“Tonight? What’s tonight?” Daria asks.
“Oh,” Honey shrieks again. “I know what it is.”
“What?” we all demand.
“He’s going to take you to Pandemonium.”
Pandemonium. I mouth the word. I’ve heard it before, at Inferno.
“Where’s that?” Daria asks.
“It’s an event, not a place,” Honey explains. She glances at Angel as if for confirmation, but the dancer is conspicuously silent. “This year, it’s at Club Empire. It’s a big private party. Typically a masquerade for the kinkiest elite of New Rome. Rumor has it Senator Nero attends. And Rex Roy.”
“Who’s Rex Roy?” I ask. The name sounds familiar, but I can’t remember where I’ve heard it.
“You don’t know who Rex Roy is?” Honey turns wide eyes to me. “The billionaire?
“Oh, right.” Now I remember. He’s one of the richest men in the nation. I’ve seen him in the newspapers and on TV. “Of course, I know him. He and I had tea with the queen just last Thursday.”
“Stop.” Honey throws a pillow at me and rises with dignity. “I need to powder my nose.”
I point her to the nearest bathroom, but she waves me off and heads for my and Jaeger’s bedroom so she can use that. She’s taking advantage of my offer to snoop.
The second the door closes behind Honey, Daria leans in. “Listen, Elodie, you need to be careful.”
Her hushed tone makes me frown. “What?”
“Honey thinks this is a fantasy world. Intrigue, danger… she has stars in her eyes. She’s young.”
“You’re young,” I point out, even as I note that the shadows under her eyes look deeper. I look up at Angel, who still hasn’t said a word. “We’re all young.”
“She doesn’t understand,” Daria says. “This shit is real. Just… be careful.”
I bite my lip. If Daria could see the contents of my thoughts, she’d know I’m worried.
Jaeger’s been careful to show me a fantasy world consisting of long days in his penthouse watching rom-coms along with expensive clothes and a sexy car. But I know there’s another side to his life, a dark side, that pays for all this luxury. He’s shown me some of that too—Inferno, his errand to the church, Father Francis, Kaiser. And he’s shared his past.
I’ve tried to ignore Jaeger’s mafia side, but it’s becoming impossible. I feel like a frog in a pot, slowly being boiled. I’m afraid I’ll wake up one day and know everything. Jaeger will pull me into his dark underworld, and I won’t be strong enough to survive the monsters that lurk there.
I might be paranoid, but I have a growing premonition that the dreaded moment is soon. I’m running out of time to figure out how to escape.
The way I’m out-of-my-mind horny from his edging doesn’t help.
I cross my legs, ignoring the way my clit cries out for more contact and nod. “I will,” I promise her quietly, just before Honey returns from the bathroom to sit back down.
Daria gives me a troubled look but changes the subject. Her warning stays with me. I do need to be careful if I’m stepping into Jaeger’s world.
The trouble is, I’m not the one in control.
As if on cue, there’s a knock on the front door before it swings open. Jaeger steps in, nodding to us.
“Ladies,” he greets us. “Having a good time?”
My friends reply, Honey more enthusiastically than Angel or Daria.
“Excellent.” He turns his wolfish grin on me, and I freeze in the middle of reaching for my coffee mug. “Please excuse me and Elodie for a moment.” He swings me into his arms and heads toward the bedroom.
“Um, be right back,” I call to my friends.
