Night Moves (The Night Songs Collection) by Kristen Strassel Read Free Book Online Page A

before my body finally surrendered fully to him.
    Ryder, fueled by my blood, wasn’t finished yet, he kept going as my body throbbed around him. He whispered my name before his body went limp, reaching his peak.
    My life before that moment just didn’t matter anymore.
    Drake sneered at us, or maybe just me, as we returned to the club just minutes before showtime. I didn’t care anymore. I knew his dirty little secret. Somehow, I felt like that gave me an advantage over him.
    Of course, until he learned my dirty little secret.
    Ryder looked amazing in his tight jeans, black velvet suit jacket with a dark blue T-shirt underneath. Sophisticated, but still dangerous. His long dark hair shined under the blue lights, giving him an ethereal look. His skin flushed with my blood flowing through his veins.
    I thanked God that somehow I had the instinct to pack all my clothes from my old life, my fun life. I wore tight black jeans with a lacy shirt, blending in just like I needed to. The bite mark on the inside of my thigh throbbed, a burning reminder of Ryder’s earlier confession.
    Fans milled around the floor, with a dedicated throng tightly packed against the stage. I would have expected there to be more people. A small place like this should have been sold out, and I should have never been able to find an empty stool at the bar, but I did.
    “Malibu and Diet, please.” The bartender nodded. I still felt a little dizzy from sharing blood with Ryder. The rum probably wasn’t the best idea, but good ideas hadn’t been my strong suit recently.
    I looked up at the row of TV screens above the bar. This must be a great place to watch a game when there wasn’t a show. It must have been just past eleven, because the news was on. I felt so disconnected from the rest of the world. How quickly I slipped into Ryder’s alternate reality.
    I handed the bartender one of Jamie’s ten dollar bills in exchange for my drink. At first I thought he gave me way too much change, but then I realized I was in Detroit and things were cheap here. I sipped the coconut rum through the skinny straw, and almost dropped my drink when I looked back up at the screens.
    Angela’s face stared back at me. A smiling picture of her, wearing too much makeup, at some family gathering. Before I could recover from the shock, the screen flashed to someone who had to be related to her, they looked just like her. But alive, and devastated.
    Fuck.
    I had to expect this. Of course people would be looking for her. She hadn’t been home to greet her girls. But now it was Monday, and no one had found her. Yet.
    I had to wonder if anyone was looking for Jamie. Looking for me. Besides work, of course.
    God, when they put it all together, I was so screwed.
    I drained my drink within seconds and waved the bartender back over.
    He sighed, visibly not impressed, but he poured me another drink. I let him keep all the change from that ten since he clearly disagreed with the rate I was putting the rum and cokes away, and spun my chair around so I could watch the show.
    Soul Divider opened the show with one of their biggest songs – a clever little reminder to those who might not remember who they were. They tore through their greatest hits. The crowd, obviously loyal fans, sang along to every word. So did I. Their music made me feel good. At one time, I would have been up front, fighting for my piece of real estate in front of Ryder, but now that I was confident I had his attention, I didn’t have to do that. Drake played the part of charming front man to a tee; you would have never thought this was the same person who bawled out his whole band and the club staff just hours before. He shook his ass to the delight of the mostly female crowd, and bantered good naturedly between songs. I recognized his catch phrases from all the times I saw the band in the past. Nothing had changed for Drake. The venue may have shrunk, and the stage show might not be as elaborate, but other than