Page 153 of Black Reign

I go completely still.

The reception moves around me.

Music.

Glassware.

Laughter.

Someone cheering near the dance floor.

I hear none of it.

She’s still here.

I look up automatically.

Drew catches me.

“Don’t.”

My eyes move across the room anyway.

“Seriously.” He steps into my line of sight. “You’re doing exactly what she wants.”

I move around him.

My fingers type beneath the table.

GHOST: You’re still here.

Her reply arrives almost immediately.

VESPER: Maybe.

My jaw tightens.

She knows I hate that word.

GHOST: Closer than I think?

VESPER: Considerably.

I scan the bar.

Blonde women.

Brunettes.

An older woman laughing with Kane’s aunt.

Two wives from his NBA team.

A woman in pale blue carrying champagne back toward her table.

Any one of them could be Vesper.

The lipstick Drew described is dark pink.