Midnight Toxicity

48.

"Is your phone charged? Don't forget to bring it."

I gazed at Chace from the bottom of the stairs. Things were awkward at breakfast, so I wasn't sure of his feelings after he caught me with Ian. Damn, that sounded so scandalous, but I wasn't going to do anything.

I hated Ian last night, and I still hate him today.

"Yes," I offered him a small smile. "Thanks, again. You're too good to me."

He pushed his glasses up, holding out his arms for one last hug before I joined Tiana and Emily outside. We were taking a rented SUV into Vard to sell to the locals. I had heard the boys loading the vehicle before I showered.

He kissed my forehead sweetly, making my stomach twist. "Stay close to Emily. Don't let Tiana talk you into anything stupid. And send me your location when you get there."

"Yeah, yeah," I muttered, slipping past him toward the door.

Emily and Tiana waited outside like two devils on a sugar high. Emily grinned when she saw me. "You got a new phone? I will send you so many funny videos."

Tiana gave me a once-over. "Good. Now you can text us if Chace tries to drag you home early."

I snorted. "He probably will."

"Then we run faster," Tiana whispered, linking her arm through mine.

Emily's eyes gleamed. "Vard's going to be wild today. Word got out about the pop-up. Teens, tourists, the usual sketchballs... and we've got new stock."

"New stock?" I asked.

Tiana grinned like a fox. "Oh yeah. Malik found a whole stash of vape cartridges. And someone—" she cut her eyes toward Emily "—got her hands on more gummies."

Emily just shrugged, innocent as a nun. "What? They sell."

"Are you okay?" Emily asked as we reached the road to Vard.

Tiana side-eyed me from behind the wheel. "What's going on?"

I shrugged. "Nothing. Just... Chace being Chace."

They exchanged looks.

Then Tiana laughed loudly and recklessly. "Girl, forget him. Today? We're making bank."

We headed toward Vard, three girls and a trunk full of contraband, the kind of crew that adults cross the street to avoid. Today I wore a short red skirt and a black bikini top with red cherries. Over it I had thrown on one of Chace's vests.

Behind us, I swear I felt Chace's invisible leash tug.

But ahead?

Chaos, cash, and trouble waited with open arms.

Emily and Tiana marched ahead like queens of chaos, bags clinking with their "spicy bottles"—little glass vials filled with cinnamon schnapps, cheap tequila, or whatever Malik and Glen brewed. Every bottle had a sticker slapped on with a dumb drawing: devil's horns, a smirking peach, or a cartoon flame.

They were obnoxious. They were also, apparently, moneymakers.

We turned down Vard's skinny back street, the one with the pawn shop and the storage unit in back that smelled like melancholy and mothballs.

Emily declared, "Perfect. Good foot traffic. No cops."

Tiana dumped the bottles on a folding crate like she was unloading treasure, not alcohol disguised as "spice tonics."

I hovered near the curb, arms folded, feeling like a glitch in the program.

"This isn't my thing," I muttered.