Chapter 49

Jack roared. The metal flashed; Luca ducked, and bolted. His neck tingled. His knee smarted from the force of the blow, and some part of his brain dulled and detached through sheer terror recoiled at the idea of actually kicking another guy in the bollocks, because that was seriously low, and—

And he ran. Bolted right out of the trees, stumbling over roots and furrows in the dirt, scratching his hands on trees as he fought to catch himself and keep going, and the minute the ground gave way to the smooth roll of grass, ran.

He tore for the safety of the fireworks and drunken laughter, and didn’t dare look back.

* * * *

“Tav, come on.”

Tav frowned. Luca definitely wasn’t here. He should be with Tav, really, but when he wasn’t, he was usually with Aaron or David or—urgh—Samantha Marks. Only…only Aaron and David were hovering beyond Jan’s silhouette in the gloom, and Luca’s curly head wasn’t part of the cluster.

Tav frowned harder. “Where’s Luca?”