I disconnected the phone and slipped it back in my pocket as I stood. Markov and his men glanced up.
“I have to cut the meeting short.”
Markov pushed the blueprints away. “Fine with me. I was tiring of looking at these.”
His accent grew thicker as he snapped his fingers. A second later, the VIP door opened, and three women sauntered in.
They turned the music on. Markov leaned back again, threw his arms over the back of the couch, spread his legs slightly, and grinned as one girl came over to him and started giving him a lap dance.
And that was my cue to get the fuck out of here and go get my girl.
Chapter14
Persephone
Iknew as soon as Sophia pulled to a stop in front of Trevor’s house that this had been a bad idea. But I was tired of being alone at the house. I was exhausted from thinking of Hades constantly.
I wanted to see and feel something that didn’t revolve around him.
People overflowed out of the three-story mansion.
I leaned forward and looked out the windshield, seeing a drunk guy stumbling across the landscaped front yard, girls running topless as guys chased them, and a group of dudes singing as loud as they could while holding their plastic cups high in the air.
“This one’s wild tonight,” Sophia said with almost this excitement in her voice.
“I thought these were low-key?” That was what Trevor had said, anyway. Clearly, that wasn’t the case.
“Low-key?” She started laughing and shook her head. “These get so out of hand. Normally, the cops are called a few hours into it. But Trevor’s dad is friends with them, so the police just give everyone a warning and tell us to keep it down.”
I looked over at her just as she pulled her phone out. She started typing out a text, her fingers working furiously over the screen.
“Jacqueline and Ariel are already inside. They snagged us a couple of drinks.” She tucked her phone into her clutch and looked at me, grinning. “Come on. It’s time we pop that party cherry of yours.”
I internally groaned but followed her into the house.
Guys started throwing out lewd comments our way, and Sophia just lifted her hand and flipped them off as we kept walking.
There were a few more catcalls in the distance, the sound of girls talking in slurred tones, and then giggling, even some excited screams piercing through the air.
It wasn’t as if I’d never been to a party before, but the ones I’d gone to had never been like this. Wild and reckless.
Once inside the mansion, we weaved around the bodies, shoulder-to-shoulder. We made it into the kitchen just as Ariel and Jacqueline came out, swinging their hips as they danced to the music, arms above their head, and two bottles gripped in each of their hands.
I didn’t know Jacqueline and Ariel very well, and I was pretty sure they didn’t care about being friends with me. But I had a feeling they tolerated me because Sophia was clearly the head of their group.
They were grinning at Sophia before giving sloppy hugs to her and shoving a bottle against our chests.
“Bottoms up, bitches,” Ariel shouted and lifted her drink, which ignited a roar from the surrounding crowd.
After popping the top off my beer, I took a small drink, the flavor bitter as it washed across my tongue and down my throat.
I wrinkled my nose. I’d just milk it for the time I was here.
Half an hour later, I felt more like a piece of furniture than someone enjoying the party.
I stayed back as Sophia and the other girls flirted with some guys, danced, and tossed back more drinks. I kept pressed to the wall, the same beer in my hand. It was warm and completely full.
I found an artificial plant, edged my way toward it before stealthily dumping the beer into the pot. Not something I would normally do, but I didn’t want anyone giving me a hard time for a “party foul.”