TOP OF THE ROCK

☆ | 13.0

☆

JUST ANOTHER COLD NIGHT.

It was icy outside, but warm in the Williamsburg warehouse-turned-punk-venue. Blue seemed to have an affinity for these little dive places. Part of her wondered if this was his scene, or if he was gathering them in places that no one would ever suspect.

The low thrum of a song reverberated through the air; an erratic beat drifted to meet them on the upper floor. Someone started to sing, in a low lull, a serenade of another fucking heartbreak.

It took everything in her not to roll her eyes. When would the whiny bullshit phase of music end?

"Star."

"Yeah," she murmured breathlessly, shaking off the dull sounds to face the right group of people. Seven sets of eyes narrowed in on her. "What? What's up?"

Blue placed a hand on her waist. "We're talking about what Vegas and Cadillac are going to do." Even beneath the faint music, she could easily find that sliver of amusement in his voice. "Yeah?"

Her gaze wandered up to Vegas, and she paused, indulging in a moment of perfection. There was something effortlessly cool about his posture, leaning against the wall with a Modelo in his hand, one foot kicked back, one hand in his pocket... a curtain of light and smoke concealing a secretive smile.

"Right."

"They have this... plan," Blue mused in her ear, almost too soft, almost too taunting, almost too fucking cold.

Her throat tightened. A plan. Cadillac met her gaze, dark eyes flashing with a warning. "Yeah," she said. "About the crane."

"Mmm." Blue snickered. "Yeah. We've got a lead on the crane, but I'm just curious."

When he was curious, Blue was dangerous.

Instinctively, she sought out Vans. They didn't have that unspoken language; they weren't fluent in silent motions and subtle looks. Vans simply stared at her.

Fuck. What did he say to Blue? Did he say anything?

Fingers dug into her hip, and she shifted uncomfortably, finally giving Blue her full attention. "What? What's wrong?"

"Well," he drawled teasingly, "when you three came up with this plan, how did you imagine you'd sneak a crane into Rockefeller Plaza on Christmas Eve?"

Blue made it sound fucking crazy. Her head spun with all of the conversations, the back and forth of suggestions, the quick, quiet plans they'd built together. "What..."

"Did you think that far into it?"

Yes. Confusion clogged her throat, and her brows furrowed. They'd already decided this... hadn't they? "Yeah. We did."

Cadillac took a step forward. "We wou—"

"I asked her," Blue said.

Sharp. Jagged. Cut.

With a warning.

"Yeah, we did think about it," she said, steadying herself long enough to level him with a hard look. "We would need to knock out the power. A blackout."

Blue cocked his head to the side... as if that was amusing. "A blackout. Okay, baby."

A wave of frustration swept through her, steering her gaze away from him. "We need someone to... to hit a breaker," she explained calmly. The music threatened to drown her out. "Because we need darkness to be... stealthy."