He inhaled, held it, and slowly let it out.
“It’s the PDA of it, isn’t it?” Brennon guessed, thankfully giving Rin a believable excuse.
He grabbed at it like a lifeline. “Yes! Public displays of affection aren’t common where I come from and that…He may as well have posted a picture of my bare ass!”
Brennon laughed. “It’s not that extreme. If anything, it’s kind of sweet? In a twisted, shitty he didn’t ask you first, kind of way? I mean, I’ve never seen him show an interest in anyone like this before. At least there’s that, right?”
“You mean maybe he won’t off me or beg his sisters to call off the engagement after all?” Rin drawled.
“Yeah.” Brennon smiled like that should be the most comforting thing Rin had ever heard.
He hated that a small part of himself actually took it that way.
Chapter 20:
Club Vigor was the largest country club in the country, a place where only the richest of the rich were allowed admittance. Which mostly just meant everyone here was either boring or a kiss-ass. Still, it was quiet, and whenever Kelevra needed a break from the limelight—not often, but it happened—the club was his go-to place to wind down away from the flashing lights of paparazzi.
The Devils paid for a private room on the upper level. Sometimes they held official meetings, where Kelevra and his Retinue might congregate with Baikal and his Satellite, the topic of discussion varying in degrees of actual importance.
The last time they’d gone over Kel’s twenty-first birthday party plans, for example.
Fortunately, there was just him and Madden at the moment, the two of them sprawled out on opposite leather couches, Kelevra taking up most of the rectangular coffee table set low between them. He was using the holo-screen feature, notes about the sophomore class case carefully organized into separate piles from most important to only mildly so.
Madden was lying across the length of the other couch, his red and white leather racing jacket open to expose his toned bare chest as he idly tossed a hoover ball up into the air over and over again.
“Are you going to do anything about the recent string of murders?” Madden asked absently.
Kelevra grunted. “Two murders hardly counts as a ‘string’.”
“It’s three now.”
He paused. “Where’d they find the last one?”
“Yesterday,” Madden said. “In the park on Grand. We almost had to call off the race at the docks. Would have been hell to pay.”
Grand Street was close to where the races were held.
“Who’s covering the case?” Kel wondered if he’d been too caught up with his personal plans to have noticed, or if the news was being contained by someone.
“Officer Adair. It’s been listed as a serial murder, but between you and me, they’re not really taking the investigation all that seriously.”
“Why not?” Kelevra switched to a new file of information.
“They were all members of that gang, for one, the Shepherds? And there was talk that they may have been into something super shady.”
“Aren’t we all.” Though it made sense to Kel. Adair was in the Void’s pocket, and the Brumal was experiencing some issues with the Shepherds, though he didn’t know all the details. He didn’t care, so long as Baikal kept mafia business from spilling out into the streets.
Madden shrugged. “Just what I heard. You didn’t have anything to do with it?”
“With their deaths? If I had you would have been the first one I called to come clean up the mess.”
“I really wish you’d stop doing that,” he frowned, “we have cleaners for a reason.”
The Imperial family had never been above getting their hands dirty. Kelevra had only ever lost his cool and caused an accident of that magnitude once—or twice—before however. He didn’t make it his mission to go around killing people for the hell of it. He loved blood, sure, but when it was carefully contained and there was no risk of it spraying all over one of his suits.
“Why are you wasting your time on this?” Madden switched topics now that he’d gleaned Kel had nothing to do with it, and glanced over at the information and grunted. “Who cares about this stupid assignment?”
“Why aren’t you wearing a shirt?” Kelevra countered.
