I shook my head. Between my library sciences degree and my time working at the library, it was a tool I’d used often. “I’m fine on that front.”
“And for you.” She offered over the coffee, which I accepted gratefully. My three favorite things in the world were coffee, cats, and books, and I’d been sorely missing all three. Despite being able to find meals in the kitchen, I hadn’t figured out how to use a lot of the fancy-ass equipment, like the coffee maker, and I didn’t want to risk breaking anything.
“Thank you,” I said, clutching the warm paper cup close. I took a sip, and the sweet, creamy coffee coursed through my veins like sunlight. “Damn, where did you get this from?”
“Downstairs. The café in the casino,” she said. “Which is where we’ll be heading for this meeting.”
Excitement prickled through my veins. “You trust me out on the floor like that?”
She lifted a brow. “Planning on running? You won’t get far.”
Her words were cryptic, but I had to remember she was a witch. Chances were, she had a spell in place I wasn’t even aware of. Locator spells were a dime a dozen in that community, so she’d probably popped a witchy LoJack on me. The chance to go downstairs shot pure adrenaline through my veins. Even though I was stuck inside the Spires, this offered the chance for something different, and I’d cling to it.
The elevator lay at the end of the corridor, the bane of my existence up until now, because I’d stared at the way to my freedom while being blocked from it. Amelia snagged a key card from her pocket and held it in front of the fob. A green light blinked on, and the elevator doors opened. When we got into the elevator, she used her fingerprint on a pad, and then the buttons with the floors lit up. I locked every detail into my memory.
So even if I stole the card, I’d still need a fingerprint to escape. Damnit.
The elevator moved with awhoosh, and giddiness soared through me at getting to escape the confines of the upper areas of the Spires, even if I was still trapped in this casino. Amelia passed over the laptop bag, and I slung it over my shoulder.
“Needed coffee that badly?” she commented, a slight smirk on her lips. She might be my father’s age, but she was far sharper than him—probably far more dangerous too.
“Absolutely. Would it be possible for someone to show me how to use the contraption in the kitchen?” I took another delicious sip, savoring it.
“Of course. Damn, we really didn’t know what to do with you,” she murmured. “Trust me, we haven’t had a personal assistant in a long while.”
“Why now?” I asked.
Amelia’s gaze darkened. “Suppose Cillian’s changed his mind.”
“On what?”
The elevator doors opened, but instead of answering, Amelia left me with more questions. Of course. That seemed to be the modus operandi of everyone here. I should be annoyed, but the burst of color and general hubbub around the casino stole my attention. Even this early in the morning, people were standing by the slots, gambling their life savings away, humans and monsters alike. Had my father been gambling? Did he have debt? Or had he been charged for something he didn’t do?
I’d tried to ask via text, but he’d just stated he was unfairly accused. What for, he hadn’t clarified. With the number of cryptic answers I’d received over the last week, I was desperate for any clarity.
“Over here,” Amelia said, leading me past the high-roller tables. There weren’t too many patrons clustering around them at this time of day, but the dim lighting from frosted sconces, the rich red and yellow carpeting, and the polished mahogany tables and detail all created a lush picture. Far different from the overly black décor in Cillian’s “lair.”
Amelia bypassed the room for an ornate door in the back right corner. When she tugged it open, a huge official-looking room stretched out before us, just as rich as the high-roller area and with more of the same motifs. This room had bookshelves filled with old leatherbound books along the wall, though, and brass fixtures that glowed under the yellowed lighting. Runes I recognized as demonic from the books I’d read were painted along the wall in decoration, though I didn’t have a hope of deciphering their meaning.
“Cillian will be sitting here,” she said, gesturing to the head of the table, as per usual. I withheld my eye roll as she gestured to the seat next to him. “And you’ll be there, mostly because it’ll piss off Chadwick.”
I arched a brow. “There’s someone actually named Chadwick?”
She shrugged. “Who can fathom the whims of the wealthy?”
“Ah, my assistant’s arrived before me?” The rich voice sent a shock of electricity through me, and I looked up to see none other than the asshole in charge.
Cillian was in full boss mode again today, a gleam to his obsidian horns, and his suit a tailored charcoal one that fit him like a glove. Everything he wore accentuated how large he was, and a shiver rolled down my spine again. His jaw was sharp anddefined, his dark brows wicked, and his black hair was tamed and swept to the side. Even in the genteel clothes he wore, there was no denying the man’s predatorial nature, and I could guarantee even this shareholder meeting would be interesting.
“I take my work seriously,” I responded, looking him in the eyes and lifting my chin. I couldn’t afford to show this asshole weakness.
A slow smile curled his lips, the sort that made my gut simmer. Those fangs poked out again, and I straightened, irritation welling inside me. The man might be gorgeous, but I wasn’t swayed when it came to arrogant pricks. I’d dealt with them my whole life, and he was just another to toss onto the stack.
“Good,” he said, his voice low and sensual. “I’m looking forward to putting you to work.”
Fuck him. Even as my anger flared, the pulse in my groin was undeniable. Because as much as I hated it, I had my own secret fantasies, ones I’d never admit to. Ones I wasn’t sure I even wanted fulfilled. I sucked in a sharp breath.
This was my captor.
