Miss Mayhem (Rebel Belle #2)(65)

But I couldn’t worry about that right now. Not when something was happening to David.

Nodding at Aunt Jewel in thanks, I dropped the branch and ran.





Chapter 33


MY INSTINCTS were leading me outside, and as I ran backstage, I dodged the other girls, all of whom were blinking at me. “What was that?” Abi asked, her hand closing around my elbow, but I shook her off, making my way to the back door that led to the parking lot behind the rec center.

I pressed down hard on the bar, but the door wouldn’t budge. The tightness in my chest was getting worse, my blood and heart racing, and I tried again, even harder this time.

But whoever had sealed this door had done a darn good job, and when I squinted at the bar, I saw crude runes scratched into the metal.

My whole body went cold.

Those were wards. A Mage had put those there.

“Harper,” Ryan said, panting, and I turned to see him standing beside me. His tie was loose, his cheeks flushed, and he’d shed the jacket he’d been wearing earlier.

“Can you undo this?” I asked, gesturing to the door. “We’ve got to get—”

“To David, I know. But . . . Harper, let him go.”

I’m pretty sure my mouth actually fell open. “You’re in on this?”

He winced. “Don’t say it like that. Like we’re not on the same side.”

My chest was so tight it was a wonder I could breathe, but I managed to say, “If you did these”—I pointed savagely at the wards—“then we are not on the same side, Ryan. Not even remotely.”

Ryan’s gaze swung to mine, his face pale. “We both want what’s best for David, right? Harper, this is what’s best.”

Tears spilled down my cheeks all over again, and I wiped at them. “Then why is my chest on fire? Why do I know he’s in danger, Ryan?”

When he didn’t answer, I kept going. “Did Bee talk you into this? Did she tell you she was doing this to save David? Because that wasn’t her call to make. Or yours.” I hit my breastbone with my fist, but that was nothing compared to the pain there. “It was mine. You lied to me, both of you lied, and—”

Ryan crossed the space between us, one warm hand coming down on my forearm. “David didn’t want to tell you. He knew you’d never let him go. That you couldn’t if it was dangerous. So he . . . he asked us to help, and what were we supposed to say?”

I didn’t know how to answer that. They were supposed to be loyal to me? Supposed to tell me what David had planned?

From the stage, I heard music start up again and I stood up fast enough to make me dizzy.

Looking back toward the stage, I couldn’t see any sign of Bee and I ducked back down beside Ryan, hissing, “She’s gone. Bee.”

Ryan sighed, scrubbing a hand over his face. “You didn’t hit her that hard,” Ryan said. “And my magic fixed the rest.”

I stared at him, confused. “Your magic doesn’t work.”

“After the vision at the golf course, it came back,” Ryan answered, and I nearly squawked.

“And you didn’t think this was worth telling me?” I hissed, but before Ryan could answer, there was a loud pop, followed by a hiss.

The lights overhead flickered once, twice, then went out altogether.

“That cannot be good,” I whispered, and when the entire building began to shake, the screams of the audience filling my ears, Ryan muttered, “The hell?”

We crouched in the darkness, my skirt pooling around my legs, my heels wobbling slightly. I could hear Ryan breathing hard and could nearly feel the fear vibrating off him.

“Take the damn wards off the door!” I whispered. It was too dark to see him, but I could tell from the change in his breath that Ryan was looking at me. “I’m not supposed to,” he answered, and honestly, I could have slugged him.

“Look,” I said, leaning in closer to him. “I’ll forgive you for this, and I’ll even forgive you for stealing my best friend.”

“I didn’t—” he started, but I cut him off.

“I figure I owe you a couple of things after nearly getting you killed last year. And for . . . other stuff.”

Ryan didn’t say anything, and even though I knew this was not exactly the best time to get into this, I felt like it was now or never. “We should’ve broken up a long time before we did. I should’ve . . . I don’t know, set you free or whatever. But we’d been together too long, and I didn’t know how, and I nearly kissed David while I was dating you.”

At that, Ryan gave a sharp intake of breath. Miserable, I continued. “I know, I know. I am a terrible person. But I promise nothing happened between us until after we broke up. I mean, it was like ten minutes after we broke up, which I still don’t feel great about, but—”

“Harper.” Ryan grabbed my elbow, his fingers digging into my skin. “First off, I think Bee and I might have made a mistake about letting David go. Secondly, we have no idea where David is right now, and seeing as how it is more or less our sacred duty to protect him, that’s kind of an issue. And third, I kissed Mary Beth before we broke up.”

For a moment, all I could hear both of us breathing and the rush of blood in my ears. “You what?” I was proud of how non-shrieky I managed to sound, considering how shrieky I felt.