I like this shit. Loud. Drowning the dark thoughts in my head that occasionally get too overwhelming.
Once I start at Gen-Alpha Project full-time, there will be no rest for the wicked. Seven board members of the company are some of the richest people in the world. I have much to prove, way more than I already have.
So, now is my last chance to party like there is no tomorrow. This Spring Break is special. Or will be, whenhegets here.
Ty and Marlow, with their shirts unbuttoned and bottles of booze in their hands, dance on a podium as several half-naked girls swing their hips and grind at their legs.
People crowd the infinity pool that glows neon-blue.
Girls squeal in excitement as Guff jumps in the water, splashing everyone around.
Cliff Villa is one of many at this resort that’s booming with music and loud cheers. Bottles and glasses are everywhere, so are clothes, bikinis, and passed-out bodies. Laser lights shoot into the dark sky above the island from all directions. The crowd is already out of control, though it’s only nine in the evening.
Taking a hundred elite students to a tropical island might be the biggest party I’ve had yet, despite the random faces I don’t recognize—Dad’s guests for who-the-fuck knows what reason who flew from Europe and Asia.
“Let’s roll, yo!” Axavier yells at me from the distance, motioning for me to grab Ty and Marlow.
And then the music cuts off.
In another second, the villa and deck around go pitch black.
“Boooooo!” Collective gasps and complaints echo through the abrupt darkness and silence that are too eerie.
“Archer!” Anna’s capricious voice is behind me. “What happened?”
“Bring back the light!” someone barks.
“Bring back the light!” the rest repeat in chorus.
The drunk crowd starts chanting.
A generator kicks in, bringing the lights in the villa back, but there is still no music, and the faces in the crowd are disappointed.
There must be something with the circuit.
Shit.
We are about to head to the yacht, but I need to find Bo, the resort manager, and tell him to fix this before we come back.
“One moment,” I snap at Anna and make my way, veering among the bodies, back toward the house.
And then I seehim.
Kai. Fucking. Droga.
A ghost.
Finally.
He stands at a distance, by the sliding door to the villa, precisely where I was going, like he’s been watching me. Hands in his pockets, he towers like the fucking Dark Knight.
My heart gives a loud thud inside my chest.
I knew he’d come.
Now I know the reason for the blackout—it’s revenge, six feet of it, muscled and full of spite.
I slow my steps, walking toward him, my best friend-turned-enemy.