Page 108 of A Vicious Love

His smile thinned. Good, fuck off.

Marcel stepped between the moment and murder. “Weston, Conrad asked for you near the bar.”

Weston did not look away from me for another second.

“Enjoy your night.” he smiled at Sienna.

She nodded. “You too.”

He walked off, slowly… as if he had all the time in the world.

He didn’t.

The rest of the party moved around us, but the night had changed shape. I drank more after that. Enough for the harbour lights to blur slightly at the edges while everything important stayed viciously clear.

Sienna stayed near Emmie.

I stayed near whiskey.

Men did business around me because men always did business around power, even when power was half-drunk. There were discussions about port fees.

A licensing exchange. A quiet threat from Marcel to a shipping heir who had gotten too close to Harrington accounts.

Harrison baited me twice and backed off both times, which meant he was more worried than amused.

Weston kept looking. Sienna kept pretending she didn’t notice. Her dress pulled eyes all night. Men looked and looked away when they remembered whose shadow she stood near.

Except Weston. That fucker just smiled and kept his eyes pinned on Sienna when she didn’t realize..

By the time the event thinned and the ocean had gone fully black beyond the deck, I had made my decision.

I wanted her out of the room. I walked to where she stood with Emmie near the rail.

“Sienna.”

She turned.

“Yes?”

“I’m taking you home.”

Emmie’s eyes narrowed. “She came with us.”

“I know.”

Sienna looked at Emmie, then back at me. “It’s okay.”

Emmie touched her wrist. “You don’t have to.”

Sienna gave her a small smile. “I know.”

Marcel appeared beside Emmie and looked at me with a warning.

“You’ve been drinking.”

“I have a driver.”

“That isn’t the only concern.”