Page 62 of Dead to Me

My phone buzzed on the dresser.

China.

HURRY UP.

I smiled. Then another notification popped up. It wasn’t from China.

Malcolm’s best man.

I only knew his name because China had put me in the wedding party group chat.

Has anybody seen Malcolm?

Another message followed.

He’s not answering his phone.

Then:

We are supposed to leave for pictures in twenty minutes.

My smile grew. This was just the start. Messages started coming in fast. Someone said Malcolm might be downstairs. Someone else said they’d checked the bar. His father said he hadn’t seen him since breakfast.

China finally responded.

He’s probably asleep. Somebody go bang on his door.

I glanced at the wall. Poor China.

She still thought every problem could be fixed just by telling someone to handle it. I grabbed my clutch, paused, and glanced at the knife.

I didn’t need it at the moment. China was already surrounded by a dozen people and a photographer.

Even so, I tucked a smaller blade into the hidden pocket of my dress. Being prepared never hurt anyone, well, except Warren and Malcolm. I let out a quiet laugh and headed next door.

As soon as I walked in, the room burst into excitement. China turned away from the mirror.

Her eyes grew wide.

“Milan.”

I glanced down at my dress.

“What?”

“You look incredible.”

I smiled back.

“Thank you.”

Sierra whistled.

“If Malcolm had met you first, China might be in trouble.”

Suddenly, the room fell silent. Sierra’s face changed right away.

“Oh, shit.”