Gemma brightened. “Oh my God, finally. I’ve been waiting for you to come out with me since you got married!” She scanned me from head to toe, her smile slipping a bit. “You’re not wearing that, are you?”
“Can I borrow something?” We were about the same size. It might be a little looser on me than her, but I didn’t really mind.
“Of course!” She dragged me further into her apartment, letting the door shut behind us.
I froze when I noticed the vivarium in the corner of her living room. Gemma stopped when I did, catching my look.
“My father got it awhile ago.”
I stepped closer to the glass enclosure. It was huge, taking up a good portion of the wall. Inside, I could just make out a ball python among the brown leaves and sand on the floor of the vivarium. Its black eyes watched me silently. Shivering, I moved away.
“Why did he get a snake?” I asked hesitantly.
Gemma just shrugged. “No idea. He always gets odd pets now and then. Remember the rat?”
I did. Mateo had bought an albino rat a few years ago. He’d carried it around, feeding it treats as it sat on his shoulder. I’d never liked rats, so I’d stayed far away from him at the time. But a snake? It seemed like an odd choice for a pet, given the circumstances. But maybe he’d gotten the pet before all of this–before my father was murdered.
Shaking off the odd feelings fluttering in the pit of my stomach, I followed Gemma.
“Gem,” I hesitated, not exactly sure how to word it. She glanced over her shoulder expectantly. “Did you tell anyone? About me being….”
Surprise flashed across her face. “What? God, no. You told me not to.”
“Right. Of course.” Heat burned against my cheeks. Of course, Gemma hadn’t told anyone. She was my best friend, and I knew her well enough to know she would never break my trust. She’d kept every secret I’d had since we were kids–from sneaking out past curfew to going on dates I wasn’t technically allowed to go on. And she’d never told a soul.
When we reached her bedroom, she headed straight for the closet, tearing through what little clothes were still left on the hangers. It didn’t take long before she tossed me a black blouson dress with thin straps. Soft chiffon hung over a black slip and was cinched at the waist with a thin gold belt. Gemma nearly decapitated me when she threw matching black heels over her shoulder. I barely caught them in time, clutching both the dress and the heels to my chest.
Gemma spun around, hands on her hips. “Well? What are you waiting for? Get dressed, and let’s go.”
I slipped into the dress, finding that it fit pretty well, considering Gemma had more to fill out than I did. The heels were uncomfortable, but I welcomed the pain. If this is what I needed to do to finally get out and clear my head, then so be it. Gemma was the perfect distraction. She could take my mind off anything.
Stealing her brush from the bathroom, I ran it through my hair a few times. Gemma came up behind me, making faces in the mirror. “You take so long, Jesus.”
“I’m ready.” Setting the brush down, I let her take my hand, hauling me out of her apartment and into the elevator.
“I can’t even tell you how glad I am that you're coming out tonight.” She was basically bouncing on her toes, a gleam in her eye. “Where do you want to go?”
I shot her a sly grin. “We haven’t bothered the Arco brothers in a while.”
“I do miss Cain,” Gemma replied coyly. Her tongue slipped across her lower lip. “I’m sure he’s missed me just as much.”
“Only one way to find out.”
It was Declan who responded to my messages first, telling me the new location of The Salamander. We took one of our own drivers, though I was still anxious about who I let drive us. Gemma didn’t seem too worried about it, though. Like always, she was blissfully unaware of everything else going on around her. Which was exactly why I needed to go out with her tonight. I needed some of her carefree spirit to rub off on me. At least for a little while.
We were let in right away, taking stone steps that led down into a dark basement just beneath a restaurant that looked as if it hadn’t been open since the twenties. Their usual black and scarlet decor was back up and running, complete with gauzy cloth hanging from the ceiling. Gemma’s eyes scanned the crowd, trying to make out the brothers through the flashing lights. She’d always had a thing for Cain, but I was pretty sure he was too afraid of her father to make a move. Not that he would have admitted it.
“I don’t see them.” Gemma had to practically yell over the music for me to hear her. “Let’s get a drink.” Tugging me to the bar, Gemma ordered herself a drink before ordering water for me.
Gemma took a sip from her glass. The concoction inside glowed beneath the black lights. “The other girls should be coming soon. I let them know the location.”
My eyebrows shot up. “Even Paxe is coming?”
“She said she was.”
“Well, maybe her blood-thirsty feelings towards Archer have…gone away?”
Gemma shot me a dry look. “Yeah. Maybe.”