Damon was there.

I had no intention of buying the hotel, but I wanted inside of it. And if the rumors about a mysterious, hidden twelfth floor were true, I needed full access to the place and privacy to explore.

Damon had tried to kill us. He wasn’t going to be allowed to come home ever. But there was a reason I needed to find him. We had a loose end to take care of.

A cloth napkin and water glasses were set in front of us, and I heard a shuffle of dishes behind me. Where was this assistant we’re supposed to meet?

“Just trust me,” I mumbled to Michael, still speaking in code. “It’ll be a great hotel. And if it’s not clean, we’ll clean it up nice and quick.”

He laughed under his breath and then opened his mouth to speak, but the servant came around and placed a plate in front of him.

“I’m not hungry,” he said, swiping his hands in front of him to stop the kid. “Ny-et.”

She quietly picked up the plate again and set the one in her other hand down in front of Will, before circling the table to come over to me.

“Do I know you?” Will spoke up, staring over my head to the young woman who was filling my water glass.

But before the girl had a chance to answer, Michael turned to him. “Come on, dickhead. Now now,” he grumbled. “You don’t need to get laid every time we stop the car. Damn.”

Will’s eyes turned angry, every muscle in his body looking tight. Jesus. He shoved his chair back and stood up, walking out one of the glass doors leading to the patio.

I sat up straight and let out a breath. I knew Michael meant it as a joke, but not really, either. And Will knew it. He knew his extracurricular activities were becoming a problem, but he didn’t want his friends pointing it out.

Michael stared at the table, his hazel eyes hooded and a little regretful. I watched Will through the doors as he lit a cigarette, a habit he’d picked up last year.

“So, anyway,” Michael continued, “we get inside the hotel, do an ‘assessment’, and see if everything is…copacetic before we try to buy it, right?”

I nodded, taking a drink of my water.

“And if it’s not?”

Meaning ‘And if Damon is there?’

Then we handle it. But before I had a chance to answer him, I saw Michael jerk back as water and ice cubes spilled onto the sleeve of his jacket. “Jesus Christ…”

The girl hurriedly lifted the pitcher back up, bowing her head in apology.

“Iz-vee-nee-tye,” she gasped out in a small, scared voice. I glanced up at her, unable to see her face hidden under the hat. She pulled the container away and set it down, grabbing a napkin and trying to wipe off his sleeve.

“Just…” He snatched the towel away from her. “Leave it alone. And take this away.” He handed her his glass and the wet linen, immediately turning away and dismissing her.

She bowed her head again, hurrying off to hide herself somewhere behind me where the serving table and her cart sat.

I stood up, walking toward the doors to the patio and looking out. “If everything isn’t how it should be,” I said, “then I’ll handle it.”

“Just you?” Michael stood up and made his way toward me.

“You take care of Rika,” I told him. “And Will.”

The business I had with Damon was private.

Michael leaned in, speaking low. “We all need to face him, especially Will. He’s floundering without Damon.”

“Damon tried to kill him,” I bit out. He’d tied a cinderblock to his ankle and threw him in the fucking ocean.

“Yeah.” Michael nodded, meeting my eyes. “His best friend tried to kill him.”

“We’re his best friends.”

“Damon and Will were always closer,” he said. “Just like the two of us are closer. Will needs Damon. You know he’s spiraling. He needs to face him. So, let us all find the son of a bitch and give him a warning he’ll never forget.”

“You want him in the same room as Rika, too?”

Michael ran his hand through his hair and exhaled. That was a no.

“You take care of everyone else, and I’ll take care of The Pope,” I instructed. “He’s no less of a threat to Rika than Trevor was.”

And we both knew how Michael had handled his brother. The idea of doing the same to Damon—someone who had been a friend—made my stomach roll, but I would do what I had to do. To keep my friends safe.

And to keep Damon’s goddamn mouth shut.

I turned and walked back to the table, remaining standing. I spotted Will outside the doors making his way toward us again, hopefully having calmed down.

“Enough of the fucking waiting,” I told Michael, picking up my glass and taking another drink. “Let’s take care of loose ends.”

“Yeah, speaking of waiting,” Will chimed in, stepping through the door. “Where is this guy? This assistant we’re supposed to meet?”

I watched as he opened the doors to the hallway and called out to someone. “Hey?” He backed up, letting the man, Hanson, come into the room.

“Yes, sir.” He looked to Will in question.

“Where is this assistant we’re supposed to be meeting?” Will asked. “We don’t have all day.”

Will probably just wanted this over with so he could get away from Michael.

The man stared at Will hesitantly, and I suddenly felt like a shoe was about to drop. I narrowed my gaze on him. What was going on?

Hanson then turned his head, speaking to the young woman. “Banks?” he asked. “Did you need anything more from the gentlemen?”

Banks? What? My heart pounded in my chest.

I slowly moved my gaze to the servant girl he was speaking to, the one who had stood so demurely next to the wall, quiet this whole time.

I watched as she raised her head, the timid and submissive demeanor now gone. Her gaze met mine, dark brows framing green eyes with a blue rim around the iris. Her chin lifted, a subtle defiance in the gesture.

Oh, my God. Her?

“No, I think I have all I need,” she told him.

She then untied the white apron around her waist and tossed it on the cart of food.

I forced down the lump in my throat. Fuck.

That dark hair hidden under a cap, the slender shoulders and narrow jaw, the men’s clothes she still wore… Only instead of the dirty jeans, broken shoes, and oversized sweatshirt I remembered, it was now a pair of black suit pants, a black shirt, and a striped neck tie.

I dropped my eyes. Her fingernails were still dirty, though, visible in her fingerless leather gloves.

She turned on her heel and left the room, grabbing a suit jacket off the chair in the hall and donning it as she disappeared from sight. I followed her with my eyes, my breathing gone shallow.

“Gentlemen,” Hanson said. “Mr. Torrance’s assistant will update him, and one of them will be in touch. If you’re finished, I’ll see you out.”

“What a minute,” Michael barked. “That was his assistant?”

I let out a breath, turning my eyes on him. “That was Banks.”

He pinched his eyebrows together, not remembering, but then the light dawned, and he looked back down the hall to where she’d disappeared and then back to me. And his jaw dropped open.

“What did she hear that she’s going to update him on?” Will spoke up, looking worried. “Did we say anything bad?”

I laughed to myself, my blood suddenly running hot as memories of that night came flooding back.

“Do you think she remembers us?” Michael asked.

I took a step, all of us following Hanson out of the dining room and toward the front door as I mumbled under my breath, “Does she realize he’s not around to get in my way this time?”

Kai

Devil’s Night

Six Years Ago

I’d been on edge ever since confession earlier.

Looking over my shoulder, taking second glances at everyone as I walked down hallways and sat in classrooms.

The girl in the confessional, I had to know her, right? She certainly knew who I was.

And steal me? What the hell did that mean? I shot a glance to the girls sitting and chatting in the bleachers, ready and waiting to give the guys on the court some attention after practice. Any one of them could be her. Any girl in this school could be her. While I liked a little mystery, I preferred being on the inside track. The one doing the playing, not the one being played with.