“What are you drinking?” my friend asked, yelling a bit to be heard over the loud music. When I took too long to reply, she ordered for me, shouting the name of a drink I’d never heard to the bartender.

The man understood her though, and after throwing around a few liquor bottles and occasionally pouring some liquids in a cocktail shaker, we were presented with two iridescent blue drinks.

“Dare I ask?” I arched a brow at Eddy, and she snickered as she took a sip of her own drink.

Shaking her head, she shoved my drink into my hand. “Nope, don’t ask. Just drink. You look like you could do with letting your hair down.” She flapped a hand at my silken locks lying loose over my shoulders. “Metaphorically speaking. Come on, let’s see who’s all here.”

Back home I’d never really been into the party scene. Dante as my closest, and only real friend, was not a fan of dressing up and shaking his ass, so we tended to avoid them. I realized then that I’d forgotten to phone him back, and I decided to try to remember before the night was over. It was too loud to chat on the phone right now.

Eddy knew a lot of people here, stopping for hugs and fake air kisses. But it was all superficial, clearly none of these people gave a fuck about her. It was like, kiss her ass, ask about the guys, and then brush her aside.

Fuckers.

My drink disappeared far too quickly, and I lifted the empty glass to Eddy, and she nodded, leading us back the way we’d just come. Before we reached the bar though, there was a commotion near the entrance, and I spun around to find a familiar face pushing his way toward me.

“Dante!” I screamed, the alcohol already heating my blood. I rushed for my friend, not quite registering how odd it was that he was even here. I mean, not only was he supposed to be back in Jersey, but how the hell did he even know about this party.

Still, in that moment, all I cared about was getting a hug.

I slammed into him, and he hauled me up into his arm, the scent of that rich, spicy aftershave he loved so much washing over me. That smell took me back to a million memories. Fun nights. Family dinners. Everything that was now tainted in pain, because my parents, who had been part of both of our lives, were gone.

That was what I needed the alcohol for. To forget. To not hurt for one night.

“What are you doing here?” I yelled when he dropped me down.

Dante leveled a look on me, it was almost exasperated. “You never phoned me back. I was checking on you.” His lips twitched. “Are you drunk already, Riles?”

Shaking my head, I swung my hips in time to the beat. “Not yet, but if this night goes to plan, it won’t be long.”

Concern knit his brow together. “What have I told you about losing control around strangers? We don’t know these people, and from the little I’ve learned, they’re definitely not the sort you should trust.”

“Don’t play stupid with me, Dante. You and I both know it’s Delta. Seriously, you don’t have to tell me twice that they’re bad news. All rich people are.”

Something dark flickered across Dante’s eyes, but it was gone before I could really discern the reason. “Just watch your back,” he pushed. “Delta did not become a global leader by playing by the rules. They’re big business, and there is always corruption in big business.”

“Is there something else about this situation I should know?” I pushed him. “I mean, you had Catherine’s phone number, so clearly you have been doing a lot of research on them.”

Dante shook his head. “That was pretty much all I could get. One lousy contact. I’m getting a lot of run around in my normal circles. No one wants to incriminate themselves and rat out Delta, seeing as it’s a massive, corrupt, rich as fuck corporation, and they can destroy anyone. But I’ll keep digging. Stay vigilant. No trust.”

“I don’t trust any of them except Eddy. She’s my friend,” I said stubbornly. Speaking of…

I spun to find her standing almost awkwardly behind me. Reaching out, I hauled her in closer. “Dante, you remember Eddy, right?”

Dante’s green eyes were dark as they leisurely rested on Eddy. “No way I could forget someone as beautiful as Eddy,” he said softly, with a rumble in his words.

Eddy smiled at him. “I remember you too, big man. Hard to forget all of that ink…”

She drawled the last few words, making them sound almost naughty.

Dante’s return smile was predatory, and I knew that I was not going to be able to stop these two from screwing each other very soon. There was an attraction between them. It was fucking clear as anything.

All I cared was that neither of them dumped me when they inevitably got sick of each other.

Eddy reached out and grabbed my hand and Dante’s before she started pulling us toward the bar. “I wanna dance,” she said with a pout. “And I need more of the delicious alcohol now.”

“You like to drink, girl?” Dante asked, watching her closely.

She shrugged. “If you were in my position, you’d like to drink too. Trust me.”

We were almost at the bar, when a familiar voice had Eddy skidding to a halt. “What have I told you about dragging in the trash, sis?”

Jasper was not alone, as he leaned on a nearby pillar right beside the bar, dressed in designer jeans and a black shirt that molded to his muscles. Beck, Evan, and Dylan were all there as well, and none of them looked happy. Beck had his serial killer eyes locked on me, or … maybe on Dante’s hand which was wrapped around my arm.

Eddy shot Jasper a glare. “Fuck off, Jay. I told you last night, I won’t interfere in your fucked up shit, as long as you stay out of my life. You don’t own me. I’m not Delta. So back the fuck up!”

Beck surged forward then, moving so fast and smooth I almost missed it completely. He edged himself between Dante and me. The pair sized each other up as they faced off. They were virtually the same height—stupid giants towering over everyone else.

“You might not be a true part of Delta,” Beck said, talking to Eddy even though his gaze remained locked on Dante. “But Butterfly is. She belongs to us.”

Those words did something fucked up to my insides, sending them squirming while heating me to the point where I felt like I was going to pass out or something. “You don’t own her,” Dante snapped. “Riley…” He snarled my name, clearly not a fan of the nickname. “…is her own person. I will kill anyone that takes that away from her.”

Beck grinned. A scary, fucked up, evil grin. “I know all about your life, gangbanger. You’re playing outside your league now. I’d be very careful who you threaten.”

In that moment, I feared for Dante. I’d never had to worry about him before, because he was tough, and he did have solid friends in his gang, ones who’d had his back before, but I trusted what Beck was saying. Dante was out of his league here, and this was a scary game where probably no one was going to come out alive.

Something I would no doubt learn more of tomorrow, when I ventured out on my first official Delta business. Before Beck could do or say anything more—or kill my best friend—I swung on my heels and sashayed my way across to the bar. Hoping like hell that if I left, it would diffuse the tension which was holding us hostage. Eddy was right with me, both of us practically diving across the bar to get the bartender’s attention. “We need drinks,” Eddy demanded, and the dark haired dude started to nod quickly, his eyes locked on my cleavage which was spilling out over the front of my tight dress.

Before I could get mad about it, and why should I bother, my tits were practically hanging out in this stupid dress, he disappeared and was back in a flash with two more cocktails. Heat pressed along my spine, and I took a huge gulp of this new drink, something orange and fruity, before turning to face the inevitable.

If billionaire bastard was a style of dress, Beck would have nailed that look. Dark jeans that hugged his muscled legs and ass in all the right places, clearly expensive and custom fitted. He wore black boots, which topped his height out at 6 and a half foot, and his white long sleeved Henley—pushed up to showcase his bronze skin and muscular forearms—was molded to his broad chest. It was like rich met prep met fucked up darkness—which was mostly all in his eyes. Beck wore the uniform that people expected, but his face was where the real truth lay.

“What do you want, Beck?” Eddy said, almost tiredly.

He didn’t bother to look at her. Instead, he snatched my delicious, fruity drink from my hand and dumped the contents onto the floor, the sticky liquid splashing my designer shoes.

“You shouldn’t be drinking,” he told me. His gray eyes flashed with danger, and I burned with the need to push him further. Holding his gaze, I reached out and took Eddy’s drink from her hand—which she willingly handed over—then brought it to my lips, tipped it up and chugged the whole thing.

When the last drop was gone, I licked my lips and slammed the glass down on the bar.

“Kiss my ass, Sebastian,” I suggested.