. “What are you doing?” I demanded. “Get off of there!” I automatically checked for dents and scratches.

Adding insult to injury, Adrian was actually smoking as he lay on the hood and stared up at the sky. Clouds were moving in, but a half-moon could occasionally be seen. “Relax, Sage. I won’t leave a scratch. Really, this is surprisingly comfortable for a family car. I would’ve expected—”