I half ran, half walked until I came to a pub and slipped inside. I figured I could position myself at the bar so that I could keep my eyes on the door. If the fake cop came in, he wouldn’t dare try anything in here since it was so public.

And, even if he did, I had my collapsible baton—something my Navy SEAL uncle had given me for my birthday. I’d tucked it into the inside pocket of my shirt as an afterthought, and now I was happy I’d had the foresight. I had no interest in using it, but at least I could brandish it to scare him if he got too close.

And if things really got shaky, I’d just call 911. Hopefully someone other than the useless cop I’d met out on the street a few minutes ago would come to my rescue. I was hoping that it wouldn’t come to that, but I was ready to do whatever I had to do to make sure I didn’t end up as a statistic on one of the wildest nights of the year.

I glanced around the bar. It was crowded, but nowhere near as bad as Simone’s party had been…though the costumes were possibly worse. Most of these people looked like they’d put in as much or less effort into their costumes than me.

There were lots of cheap masks, most of them hiked up on top of people’s heads so that they could drink and woof down bar popcorn. One guy was wearing a lot of face paint, but hell if I knew what the angry red circles all over his face meant.

Is he like…a chicken pox sufferer, or…?

The bartender came up and sat a glass of water in front of me. “You’re going to have to up your game if you want to win the contest. And there are some pretty good prizes on the table.”

I frowned at him. “Contest?”

A second later, an announcement blared over a loudspeaker. “I hope everyone’s ready to strut their stuff for tonight’s Halloween costume party! Remember, first prize is a night of drinks on us—well drinks only—second prize is a twenty-dollar MetroCard, and third prize is an MTA bus schedule signed by the mayor.”

There were a bunch of groans.

“Get ready to make tonight a spooky good time!”

I saw that there was a small stage at the back where the inebriated MC was staging the contest. There was a jack-o-lantern that looked like it had been carved in haste, and he was busy hanging a fake bat from a single nail on the wall.

When he was done, several sexy kittens went walking on stage to tepid applause. They did a little dance to an obscure rock ballad and then walked off the stage and went straight to the bar to order shots.

Next up was a cute couple dressed up as ketchup and mustard. They received a more enthusiastic reaction, especially when they started doing what looked like the cha-cha.

“Bizarre” doesn’t even begin to describe tonight. I’ll never second-guess my desire to stay in for the night ever again.

“Hey, good-looking!” An obnoxious, sweaty man in a weak plastic Superman costume had landed on the barstool next to me. “You look like you’re wanting a little company. Lucky for you, I’m up to the challenge.”

“Leave her alone, Scotty,” the bartender said. “She’s not your Lois Lane.”

Scotty threw up his hands in apology, got up, and sat down next to one of the sexy kittens who hissed at him until he left.

The bartender sat a shot in front of me. “On the house, on account of that twerp.” Then in the next breath, “So, I go on break in a few minutes… Want to hook up out back? There’s an awning we can use for privacy.”

Grossed out, I left the bar, wondering once again if this night could possibly get any worse. At least I’d been smart enough not to accept the shot. Who knew what might’ve been in it?

I paused by the exit and looked up and down the dimly lit street, searching for any sign of the fake cop. When I didn’t see him, I relaxed a little. Maybe I’d actually given him the slip.

I smiled at my triumph. Tonight had been strange, but the train station wasn’t far from here, and that meant my night from hell was nearly over. I could head home now without worry.

As I moved through the still-packed streets, I spotted someone coming toward me dressed as a werewolf. I was about to circle around him—I’d had enough of werewolves tonight—when I noticed the gold sparkling eyes.

I stopped short. “Wait a minute…Harley?”