Music pounded against the pavement of the street, so loud it rattled her teeth. Her bones shook in her body every time the base sounded into the air, like a gunshot ringing out in the night. Dev felt an overwhelming urge to leave. After all, the only thing keeping her bound to Casey's wishes was her own stubbornness. She glanced over her shoulder. The faint glow of porch lights lit the path home, and as her eyes came upon the street that led out of the neighborhood, she felt something in her shudder. Except for the occasional street lamp, it was completely dark.

"How long will we be here?" Dev asked, a hint of apprehension in her voice.

"As long as it takes to get the information we need," Casey replied plainly. His eyes traveled over her shoulder. "We're here."

She spun around, coming face to face—or rather face to chest—with a large man blocking the front door.

"Are you kidding me? They have a bouncer?" Ryan exclaimed under his breath, though it was loud enough that the whole group heard it.

Dev took a deep breath and turned her eyes up to meet the man's gaze. She hoped her calm facade would be enough to get them in. "I'm Dev. Brady invited me."

The man's thick eyebrows shot upward and he tilted his head to the side. His gaze landed on Casey, Ryan, and Lukas. "And what about them?"

"Danny said they could come, too."

"This isn't Danny's party," he snapped. "Brady told me a pretty blonde would come to the door. He didn't mention anyone else."

"Maybe he forgot," her jaw ticked and she sent a sharp glare directly at the bouncer.

"Maybe he didn't invite them," his eyes landed on Lukas. "What're you staring at?"

He shrugged, shuffling his feet against the pavement. "Nothing. Just imagining how unfortunate it would be if my father, Lennox Hasten, found out that you were being employed by a minor," he spoke slowly, as if waiting for his words to sink in.

The bouncer shifted his stance uncomfortably. "You don't know anything."

"Really? You think his parties aren't the talk of the town? Everyone knows that his parents are out of town when he throws these ragers."

The man furrowed his eyebrow, mouth hardening. and swallowed hard. "Fine. But only you two get in," he opened the door and stepped aside. Dev and Lukas exchanged surprised looks. "Hurry up before I change my mind."

Quickly, they stepped through the door and into the chaos of the party. She nearly flinched at the volume of the music, which was so loud that the chandelier above them was shaking precariously. Panicked, Dev turned to Lukas. "What do we do?" She yelled.

"What?" He made a motion toward his ears, shaking his head.

"I said: What do we do?"

"I'll call them! We're gonna have to find another way for them to get in!"

She nodded, eyebrows furrowed in worry. Lukas mirrored her expression. "Let's go find—"

"There you are! I thought you'd ditched me!"

Dev spun around, her concerned grimace morphing into one of disgust. She did her best to hide the way her nose scrunched itself up when she looked at him, but it proved near impossible. "Hi, Brady," she cooed. Don't throw up. Don't throw up. Don't throw up. She flashed him a smile, and out of the corner of her eye she saw Lukas make a gagging motion.

"I really wish you would tell me your name."

She found herself biting her bottom lip nervously. It seemed to attract Brady's attention. In an effort to distract him, she spoke. "Dev. My name is Dev."

"Well, Dev," he held out a hand for her to take. "Don't you want to get to know me better?"

Swallowing hard, she nodded slowly and faked another smile. Brady looked satisfied. With one last desperate glance at Lukas, she shouldered her way through the party until they reached the middle. The crowd seemed to swirl around them, like ravenous sharks circling their prey.

"How do you like the party?" He asked, raising his voice over the thumping music.

"It's . . . lively," she sputtered. "Very, uh, loud."

He laughed, an arrogant sound that rang over the banter of the crowd, and grabbed her hand. "What do you say we get out of here?"

"And go where?" She buried the urge to tear her hand from his. "I'd really rather not leave the party."

"I don't mean leave the party," he said, sounding somewhat aggravated. "I mean leave the people."

Dev let another fake smile slip onto her lips. She had been doing a lot of those lately. "Alright," she grasped his hand. "Let's go."

As they pushed their way to the back of the room, her mind was racing with questions she could ask him. How well did he know Gianna Kinsley? Did he try these same romantic tricks on her? Where was he during their camping trip?

"Do you do this kind of thing often?" She asked him, though her question came much to her surprise.

Brady glanced over his shoulder and flashed her a blindingly white smile. "Depends. Do you think that's hot?"

"No."

"Then no," he led her up the stairs and into the empty hall above. He seemed to stand taller and walk with more swagger now that they were alone. Everything he did was suddenly bursting with confidence.

A sick feeling rose in her stomach. This would've been a good opportunity to talk to him about Gianna if it weren't for the elephant in the room: he obviously had other ideas of what he wanted to do, and none of them involved giving her information.

Brady stopped at the end of the hall and grasped her other hand, pulling her close to him.

"Can we . . . not," she tried to push him away gently, but he was too strong. He backed her up against the wall. "Brady, please."

"What?" He asked her with the most devilish grin on his face. "You scared?"

"Yes, Brady. Now get off me!" Dev shoved him hard and he stumbled backward, landing with a crack against the wall. When he regained his balance, he left a dent behind.

"Ugh, you little—" he gripped her wrist and yanked her toward him.With all the anger she could muster, Dev brought her knee up and slammed it into his crotch. He let out a yowl of pain and sunk to the ground.

Casey so owed her.

"What happened?"

She turned around to see Lukas, clearly out of breath from running up the stairs. He wore a worried look.

"Nothing. I-I'm fine," she smoothed out her shirt in an attempt to hide her terrified expression. Brady was still groaning in a ball on the floor.

Dev watched Lukas's concerned frown melt into his signature smirk of amusement. "Nice moves."

"You saw that?"

"More like heard it," he craned his neck to view the dent in the wall. "You think slamming a two-hundred pound guy into a wall won't make a noise?"

She shrugged, hoping her now nonchalant exterior would mask her fear. Dev felt more shaken up than ever before.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Lukas asked. He stared at her knowingly, hands on hips. It was as if he could see what she was thinking.

Brady let out another groan.

"We should go," she started down the stairs, not even looking back to see if Lukas was following her. Dev shoved her way aggressively through the party until they had found a Brady-free hallway. "Are the boys in yet?"

"Hold on, hold on, hold on," he flattened his hands out in front of him and stared pensively at the ground. "You almost got assaulted and you're worried about them?"

Dev shrugged, though that was the exact opposite of what she felt like doing at the moment. All she wanted to do was curl up into a ball and cry. "The show must go on."

Lukas chuckled and shook his head. "Dang, you're more hardcore than I thought."

"Is that a compliment?"

"Sure. You could take it that way," he rolled his shoulders back and licked his lips, wandering eyes eventually locking with hers. She didn't drop her gaze. "What?"

"You didn't answer my question."

Lukas rolled his eyes and put his hands on his hips, but fought her no further. "The fences in the back are too high to climb and all the windows are locked. There's no getting them in this house."

"Well then, I think we should go. Who knows when Brady could stumble down those stairs and screw everything up for us?"

"Yeah. And as a suspect, it's not looking good for him right now. I say we take the lead and roll with it."

"I'd hardly call it a lead," she glanced around the corners of the walls, checking for passerby's, then slid back into the hallway. "Let's go before Brady tells anyone what happened . . . Well, his version of what happened, anyway."