She lifted a handful of bubbles and blew, sending several fluttering down around my face.
This time, Lee gasped, but he was looking at the drinks. “They haveGout de Diamant.” He almost looked embarrassed to have been caught in such genuine excitement. “Most expensive champagne in the world.”
I fought off a chuckle; much as I tried to stay irritated with him, there was something genuine that filtered out sometimes.
“I’m really more of a beer or rum guy myself.”
“Clearly,” Lee said, bending down to look at the bottle stacked in the back row, away from guests’ reach. “The price is mostly absorbed from the bottle itself. Could taste like shit for all we know.” Still, he stared.
“You want to try it, don’t you?” I asked.
“I can’t deny I’ve been curious.” Lee looked physically pained to decline when the showgirl offered to signal the bartender. “Another time.”
We stepped to the side—grateful at least, we hadn’t been clocked as outsiders yet. I kept looking back at the dragon, to the displays, and back again.
“I have a plan,” I announced, facing Lee. “I dunno if it’s agreatplan, but it should cause enough of a stir to get every single security operative in this sectionhere.”
Lee folded his arms over his chest. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
I offered him my most approachable smile, squeezing his shoulder. “I need you to get yourself punched in the face.”
12
Sylvia
Iheld my breath as Cliff walked straight past the small hallway that branched into the security room. After staring at the blueprints of the hotel for so long, I felt as though I’d navigated this area a dozen times already.
But no amount of mapping or warnings could prepare me for how tight security would be. We’d have to double back to the security booth after Eros was dead, but it wouldn’t be easy. Guards would have to die too if they didn’t surrender. And here I had hoped that revealing myself would be the most difficult part.
Focus.
Eros was within reach. I fidgeted in Cliff’s palms, shivering at the thought of what that terrible man was responsible for. One of the many recurring images from my nightmares dwelled within the church basement in Louisiana: the charred room and stacked cages. At last, I confirmedwhythose bars had been made of iron.
Cliff might be weaponless now, but I pictured him getting his hands on a guard’s gun to put an end to a man who had beenacquiringmy people through beastly hunters like Rhett.
Maybe I could strike the final blow alongside him. It couldn't be long now.
“You okay?” Cliff whispered.
A cold, light fog was billowing from my skin, turning his hand pink. Nodding, I forced the murderous look off my face and sat primly. The waiting room we were herded into was small but furnished with a stocked bar cart and plush sofas that looked like they’d barely been touched.
Amidst the luxuries, there were more industrial touches. A metallic door with a strip curtain stood halfway open across the room, leading to a small lot outside. A few men were transporting covered glass cases of different sizes through the door. It seemed Eros really had been planning to wrap up for the evening. My stomach churned as I glimpsed a tank crammed with a muzzled siren being wheeled away.
Only one cloth-covered tank remained upon a sturdy, handsomely carved wooden table against the wall. The appraiser snapped his fingers at a worker who was preparing to take the final tank.
“Leave it.” The appraiser’s eyes slid toward me. “Eros will likely require it.”
“Morethan likely,” Cliff said smoothly.
I stared at my lap, certain I’d lose my cool if I looked at Cliff or the tank. We needed him to play his part for this to work, but a part of me began to resent howgoodhe was at playing the villain.
“Have a seat and help yourself to the amenities,” the appraiser said, his voice still sour as he rubbed the back of his right hand. “I’ll fetch Eros and explain the special circumstances.”
He briskly exited to the lot after stationing a guard at both of the doors in the room. Only then did I allow myself to fully look around again. Cliff approached the table casually enough.
“Stand clear,” the nearest guard said firmly.
But Delilah was the one who took a step closer, her expression carefully composed even while fixated on the covered tank. She slowly lifted a hand, reaching for the cloth.
