I patted his shoulder and gave him a wry grin. “Lonely people need love?”
He sat down on a bench. “I would have interchanged treachery and greed.”
“You mean they aren’t the same?” I quipped, sitting beside him. “You wanted to prove that this has nothing to do with good or evil. If your theory has merit, then it won’t matter which of the nine I selected.”
“All in good fun,” he replied.
After a few minutes of people coming and going, voices within the rooms grew louder. One woman stormed out of the lust room, her lips pressed tight and fists clenched. A man wandered out shortly afterward, a scarlet mark across his alabaster cheek.
Serves you right for treating her like a piece of meat,I thought.
“Feels good, doesn’t it?” my partner in crime asked.
“What? Being bad?”
He leaned forward and held my gaze. “No. To be free.”
“Switching a few lights hardly makes a person free.”
“There’s a light in every situation. You can’t switch those lights when you’re busy following rules.”
“Are you sure you didn’t drink the heresy? You seem to like anarchy.”
“That would imply I enjoy negative outcomes. Believe it or not, good things can come out of chaos. Life can arise from death, just as death can arise from life.” He jerked his head at the room. “One of those lonely men in there might connect with a woman who fills the void in his life.”
That was probably why I’d selected the most innocuous combination.
“That’s a pretty necklace,” he said. “A gift?”
I glanced down at the red heart dangling from my neck. It swung from the silver chain in a forward motion. “Not really. I needed costume jewelry for a thing I had to attend, so someone gave it to me.” I stood up and put on my grey trench coat, wishing I’d worn the leather jacket instead since it was easier to carry.
“Can I have your number?” he asked again, rising to face me.
I smiled playfully. “Let’s keep it simple.”
He inclined his head, amusement dancing in his eyes. Then he reached out and held my pendant between his fingers. “Who gave you this heart? Someone you loved?”
“No. Just my partner.”
“Your partner is a man of considerable wealth.”
“It’s not real.”
“This is a Burmese ruby of the finest quality. It’s a one of a kind and worth millions. The last time I saw it was at an auction in 1932.”
My breath caught.
He winked and let go. “How’s that for a little chaos? Have fun with your newfound knowledge, Butterfly.”
As I watched him disappear into the crowd, I felt the heat from the ruby burning against my chest like a fiery stone.
Chapter 5
After the revelationregarding the alleged value of my necklace, I tucked it inside my shirt. Odds were my mischievous friend was messing with my head to further his theory, and that specialty drink had done me no favors. It had altered my mood, though it wasn’t so strong that I couldn’t control my actions. Maybe that was why I’d participated in his game, whereas any other night I might have blown him off.
I was beginning to see the allure of all the club drinks.
After I left Club Nine and made it back to Keystone, I went into the dining room to find empty pizza boxes stacked on the table. One had leftovers inside and a note with my name taped to the box.
