Distraction: An underground kings novel by Aurora Rose Reynolds

planning to wait in the car until he’s ready to go. But the minute he spots me, he gives me a smile that has my steps faltering.
    “I hope you didn’t pay for those things,” he says as soon as I’m standing next to him.
    “Why wouldn’t I pay?”
    “Me and Ace gave Kip the money to start up this place a few years ago. In return, we don’t pay when we want to jump, and you don’t have to pay if you want a souvenir.”
    “Well, I’m happy to pay,” I mutter, and he swings his arm over my shoulders, shaking his head, then looks at Ace, who is looking at us with a knowing smile on his face. What he thinks he knows I have no idea.
    “We’ll talk in a few days,” Sven tells him as he opens the door for me to get into the idling car.
    “Thanks, man.” He shakes Sven’s hand then drops his eyes to me. “You still have my number. Call me.”
    Snorting at that, I mutter, “Goodbye,” and get into the car, hearing both guys laugh behind me.
    “Did you have fun, dear?” Ken asks as his eyes connect with mine in the rearview mirror and I slide across the back seat.
    “Don’t tell anyone, but it was amazing.” I grin, and he chuckles then mutters, “Your secret is safe with me.”
    “What secret?” Sven asks, getting into the car and shutting the door behind him.
    “Nothing,” Ken and I say in unison.
    “Did you have fun?” Sven inquires, and I look at Ken in the mirror briefly before looking at Sven.
    “If you consider being afraid that you’re going to pee yourself while watching your life passing before your eyes fun, then sure, I had fun,” I state with a straight face, hearing Ken in the front seat laugh out.
    “You loved it,” Sven mutters before pulling his phone out of his pocket. Looking out the window, I smile to myself then glance at Ken, whose eyes are on me, and I wink.
    “You cursed.”
    Pulling my eyes from the view going by quickly as we drive back toward Vegas, I look at Sven and frown, asking, “Pardon?”
    “When we jumped, you cursed like a sailor.” He grins.
    “I thought I was going to die,” I explain, not denying it. I don’t even know what came over me, but every bad word I have ever thought of came tumbling out.
    “It was cute,” he mutters quietly before going back to work on his phone. Pulling my old cell phone out of the front pocket of my jeans, I flip it open and frown. The screen has turned completely black. Closing it again, I flip it open once more then tap the numbers and they light up. “What’s wrong?” Sven asks, and I turn to look at him and hold my phone up.
    “It’s not working.”
    “Let me see.” Taking the phone from my hand, he pulls the battery off the back then puts it back in place and presses the on button. “I think it’s time for you to get a phone that’s not from 1999.”
    “I’ve had that phone since I was twenty,” I mumble, taking the phone from him and pressing the buttons once more. “It’s always been trusty.”
    “Well, it seems to me that it’s finally kicked the bucket.”
    “I wonder if I can have it fixed,” I grumble, tapping the screen again.
    “We can stop and pick you up a new phone.”
    “But this has all my numbers in it,” I complain, pressing buttons, hoping something will happen and the screen with magically light up, but all that happens is one of the numbers presses in and sticks.
    “Sorry, babe.”
    Narrowing my eyes, I look at him. “You don’t sound sorry.”
    “That phone is old, and I can’t imagine it was reliable. You need something that will work when you need it to work, and I need you to have a phone so I can reach you.” He shrugs then tells Ken to stop at one of the local cell service stores.
    By the time we are done picking me up a new phone and having dinner at a small diner, we make it back to the club a little after eleven, and the line outside is already stretched around the building. Walking down the street and past the waiting line, Sven stops when a group of women, who