Read Online The Liberator (A Dante Walker Novel) (Entangled Teen) by Victoria Scott - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Victoria Scott
Tags: Romance, romance series, demons, teen romance, heaven and hell, the collector, The Liberator, Victoria Scott, Dante Walker
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party?”
8
Firefly
Aspen makes a phone call. Half an hour later, she announces it’s time to go. I’m already starting to feel a bit restless. When Lucille gave me my assignment to collect Charlie, there was a deadline. And Valery insinuated the same was true for this one. So far, I’ve blown two days stalling and traveling. Now that I’m finally here, I’m not sure how to proceed. This girl’s obviously got some issues, and I guess my job is to reel her in and show her how to live right . I have no idea how to do that when I can’t figure out how to do that myself.
Still, I’ll have to work something out if I want to keep my cuff and return to Charlie.
“You ready to roll?” Aspen asks. “They’re downstairs.”
I don’t know who they are, but I know for now, my best plan is to just observe Aspen. To see what’s going wrong in her life, and then somehow work through that. So I nod. “Let’s do it.”
Aspen gives a quasi-smile as Lincoln rushes forward like he’s guarding us from some unseen enemy.
When we get outside, my heart cries. It weeps . In front of me is a car so beautiful it deserves tears. It’s a black-as-death BMW 760i complete with 535 horsepower, night vision, and a TwinPower Turbo V-12 engine. Pow! I consider taking it from behind, but decide to treat her with respect just this one time.
Lincoln, Aspen, and I climb into the car as the last of the sun disappears behind the snow-capped mountains. A tall girl in the passenger seat throws us a wave, and the guy behind the steering wheel turns and grins at me. “You a friend of Miss Lockhart’s?” he asks. His teeth are bird-shit white, and his blond hair spikes up around his head like a cartoon character’s. He’s got a Miami tan and an L.A.-sized ego, and I don’t like him one bit.
“I am,” I answer. “How fast this baby pick up?”
“Zero to sixty in four-point-five.” Blond dude turns back around in his seat and pulls away from the curb.
The engine growls like a damn lion.
And I totally get wood.
…
Music bumps from all corners of the room as the party rages. For the millionth time, I check my phone. I’ve texted Charlie repeatedly since we arrived, but she hasn’t answered a single one of them. I fight the panic attack building in my chest, telling myself that Valery and Max are with her, and I have nothing to worry about.
Across the room, Aspen is drinking fast and hard. It’s not like she’s doing it to have fun. It’s like she’s doing it to lose herself. Her dark hair falls in her eyes, and she leaves it there. A hoard of guys circles around and watches her every move. In this dark room—bodies pulsing to the music—Aspen is like a firefly, capturing people’s attention, then blinking out from view. She raises a long, thin arm into the air, and those around her join in a toast. She yells something I can’t make out.
Lincoln strides over and leans against the wall nearby. “It’s those two,” he says.
I lean closer, trying to hear him over the music. “Say what?”
He nods toward Aspen. “She’s always been a little like this. But ever since those two showed up, she’s gotten even worse.”
I follow his gaze and finally see who he’s talking about—the guy who drove us here with the white smile and spiky hair, and the girl who rode along. The chick stands tall, her brunette hair pulled into a ponytail that ends just above her rear. I hadn’t paid attention to her before, but now I do. As I eye the pair, my skin buzzes with alarm. The others, they stare at Aspen because they want to know her, want a piece of her. But these two, they watch her like she’s an experiment. Like they just put beer in a dog’s water dish, and now they’re sitting back to see what happens.
My brow furrows, and I survey them closer. There’s something off about their stature. I hadn’t noticed it when I was in the car—my mind was on the Beemer’s interior—but now that I’m watching the duo, I
8
Firefly
Aspen makes a phone call. Half an hour later, she announces it’s time to go. I’m already starting to feel a bit restless. When Lucille gave me my assignment to collect Charlie, there was a deadline. And Valery insinuated the same was true for this one. So far, I’ve blown two days stalling and traveling. Now that I’m finally here, I’m not sure how to proceed. This girl’s obviously got some issues, and I guess my job is to reel her in and show her how to live right . I have no idea how to do that when I can’t figure out how to do that myself.
Still, I’ll have to work something out if I want to keep my cuff and return to Charlie.
“You ready to roll?” Aspen asks. “They’re downstairs.”
I don’t know who they are, but I know for now, my best plan is to just observe Aspen. To see what’s going wrong in her life, and then somehow work through that. So I nod. “Let’s do it.”
Aspen gives a quasi-smile as Lincoln rushes forward like he’s guarding us from some unseen enemy.
When we get outside, my heart cries. It weeps . In front of me is a car so beautiful it deserves tears. It’s a black-as-death BMW 760i complete with 535 horsepower, night vision, and a TwinPower Turbo V-12 engine. Pow! I consider taking it from behind, but decide to treat her with respect just this one time.
Lincoln, Aspen, and I climb into the car as the last of the sun disappears behind the snow-capped mountains. A tall girl in the passenger seat throws us a wave, and the guy behind the steering wheel turns and grins at me. “You a friend of Miss Lockhart’s?” he asks. His teeth are bird-shit white, and his blond hair spikes up around his head like a cartoon character’s. He’s got a Miami tan and an L.A.-sized ego, and I don’t like him one bit.
“I am,” I answer. “How fast this baby pick up?”
“Zero to sixty in four-point-five.” Blond dude turns back around in his seat and pulls away from the curb.
The engine growls like a damn lion.
And I totally get wood.
…
Music bumps from all corners of the room as the party rages. For the millionth time, I check my phone. I’ve texted Charlie repeatedly since we arrived, but she hasn’t answered a single one of them. I fight the panic attack building in my chest, telling myself that Valery and Max are with her, and I have nothing to worry about.
Across the room, Aspen is drinking fast and hard. It’s not like she’s doing it to have fun. It’s like she’s doing it to lose herself. Her dark hair falls in her eyes, and she leaves it there. A hoard of guys circles around and watches her every move. In this dark room—bodies pulsing to the music—Aspen is like a firefly, capturing people’s attention, then blinking out from view. She raises a long, thin arm into the air, and those around her join in a toast. She yells something I can’t make out.
Lincoln strides over and leans against the wall nearby. “It’s those two,” he says.
I lean closer, trying to hear him over the music. “Say what?”
He nods toward Aspen. “She’s always been a little like this. But ever since those two showed up, she’s gotten even worse.”
I follow his gaze and finally see who he’s talking about—the guy who drove us here with the white smile and spiky hair, and the girl who rode along. The chick stands tall, her brunette hair pulled into a ponytail that ends just above her rear. I hadn’t paid attention to her before, but now I do. As I eye the pair, my skin buzzes with alarm. The others, they stare at Aspen because they want to know her, want a piece of her. But these two, they watch her like she’s an experiment. Like they just put beer in a dog’s water dish, and now they’re sitting back to see what happens.
My brow furrows, and I survey them closer. There’s something off about their stature. I hadn’t noticed it when I was in the car—my mind was on the Beemer’s interior—but now that I’m watching the duo, I
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