His coat was a little too nice in comparison to those around him, but he had intentionally ripped a sleeve to make it look older. The line was a little too straight. His shoes were purposefully covered in dirt, not a single scuff present underneath the thin layer. His eyes stayed alert as he watched the other players. She wasn’t sure who he was in the city, but he was someone with money and a position. He held himself with far too much confidence not to have a role that fit that. He was her best bet.
She waited until he excused himself from the tables, and once he ordered a drink, she moved towards the bar. A spot opened near him, and she gracefully sat, crossing her ankles together even as her skirt shifted to lay across her mid thighs. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, but she pretended not to notice.
When the bartender reached her, she motioned to the man’s drink and said, “I’ll have one of whatever he’s having.”
“That’s a stout drink, girl, are you sure?” The man asked, now looking at her with open curiosity.
She smiled at him, attempting to charm him in a way she wasn’t sure she was capable of. She shrugged as delicately as she could. “I think I’d like to try it.”
“Suit yourself.” He went back to his drink, and she kicked herself for losing his attention.
Unfortunately, all of her training had to do with forcefully making men talk, or leaving them where they could never talk again. Neither option worked here. She needed tocharmhim into talking. How on earth did one do that? Carver was great at charming people. She could figure it out.
When her drink was placed in front of her, she took a sip and managed to avoid a grimace. It wasn’t good. But she wouldn’t let anyone else know that. With another sip, she asked, “You in town for the festival?” Keeping her tone as bouncy as she possibly could. Bouncy was the best word she could think of for how Reese managed her conquests. It didn’t come easily to Clara.
He turned towards her, and she congratulated herself for having gained his full attention. His eyes roved over her, and she couldn’t stop the flare in her chest that insisted she should stab his eyes out. “I’m one of the organizers of the festival.” He said, practically puffing his chest out as he continued to stare at her.
“No,” she gaped at him, channeling whatever stupid inner school girl she could find. “That’s amazing. Then I bet you know where all the best spots are.”
He took another sip of his drink, eyes never leaving her body. “It’s my job to create the best spots.”
“What’s your proudest creation?” She concluded the question with another sip of the terrible liquid she held. It took everything inside of her not to gag, but she was where she needed to be.
He leaned over, intruding into her space to whisper the answer. “The creatures we’ve created. I’m sure you’ve heard the rumors.”
She let her jaw drop as though she was insanely impressed. “Those aren’t just rumors?”
He shook his head, a smile settling on his face. She felt a chill run down her spine and didn’t want to know what he had created. It couldn’t be good. “I could give you a special tour if you want.” His voice was still low, words murmured directly in her ear. His sticky breath made the bar feel smaller and more overwhelming. She reminded herself it was a game, and he was giving her exactly what she wanted.
She took another sip of her drink as his hand reached out to stroke lightly across her thigh. Her skin crawled. She could stab him. She was all too aware of the daggers she had strapped high under her skirt, and the small one she kept against her side. She couldn’t do that. She knew that. As much as she wanted to, she couldn’t. She wouldn’t. “What exactly,” she dropped her voice, now leaning closer to him, “Does a special tour entail?”
“They’re in their cages for the night. I could take you and explain to you every single one.”
She breathed out as though heavily impressed, “That would be incredible.”
His hand moved a little higher, his thumb rubbing her skin. If there wasn’t a purpose she would have decked him. If she hadn’t needed to see the labs she would put a knife in him right now. But she knew what was at stake.
“Why don’t we finish our drinks and then we can go?” He looked at her like he was winning a prize. It would be fun to let him know he was, in fact, not that charming. She could go with him, get the information she needed, and then leave him in an alley somewhere. No witnesses, no one to miss him. She doubted he had anyone who would truly miss him anyway.
34CARVER
Carver woke in time to see the door closing. He changed quickly, counting to ten in his head, before he opened the door to follow her out. Hopefully, she wasn’t stupid enough to try and explore the city on her own. But knowing Clara, he couldn’t guarantee that would be the case.
Sure enough, she slipped out of the building, walking down a couple alleyways as she surveyed her surroundings. He stayed far enough back that she wouldn’t notice him, blending into the shadows and avoiding the very drunk men that almost stumbled into him.
He watched as she stood outside of a massive bar. Loud music and bright lights flared inside. She didn’t hesitate for long before she was inside. He didn’t want to follow her in directly. That would be too obvious. He needed to protect her without further infuriating her. Dealing with another bout of her anger was more than he could take tonight. He might be tempted to do something stupid like tell her why he was trying so hard to protect her.
He waited for a few minutes, apparently long enough for one of the girls to notice him standing there. She draped her armover his shoulder, “You look like you could use some company.” Her voice was sickeningly sweet.
He carefully removed her arm, “Actually, I’m good, but thank you.”
She pouted at him, “Not up for a little bit of fun?” The beads across her cropped top swished as she reached out to touch him again.
He caught her wrist, pulling her arm down before she could reach him. “Not tonight.”
“Are you sure? I’ll make it well worth your while.” She didn’t bother disguising her meaning as she angled her body towards him.
“I’m sure you would. I’m actually meeting someone inside. Thank you.” He quickly walked into the bar before she had a chance to recover and try a different tactic.
