“Nothing’s changed,” Violet added, looking at me. “We stick to the plan. We…youtalk to people, ask around until we find out who he is.”
I let my eyes sweep the room again, scanning past masks, glittering dresses, and clusters of murmuring guests. Everyone was gravitating towards the stage, almost every single sofa already occupied.
“Then we’d better get started.”
Chapter 53
Violet
“I have an idea,” I whispered, lowering my head as we slipped through the crowd.
The whole party felt unreal, with people crawling on all fours being steered by their leashes and a handful of women had men kneeling at their feet. The space was overwhelmingly male, but the closer we moved toward the stage, the more women I noticed, laughing, relaxed, chatting with an ease and autonomy I apparently didn’t share.
“Let’s hear it,” Ryder said, always keeping himself a step ahead, angling his body just enough to shield me from wandering eyes. “Because if it was up to me, we’d be leaving.”
I flicked a glance toward the entrance, to the man stationed just off to the side. I’d been watching him for a while, seeing him talking into a headset, checking off names on a clipboard before disappearing through a door tucked behind him after every new guest. “How do you feel about stealing?” I asked lowly.
Ryder’s head tilted. “Is that a trick question?”
My gaze followed the man as he stiffened his posture and hugged the clipboard to his chest, doing another slowsweep of the perimeter. “You see that guy?” I gave the slightest nod toward him. “Behind him is a door he keeps slipping through. Every time someone arrives, he goes back there.”
Ryder’s attention sharpened. “I’ve noticed, but don’t think whatever’s behind that door is worth the risk of us separating.”
“What if,” I said, lowering my voice as the crowd’s noise swelled, “that’s where they’re keeping the guest list? Credentials… maybe even the keycards for those locked rooms at the back?”
Ryder scanned the entrance again, jaw flexing. “I think this is a bad idea. I’m not leaving your side, that was the deal.”
“This is literally what you do for a living,” I whispered, forcing myself to look away when I felt eyes lingering on me. Ryder shifted instantly, stepping closer so his taller frame swallowed mine from view.
“Iplan, blondie,” he muttered. “I prep. I don’t just decide to break into some back room on impulse in the middle of a party full of weird fucking people.”
“So you’re telling me you don’t think you can do it?” I baited, knowing I was pushing him.
But I was desperate. The man hunting my mum was in this room, breathing the same air, closing in. We needed something. Anything. Because I was out of ideas, and I was tired of running.
Ryder growled like he absolutely didnotappreciate the comment. “Unbelievable,” he murmured. “You’re going to be the reason I get wrinkles.”
“You already have wrinkles.”
His head dipped closer, his body crowding mine in a way that looked possessive to anyone watching. His hand came up to encircle my throat. “Keep testing me, blondie,”he said, voice a low rasp behind the mask.
My pulse kicked hard beneath his fingers. Then his grip shifted, angling my head subtly toward the entrance.
“Your guy just moved.”
The man with the clipboard stepped away from the entrance again, disappearing through the door.
Ryder’s hand slipped from my throat to the small of my back, steady and sure. “Listen carefully,” he said, his mask brushing my ear. “You’re going to put yourself against that wall, head down. Don’t speak to anyone. Not a word.”
“But—”
“No.” His voice dropped into a dangerous growl as he guided me backwards. He planted me firmly in the corner, shielding me with his body. “I want it on record that I think this is a stupid idea,” he said, “but I also know that if I say no, you’ll just do it anyway.”
I wanted to protest, but he was right. Instead, I tipped my head up, only for him to pinch my chin and draw it back down. It was maddening not being able to see his expression behind the mask, but I didn’t need to. I could feel the anger radiating off him.
“Stay,” he ordered. “Do not move from this spot.”
“Ryder—”
