He’s not your husband. You don’t owe him anything.
Tomorrow, I’ll suddenly ‘remember’ that I have this chip stuck in my shoulder and ask to get it removed. Then when no one has a way to track me, I’ll disappear.
Club Dark Deeds lives up to its name, the dance floor soars up three stories and the space above it is filled with nets and long lines of silks. Aerial performers spin and dive over the crowds and dazzling rainbows of light play over the walls and multiple bars. The crowd is six deep at each bar as the men and women there race back and forth to fetch drinks. They’re dressed as devils and angels, there’s a few demons serving drinks in the crowd and some fairies dancing on top of tables around the perimeter, their glittering wings happily flapping with their movements.
Cameron is taking me through the crowd, a possessive arm around my waist and I almost trip over my high heels as I try to take it all in.
“This is incredible!” I say, stumbling against him.
“I’m glad you’re enjoyin’ it,” he says, giving me a quick, careless kiss that makes my heart ache. “I’m taking you up to the VIP section, you’ll have a view of everything from there.”
We rise in a glass elevator, and I put my feet together when I realize the floor is transparent, too. “What do we call this, double duty liftandupskirt view?”
He frowns as he looks down to see several eyes gazing up. “You are correct, wife. That will be taken care of immediately.”
“It’s nice to know I’m good for something.” I don’t hide my bitterness well enough and I see him frown before turning to look out over the crowd.
“Morana! What do you think?”
Mala’s heading for me with a huge grin. She leans in as if she intends to give me the traditional Russian three-kiss greeting, but pulls back when she sees my shoulders curl in. I can’t bear her fake warmth. I feel foolish enough thinking that any of these people wanted me here.
“It’s… something,” I agree. One of the shirtless male aerial performers swinging next to the balcony winks at me.
“Come sit down, darlin’ I’ll walk you around on a little tour in a moment.” Cameron leads me over to a sectional, a butter-soft blue suede that’s surrounded by beautiful little chandeliers dripping with colorful crystals. They give the feeling of being enclosed within them, an illusion of intimacy.
The illusion. That’s something I can relate to.
“How have you been?” Mala asks, handing me a glass of champagne. She’s wearing a gorgeous red dress with a beaded halter top and Cormac is hovering over her protectively. “I was so excited to see you tonight. I don’t get out much with our twins being the wild animals they are. Something they picked up from their father.”
She laughs as he leans down to kiss her, and my heart hurts. The connection between these two is palpable. I can feel the love they have for each other. I’d allowed myself the slightest hope that maybe I could build that with Cameron. I’m a fool. I put on my bright social smile and listen to her complain good-naturedly about how much candy Catriona and Michael get from their uncles.
“It sounds like you are not to be trusted,” I smile sweetly at Cameron. He smiles back, but for one moment, his eyes are sad.
The men leave for a while to keep an eye on the opening and shake a few hands. “Don’t you need to be mingling, too?” I ask. “You’re the queen of the clan, aren’t you?”
“Oh, god don’t say it like that!” Mala shudders. “I’m American. That all sounds so weird to me. Sometimes, I have to be with Cormac and make the rounds, but he spares me whenever he can. Now, how are you settling in? I heard you got the royal invitation to Sunday dinner.”
“Are Cameron’s parents officially a Lord and a Lady?”
“They are,” she nods, “but even if they weren’t, we’d still call Elspeth that. She’s definitely more suited as Queen of the MacTavish Clan than I am.”
It’s 9:55. Draining another glass of champagne, I stand, looking for the hall for the bathrooms.
“Oh, do you need the ladies’ room?” Mala stands, too. “There’s a private one for the owners, I’ll show you if you-”
“No need,” I cut her off with a tight smile, “but thanks.”
As soon as I head in the right direction, I groan. Natalia, my unfriendly shadow is right behind me. I don’t know how I’m going to pull this off. She opens the bathroom door, checks inside quickly, and moves aside for me. When I move to close the door, she puts a foot in the way.
“I’ve got it from here, thanks,” I raise an eyebrow, “or do you just want to make sure I wipe?”
As expected, her face scrunches in disgust and she steps back.
Shutting the door with a sigh, I look around. It’s empty.
There’s a knock on the door, and I roll my eyes, opening it. “Natalia, give me a-”
Artim grabs me by the arm, sticking his pistol in my ribs, half-hidden by his jacket. My bodyguard is between two other men, a gun jammed in the small of her back.“Svoloch',you bastard!” I hiss, “Of course, you’d be a lying piece of garbage.”
