She didn’t like those rules, but it’s what would be expected of her if she were really here as a worker and nothing more. If she asks too much, if she talks too much, it’ll be suspicious.
“Are you going to be able to handle that?” I ask skeptically.
Carefully, to avoid ruining her curled hair, she places her mask on her face. “Only if you ask the right questions.”
“Mama,” I growl.
“Relax,” she says with a chuckle. “I’ll be your obedient little servant.”
I raise my hand, tuck my fingers around her chin, and bring her face to mine. Gently, I press a kiss to her lips. “Good girl,” I murmur against them.
I don’t miss her shiver.
I let her go, and together we get out of the car. As we both begin walking side by side, I want nothing more than to grab her hand and yank her back to the car, but instead, I tuck it into the crook of my arm and guide her through the parked cars.
Even from where we are, I can hear the water knock against the docks. The full autumn moon does a better job of lighting our path through the parked cars than the street lamps provide, but up ahead, surrounding the party, are blazing blue and purple fires that make those there wearing sparkles on their dresses reflect. Some are talking by the fires to get warm instead of going into the boathouses. It’s easier to have a private conversation outside than it is inside.
Once we reach the head of the party where we’re to enter, I nearly stop in my tracks.
“How the hell am I going to get through the detectors?” she hisses.
I start my way to it even though everything screams at me to turn us around and leave, but my feet aren’t getting the memo. If we leave, if we never show up, it’ll get back to him, and we’ll be in deep shit. If we go through with it, and they find the tracker on her shoe, we’re going to be in deep shit. Either way, we’re fucked.
“Stay calm,” I whisper to her as we get in line behind a couple in masks. The woman’s perfume shoves its way up my nose, and I flare my nostrils, both at the offending smell and the situation we now find ourselves in.
They go through the detectors, and Charlie’s hand tightens on my arm. I glance down at her, searching her body for a way out of this like it has all the answers. I have to protect her. I have to keep her safe, and I –
“You made it!” an annoyingly familiar voice hollers, but at this moment, I’m grateful to hear it.
The woman in front of us sets off the detector at the same time as I lift my gaze and find Andre making his way over with a swagger in his step. Like me, he’s not wearing a mask. He walks right past the detectors, wraps an arm around my shoulders like we’re friends, and steers us past the couple who are now complaining that they have to leave their phones behind.
Relief washes over me, and I look down at Charlie, who is still tucked into my arm. Her tense shoulders relax. She spares the detectors one last look before she strides forward with us into the outside party.
“I didn’t honestly think you two would show since you’re an item now.”
I slam my gaze back to his, but his eyes are forward, and he’s wearing a malicious grin.
“Yes, I was told. I was also told to keep an eye on you two to make sure you don’t make it obvious.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” I growl.
He rolls his eyes. “She’s still our property, Nixie.” My body goes rigid at that nickname because the last person who called me that . . . she got a bullet between her eyes. This can only mean one thing: He knows I killed the IT girl.
He grins at his hint and continues, “If someone wants her for the night, they’ll have her.”
The fucker always knows the right thing to say to piss me the hell off. I have half a mind to see how much his nose bleeds if I smash my forehead into it. Over my dead body will anyone touch her, and if they try, it’ll be theirs I step over.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Charlotte Mitchell
Ican see the anger roll off Nix in waves, but Andre seems to act oblivious to it. He guides us to a ring with purple fire, removes his arm from Nix’s shoulder, and warms his hand over the unnatural flames.
I survey the boathouses, noting how much money had to have been poured into them, how much wealth is on this side of the river. It’s so isolated here that it makes me wonder what kind of things happen inside these boathouses that the rest of the world doesn’t know about. They certainly don’t know that there are predators chatting just behind me, and based on a quick look into the nearest boathouse windows, they certainly don’t know that they’re also getting wasted inside.
Outside, it may be calm and full of hushed conversations, but inside, I can hear great laughter and piano music fitting for the rich. Is there anyone famous in there? Howdeep does this operation go? How well-known are their clients? Who is behind the masks?
I swivel my attention to those beside us at the next fire pit. The four of them are passing around a gold pipe, and the stench of burnt plastic reaches my nose past the sting of the fire’s smoke.Cocaine. That can’t be the only drug going around tonight, but Andre and Nix are completely unfazed by it. I try to keep what’s visible of my face neutral and zero back on the purple flames to gather myself back together.
