Lost Pup: The Fools' Circus, #1

by Dani Rei

  “I can rest much easier, that’s for sure. I saw how he treated Inez too. Terrible.”

  “Why do you think Rex waited so long to fire him?”

  Celia’s eyes turn upward as she ponders his question. “I think Rex is just so pure-hearted that he can’t bring himself to think badly of people. My daddy was the same way. He had so much faith in the good of this world.”

  Blake bites his tongue, forcing himself to nod as if she were right. Celia’s dad sounds like he was a truly good man. It makes him sick to think Celia could compare him to such a monster. Would it be smart to tell her? Would she even believe him?

  “I wonder about Inez, though,” Celia continues.

  “What do you mean?”

  Celia drops her gaze to the floor, a light blush on her cheeks. “Honestly, I kind of like Allistair. Always have. Something about Inez changing her mind doesn’t sit right with me. If I find out she’s just mooching off the prince, there will be hell to pay.”

  A smirk forms on Blake’s face as he twirls Celia under his arm. “You’re jealous!”

  “No! I’m protective! Allistair can turn me down if he wants to, but I won’t let anyone use him like that.”

  “Well, you can relax. Inez is lying, but probably not for the reasons you’re thinking.”

  “Why then? Whose ass do I need to kick?”

  “I’ll tell you everything as soon as I know. Right now, I’m still trying to get her to tell me what’s going on.”

  “Why would she tell you? She never tells you anything.”

  Blake tightens his lips, and his eyes shift around the ballroom as they move around the dance floor. He forgot that he never told Celia what’s been going on. Her jaw drops as if reading his mind.

  “You’re dating!” she barks. Blake shushes her, and Celia shrinks in her spot, lowering her voice just enough. “What happened?”

  Blake shrugs. “Not sure. She’s just been acting weird. I’m trying to figure out why.”

  “Then what are you dancing with me for, fool? Go get your girl!” Celia spins him around and shoves him away. “And if it doesn’t work, come find me and I’ll nag her myself!”

  He smiles at her over his shoulder, and she winks at him before wandering off toward Knox and Melody.

  You’re the one who’s pure hearted, Celia. Please don’t ever change.

  His smile vanishes when he turns around. He forgot to tell her it isn’t so simple.

  Chapter 32

  I

  t’s hopeless.

  Blake leans against the wall, munching a handful of popcorn piece by piece, watching everyone, including Inez, dance in couples and groups, lost in the music. A few others are scattered around snack and drink tables, but he made a point to stand in a corner away from the whispers that have been following him around the halls.

  Mishkin and Vladik are dancing too, and Blake grins at the sight. They deserve to have fun after dealing with my stupidity. Though it isn’t long before they spot him, exchange looks, and hurry over. Blake hurries to finish the rest of his popcorn before they get to him.

  “What’s going on?” Mishkin asks.

  “Celia knows. And Inez still won’t talk to me.”

  “Right,” says Mishkin, looking up at Vladik. “Plan B, then!”

  Vladik nods, and they shuffle across the dance floor, Vladik dragging Blake by the arm. He lets go in the middle of the dance floor.

  “Wait for the signal!” says Mishkin.

  “Okay, what’s the signal?” Blake asks.

  Mishkin and Vladik scurry off, and Blake throws his arms up at the lack of response.

  He does his best to keep sight of them as they scurry around the other moving bodies. Eventually, he’s able to make out Vladik’s form. He’s about to head over when Mishkin plunges through the crowd, his arm linked with Allistair’s.

  “It’s over here. You have to see what I’m talking about to understand.” Mishkin winks over his shoulder at Blake as he continues to lead Allistair off.

  Blake turns back to Vladik and sees him dancing with Inez. Wait for the signal. Blake shuffles his feet in place, awkwardly bopping along to the music as their dance gets closer. He tries to step around and hide within the crowd so she can’t see him. Vladik catches a glimpse and spins Inez, giving Blake a quick nod.

  Wait, was that the signal? But what do I do? Blake takes a few steps over, waiting, hoping that there will be another cue.

  Inez is smiling when Vladik leans in and whispers something in her ear. Her smile drops to worry before Vladik spins her again. She’s so surprised that she stumbles a bit, and Blake steps over to catch her in his arms.

  “Blake!” she says, pushing him away. “I can’t be here with you. Let me go.”

  “Why not?” Blake holds her waist as gently as possible without letting her get away.

  “I have a boyfriend!”

  “So, dance with me as a friend. It’s not like this is the Midnight Dance. We still have time.”

  Inez stops struggling and stares into space. He runs his fingers through her hair, and Inez seems to melt at his touch.

  “I can’t,” she says, eyes watering. “Please, just leave me alone.”

  Blake locks his eyes onto hers and runs his fingers along her scalp. He finds a swollen spot that feels like a scab and Inez pulls herself away with a whimper.

  He grits his teeth and takes a slow breath. “I knew it. Rex hurt you, didn’t he?”

  “Quiet down! Just stay away from me. I’m fine.”

  “Talk to me, Inez, I’m begging you. If you still want me to leave you alone after that, I will. I just want to know why. Please.”

  Inez trembles in his arms, and her lip quivers. She turns her head to the side, this time with intent rather than to hide. Blake follows her sight line to the far wall where the Fools’ King stands with Victor. He’s rapt in conversation, almost oblivious to the rest of the dance floor.

  Blake’s gaze hardens as the King laughs with his peers, so at peace with his actions, while Inez is left to tremble in his presence. Worse, Victor doesn’t seem fazed either. He’s laughing along, as if his conversation with Blake never happened.

  A hand grabs at Blake’s wrist, and in the blink of an eye, Inez is pulling on his arm, leading him out of the ballroom. They rush through the hall, with only their echoing footsteps breaking the silence until they reach the back door and step out into the frigid October night.

  “Yes, okay? Yes!” Inez shouts, tears pouring down her cheeks. “He hurt me! Rex saw you leave my room, and it pissed him off. That’s why he asked me to meet him, so he could beat it out of me and make me marry Allistair. It still hurts.” She puts a hand over the sore spot on her head, taking short, choppy breaths between her tears. “He made me say those things. He hit me, threw me, threatened me until I agreed. He told me that if I didn’t do what he said, he’d kill you. Kill you, Blake! I hid the blood so you wouldn’t see. How did you know about it?”

  “I touched your face when you came in, remember? I didn’t see the blood on my fingers until after I left. I wanted to comfort you, but you kicked me out.”

  “I’m trying to protect you. We’ll both be safe if you just go along with it.”

  “I can’t do that, and neither can you. Going along with Rex’s plan won’t make either of us happy.”

  “What if it will? Allistair’s a good man. He never forced me to do anything; he wouldn’t even let me kiss him because he knew I was lying.”

  “Wait, really?”

  Inez nods, wiping away tears, only for more to fall immediately. “I didn’t try that much, but I wanted it to be true. I told myself it could be true. I could learn to love him, and it would be okay because I already enjoy his company.”

  “But it didn’t work, did it? Because love doesn’t work that way. It’s not something you can force yourself to learn.”

  “I tried. I stared at my door every night, waiting for a knock. I whispered for Allistair to come in, but I...I always im
agined you. I imagined you coming in, kissing me, holding me in your arms and refusing to let go. And then, I let you into my room, and you did. You held on to me, but I couldn’t give in because I was so afraid. The whole reason I’m here is because everyone I cared about is dead. And when Rex threatened to kill you, I...”

  Inez’s voice trails off into a whimper as she covers her face. Blake puts a hand on her trembling shoulder, carefully, gently, as if his touch could shatter her. “I understand. Thank you for telling me.”

  “Please,” Inez’s voice falters. “For your own safety, stay away from me. You said you would if I told you everything, now go!”

  “You haven’t told me everything.”

  “What else is there?”

  “You haven’t told me what you want.”

  She turns her head to the side, sniffling. “I want you to leave.”

  Blake puts his hand on her jawline and carefully turns her head back to him. Her eyes gaze into his, tears spilling out again.

  “Try that again, Inez. Tell me what you want.”

  Her lip quivers. “I want you to kiss me.”

  A smile spreads on Blake’s face, and he places his lips on hers as gently as possible. Soft and sweet. He wraps his arms around her, and she melts in his embrace, their kisses becoming deeper.

  More and more. Blake quietly begs her not to pull away, but she does, and far too soon.

  “Blake, I mean it when I say I want to be with you. But I can’t let you get hurt for it. I can’t stand to lose anyone else.”

  “Can we at least try to figure something out? I’ll be discreet about it, I’ll lie if I have to, but I don’t want to lose what we have. Nothing will happen to me, I promise.”

  Inez leans her head on his shoulder. “I’m not sure I could live with myself if anything bad happened to you.”

  “And I couldn’t live with myself if I let you go. I love you, Inez. I’ll risk it all if it means I can stay by your side.”

  Inez leaps at his words. Her tears are slowing down, but her breath is still quivering. She drops her eyes to the grass, and her silence is making Blake’s heart race.

  You know, when things seem uncertain, I...

  “Wait for a sign,” Blake whispers as Victor’s voice rings through his mind.

  “What?”

  Blake furrows his brow toward Inez, but his focus is somewhere else. “A gamble.”

  He pulls the handkerchief from his suit pocket and whips out the neat folds. Black fabric with an embroidered red rose surrounded by flames. “Inez.”

  Inez’s jaw drops. “Wh-where did you get that?”

  “I’ve had it this whole time. Right next to my heart.”

  Inez’s tears pour down her cheeks again, and she laughs as if she can’t believe the absurdity of it all.

  “Looks like we have an answer. Must be written in the stars.”

  “Stop.” Inez smiles, but she closes her arms around her chest. “I don’t believe in the stars.”

  “Maybe the stars believe in us. I don’t blame you for being afraid, but I know you’re brave enough to fight for what you want.”

  Inez shakes her head with a smile. “You make me sound so noble. We’re not in a fantasy book, you know. We’re not guaranteed a happy ending just because we fight back.”

  “No, but we aren’t guaranteed a sad one either.”

  Inez shakes her head again, this time frowning. “Please stop. It sounds like you have an answer for everything, but life isn’t so simple. It never has been.”

  Blake lets out a heavy breath, heart sinking. “So we’re done then? Is that really what you want?”

  “It’s not what I want at all. But it’s the safest option.”

  Blake wraps his arms around her, resting his forehead against hers. He takes a deep breath and swallows down the lump in his throat.

  “Alright. You win. I’ll leave you alone. Would one last kiss be okay?”

  With tears in her eyes, Inez presses her lips to his, and he never imagined the sensation could be so heartbreaking. He tightens his grip with one hand stroking her hair, hoping to make this last as long as he can.

  “Inez!” calls a familiar voice, startling the two. They look over to see the dumbfounded Prince, close enough to have heard everything.

  “Allistair!” Inez calls. “We were, um—”

  “Don’t.” Allistair puts up a hand, stepping closer. “I knew there was something going on.” His eyes dart back and forth between the two. “Why did you guys lie to me?”

  “Why?” Blake steps in front of Inez. “Your father almost gets Mishkin killed and beats her up, and you’re asking why?”

  “That wasn’t my father!” Allistair barks. “He wouldn’t hurt a fly!”

  “Why do you think Inez pretended to date you? If you knew she was lying, you should’ve asked why a long time ago!”

  “I did ask, and she never told me!” Allistair looks to Inez with a tremble in his eyes. “Inez, did you fake all of this because of my father?”

  Inez hesitates, then nods her head.

  “What did he do?”

  Inez opens her mouth to answer, then closes it again. She lifts her hand and gently pulls off her silk scarf to reveal dark bruises on one side of her neck.

  Blake’s eyes fill with rage, and he grabs Allistair by the shirt. “You fucking asshole! You’ve been with her this whole time, and you didn’t even notice?”

  “How could I? She hid it from me!”

  “Have you even been trying to figure out what’s been going on? Can you even tell when she’s lying?”

  “You didn’t see it either! So that makes us even!”

  Blake shoves Allistair back, fists trembling as he remembers when she pulled him into her room. That was his chance to find the clues, the bruises, the head wound, and he let his lust take over. He growls, pushing aside his self-loathing.

  “You had more of a chance than I did! She spoke to you. You knew she was faking it, and you didn’t dig for an answer. I tried. I did everything I could to make Inez tell me.” He points to the closed door of the mansion. “Everyone in there thinks I’m an obsessive stalker. But here I am, trying again, and it worked! She told me. What the fuck have you done to figure it out?”

  Allistair’s head hangs low, and his shoulders slump. “You’re right. I didn’t try as hard as I could’ve. I just wanted to believe it could be real—that Inez had really changed her mind.”

  “How could you not see the bruises?”

  “She wore scarves and turtlenecks. I never would’ve seen.”

  “Blake,” Inez grabs his arm. “I told you, Allistair wouldn’t even let me kiss him until he knew for sure. There’s no way he would’ve seen anything.”

  “What were you planning on doing tonight?” Blake’s glare burns into Inez’s face, making her eyes wide. “Would you have let him see then?”

  “Blake, of course not.”

  “Then what would’ve happened?” Blake glares between the two. “What if I had given up and danced with Celia or Axel all night? What would’ve happened then?”

  “I,” Inez trembles. “I don’t know.”

  “You don’t know?”

  “Blake, stop.” Allistair pushes Blake’s shoulder to turn him his way. “She was acting out of fear. She probably had no idea what would happen this entire time.”

  “And what would you have done?” Blake yells. “If she gave you consent, can you honestly say you would’ve refused?”

  Allistair sighs and shakes his head. “No. No, I can’t. But if that happened, I would’ve seen the bruises, and she would’ve had to tell me. There’s no way this could’ve stayed hidden much longer. I wouldn’t let anything happen if I knew she was hurt.”

  Blake huffs, taking a few steps back to process everything.

  “Inez,” says Allistair, “if you and Blake want to be together, you have my blessing. But please, stop hiding from me. From us. If people are getting hurt, I need to know about it. And if my father
is really the one at fault, I’m the only chance we have at stopping him.”

  “How can we trust you?” Blake barks, storming to stand in his face. “We’ve been trying to tell you that Rex is terrible, and you didn’t believe us!”

  “I believe you now!” Allistair yells, before taking in a breath to recenter himself. “I’m sorry I didn’t listen before. I watched my father go hungry just to feed me and Axel. It’s hard not to see someone like that as anything less than heroic.”

  Blake’s heart twinges, and he stares at the ground.

  “Allistair—” Inez grabs his hand. “I’m so sorry I lied to you. I’m sorry for hiding. I made a mess of things.”

  “I’m sorry too.” Allistair squeezes her hand and looks over at Blake. “To both of you. If I were determined enough to find an answer, this wouldn’t have gone on for so long. I guess part of me got lost in hoping.”

  “So, what now?” Blake asks.

  “For now, you two enjoy the rest of the ball. Don’t hide anymore. One thing I know is that my father loves his position of power, so don’t show him he can control you. Let him see your Midnight Dance. He’ll go looking for me, so I’ll wait for him in my room. I’ll find you guys at breakfast tomorrow. Maybe lunch if I sleep in. I’ll let you know what he says, and we’ll work around his commands without lying to each other. We can make sure everyone else stays safe.”

  “Is it that easy?” Blake asks.

  “Not at all.” Allistair shakes his head. “I’ll take a huge ration of shit, of course. But if I’m going to be the next in charge, then the safety of my fools comes first.” Allistair walks to the door and turns back to them once he steps inside. “There’s only a few minutes until the Midnight Dance. Remember, don’t hide.”

  The door closes behind him, leaving them under the starry sky. Blake lets out a heavy breath, unclenching his fists and allowing the night breeze to cool off the rest of his frustration.

  Nothing happened. Inez is safe. I love her. I love you, Inez. He lifts his gaze to her and lets a tiny grin form on his face. Inez grins back as she takes a step closer.

  “I know you don’t believe in the Midnight Dance,” he mutters. “Want to go up to the patio? We can keep this a secret if it makes you feel safer.”