Delinquents Turned Fugitives - Ann Denton Page 0,19

street, trying to draw their attention to us.

"I just still can't believe you let her kiss you!" I moaned.

One woman out walking her dog stopped short. Her terrier took the opportunity to pee on a light pole as she openly gaped at us in the moonlight.

"I didn't let her. She just did it. How many times do I have to say it?" Gray growled.

He was a pretty good actor, I'd give him that. Or just naturally good at playing the asshole. I'd have to rib him about that later. But I couldn't let any admiration cross my face.

"Come on, baby, let's just go to our hotel. Talk about it in private."

"Oh, yeah, sure. You wanna 'talk'!" I tossed up my arms and did big air quotes, causing Gray's jacket to fall to the ground. He bent to scoop it up and shared a 'women, what can you do' look with a guy in a suit who walked past.

"Hales, you're making a scene!" Gray sighed, and reached out to gently rub my shoulder. "We've gone through this for the past hour."

Had it only been an hour? It felt like years ago we were at the ball. No, it had to have been longer than that.

I blinked, trying to get more tears to well up. But I was tired and dehydrated from the fiery tube we'd descended through and all the running we'd done, so I soon gave it up. I crossed my arms in a pout just as a family with doggie bags from a hotel restaurant walked near. "Yeah. And I'm still frickin' upset."

Even though I modified my language a little, the mom still glared at me like I was some terrible influence. Little did she know just how bad of one I was.

Gray put a hand on the small of my back, sending warmth up my spine as he escorted me to the front doors of one of the nicest magical hotels in the city. A doorman with a hat and jacket lined with brass buttons pulled open the door and touched his cap, like this was some 1920s movie.

Part of me felt like this was a movie. It was all so unreal. We stepped into a marble lobby with crystal chandeliers that were twice as tall as I was. They gave a warmth to the otherwise imposing space. My heels clicked against the floor as Gray headed toward the front desk.

I quickly swiped at my eyes like I was embarrassed. "I'm going to the powder room," I whispered. I needed to check on my mom and Tia. And Doctor Potts. Shit. I hadn’t even thought of her.

Gray nodded.

I slipped off to the side and let him take care of check in.

I was planning to use my burner, but I found a courtesy phone set in an alcove of the hotel lobby—a throwback to the old days. I dialed Mom’s number, one of the only ones I had memorized, my finger wrapping nervously around the phone cord as I waited impatiently for her to pick up.

“Please,” I breathed. “Please be okay.” I didn’t know if my pleas carried any weight after what I’d done tonight. When a voicemail box is full message popped up, I figured that God or the universe or whoever was listening had just shown me the finger.

Fine. I deserve it, I told myself as I set down the hotel’s phone and moved into the bathroom. I found Tia on social media—already posting about the Unnatural Ball with a couple selfies of her and Evan together. She had a ton of comments and I scrolled until I saw her last reply. Fifteen minutes ago.

I breathed a sigh of relief. She was safe.

I tried my mom again but had the same result.

My heels scuffed half-moons into the buffed black and white tile bathroom floors as I nervously looked up Potts’ phone number, worry about my mom still whisking my stomach into frothy peaks. I found Potts’ business website and tried her number, hoping she might forward her calls.

No such luck.

Fuck.

I felt like throwing my phone at the wall—the useless piece of trash. I resisted because it was my only connection to the guys. I scrolled into the contacts app. The phones were set up with new code names for each of the guys so we could communicate as needed. We weren’t allowed to reuse anything from the heist, in case my virus didn’t fully corrupt everything. I fingered the sleek new cell, regretting its short lifespan. We