“You all clean up nicely,” I say.
Colton beams and thumbs his suspenders, doing a little spin to show off. “Right?” Facing me again, his grin widens. “We ain’t got nothing on you, girl. Nah. If I may say so myself, damn.”
Wren rumbles, sliding an arm around my waist. “We all clear?”
“Yeah. We know,” Jude says.
Their cryptic words are lost on me. I squint, peering between them all. “What are you up to?”
“Madness,” Colton teases, waggling his brows.
Jude smirks and nudges him toward the door. “A little chaos never hurt anyone.”
“A lot will, though.” Levi follows, hands tucked in his pockets. If I had to guess, I’d say he has at least two knives hidden on him.
I’m left with Wren. He pins me beneath his gaze, a smirk playing in the corner of his mouth.
“What?” The question comes out as a whisper in the quiet room.
He tucks a loose curl behind my ear. “Still thinking about getting you out of this.”
“You’ll have to settle for a kiss.” I gesture at myself. “I promised Isla not to mess any of it up since it took so long.”
The sound of his wicked laugh is deep and gravelly, winding around me as he grasps my chin and kisses me like he’d eat me whole if he could. He brushes his fingertips down my exposed spine. The crisp scent of his aftershave envelops me. Between that and his demanding kiss, I’m dizzy by the time he pulls away.
His focus locks on my mouth as he swipes his thumb beneath my lip to fix my lipstick. My chest tightens and my heart flutters.
“Come on. Time for us to twirl through the circus.”
As out of my element as I am at this party, I’ll get through it. We enter a ballroom with high ceilings that have intricate crown molding. Compared to other parts of the estate, this room is the most brightly lit and lively, while the rest I’ve seen so far has a pervading sadness hanging in the air. The lavish room is full of important looking people enjoying live music from musicians and hors d'oeuvres.
Several couples are on the dance floor. Isla and Colton are one of them. She waves at me enthusiastically, blowing a kiss before Colton dips her with flair. I laugh at their antics. Levi watches raptly from the side of the room, dark eyes narrowed.
Wren stiffens and grumbles something when he spots a man that looks strikingly similar across the room, deep in discussion with a group of men.
“Your father?” I guess.
“Yes,” he growls. “Let’s try to avoid him at all costs.”
A pang hits me in the chest and I cover the flash of sorrow by surveying the room. “You don’t get along with him?”
“Never have.”
Wren accepts a champagne flute from a server and offers another to me. Other than his father, I don’t see anyone else who bears his resemblance. He doesn’t point anyone else out, either.
“Is it just you and him?” At the questioning furrow of his brows, I elaborate. “Your family. Are you an only child?”
Pain flickers across his features. My mind jumps to the necklace he keeps close. I’ve seen him rubbing it when he’s deep in thought. Maybe it belonged to his mother?
As soon as the thought pops into my head, my eyes widen and I grip my champagne glass tighter.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to say anything. I didn’t know. I—” My throat closes, but push out the words. They taste like bitter ash. “My dad died, too. The summer before I started at the university.”
Wren clears his throat. “My sister. I…had a younger sister.”
He doesn’t have to say more. My chest aches for him. The thought of Ethan being gone is something that makes me buckle when it invades my worries.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper, placing a hand on his arm in sympathy.
“Yeah.” The single word is jagged and laced with anguish. “My mother is—” He scans the room and sighs forcefully. “Unwell. She most likely has already retired for the evening.”
Feeling awkward, I search for a way to change the subject when Jude takes me by surprise. He’s glaring at a girl in a stylish red satin dress like he can’t stand the sight of her. I’ve never seen him so angry.
“Who is that? The one Jude can’t stop scowling at?”
Wren looks in the direction I motion and shakes his head. “Pippa Bassett. Pain in our asses detective for Thorne Point’s finest.” At my arched eyebrow, he hitches a shoulder. “The law and us don’t particularly go together. But more than that, she went to high school with us at Thorne Point Academy. Her parents are well-respected in the community. They’re not socialites like Colton’s parents, the DuPonts, or old money like my family and Levi’s. But enough to garner an invite to these things.”
He waves a hand dismissively like it’s the norm. I guess it is. I’ve been in this city so long that the atmosphere of wealth throughout Thorne Point is starting to feel normal to me compared to the small Maryland beach town I grew up in.
“So what do we do?” I tip my head in the direction of Colton and Isla. “Dance? Mingle? Is there a schedule of events?”
“Mostly stand around bored out of our skulls. The guys and I used to sneak out to the gardens with stolen bottles of alcohol to drink and smoke. We got Colton’s foster brother so wasted he puked in my mother’s prize winning rosebushes and they didn’t bloom that year.” His shoulders shake with the force of his laugh. He points to a young couple across the room. “That’s him. Fox and his fiancé Maisy from Colorado. They’re with Colton’s parents. Come on, I’ll introduce you.”
He guides me over to them and offers a charming smile for Mrs. DuPont. She gasps in delight and places her hand in his.
“Mrs. DuPont.” Wren kisses her knuckles.
While he’s occupied, I overhear Fox making plans with his gorgeous fiancé.
“I promise, we’ll do this, and then I’ll take you to the cove tonight,” he murmurs to her, kissing her temple.
“A mini adventure is exactly what we need,” she says.
“Wren, I’ve told you to call me Delia,” Mrs. DuPont chides.
“Of course.” He puts his hand on my lower back. “This is Rowan.”
“A pleasure,” she says.
My mouth curves politely. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“I admit, I’m a little surprised. You never bring dates.” She gives me an assessing once over. “Now just where did you snap this beauty up, Wren?”
“The college.” He flashes me a look that ignites my blood. “Now that I’ve found her, I’m unwilling to let her go.”
My cheeks heat. “I have some classes with Colton.”
“How wonderful,” she says.
“Delia,” her husband cuts in.
“Right, right. Well, enjoy yourselves. We have people to catch up with.”
They leave us with Fox and Maisy.
“I’ll be back in a minute.” Wren’s focus is on a man with graying sideburns lurking by himself at the edge of the ballroom. “Stay here. Fox? Keep an eye out.”
“Yeah.” His brooding gaze sweeps the room and he puts a protective arm around Maisy.
My brows pinch. “What’s with the bodyguard act? Are the canapés going to jump us?”
“If they do, I’ve got your back,” Maisy jokes, flexing her arm.
I laugh. “You never know around these guys. They’re always so intense.”
“You get used to it.” She shrugs. Her laid-back nature is a welcome breath of fresh air.
Isla and Colton join us when their dance ends and he wastes no time ruffling Fox’s hair out of place with a mischievous chuckle.
“Colt,” Fox grits out.
“I like it like that,” Isla says. “Very dashing and edgy.”
Maisy gives Fox a secretive smile full of love and helps him pat his tousled brown hair into place. “You don’t need the extra help for that.”
Wren returns a few minutes later, frowning. As if pulled to me by a magnet, his arm finds its way aroun
d my waist and his lips brush my temple. My stomach dips.
“Anything good?” Colton asks.
“Not yet,” he answers.
“Back to it then.” Colton offers his hand to Maisy. “Milady, might I interest you in a dance?”
Maisy plays along, batting her lashes. “Good sir, you enchant me.” She rises on her toes to kiss Fox on the cheek. “Love you.”
Fox’s vigilant expression turns soft and tender. “I’ll be watching, daisy.”
They take to the dance floor, spinning in wide arcs around the edges and weaving between other couples. I tilt my head, intrigued. Their dance takes them close to the richest men in the room without looking like they’re eavesdropping.
As the night goes on, my curiosity snags on the way Wren, Levi, Colton, and Jude all scan the room with precise focus. They seem more on edge than me even though this is their world. Each conversation they’re pulled into with various businessmen and politicians carries an air of veiled interrogation.
Before long, I suspect they’re doing more than making appearances. They’re working the room, perhaps looking for the secrets they covet. It’s impressive to watch them at it.
Colton and Jude are more talkative than Levi and Wren when they make their rounds. Jude told me this wasn’t his scene, but he fits in like a glove, knowing all the right things to say and moves to make. He charms everyone he speaks to. There’s one point where I swear I see him bump into someone and slip something to Colton as he passed the group, but when I watch for it I can’t catch it again.
Isla manages to steal me away from Wren’s side, a willful force to be reckoned with, even for the King Crow himself. His gaze bores into me and I hide a smile in my champagne glass as we hook arms and skirt around the stuffier guests.
“Um, hot,” Isla says decisively. “That tailoring is fire. They knew what they were doing. Please tell me his dick is as huge as it looks from the hint his pants give.”
I choke on laughter at the scandalized gasp an older couple makes when we pass them. Whatever is written on my face is answer enough.
Isla grins and kisses her fingertips. “Knew it. You getting laid is chef kiss. Now we need to find me someone who isn’t boring like everyone else here. I’m so tired of these uptight society boys my dad forces me to endure for publicity. I want someone wild who isn’t afraid to toss me around.”
“Saw you dancing with Colton earlier. Is there something there?”
She scoffs. “No. He’s cute, and fun to flirt with, but not really my type.”
“Levi was watching pretty closely.” I lift my brows when she gapes at me. “You said you wanted wild.”
“Not that wild. I think he hates me anyway. What about the one with the sexy smile?”
“Jude?” I nod across the room where he’s standing closer than is polite to the beautiful girl Wren said was named Pippa. “I think he’s busy.”
“I remember a rumor about them being a thing when they were in high school. The whole academy was talking about it. Very Romeo and Juliet.” Isla sighs dramatically. “I guess it’s another night of riding the vibe train.”
Over her shoulder, a man’s distinct profile catches my eye and makes my skin tingle with awareness. I lose him for a minute amongst the guests and almost have myself convinced it was my mind playing tricks when I spot him leaving the ballroom. It’s him—the guy who followed me on campus.
I know Wren said not to go anywhere by myself, but if I go get one of them I risk not knowing where the guy went. I need to follow him now.
“I’ll be right back. I have to use the restroom.”
“Don’t worry, you’re not missing anything.”
After handing my champagne flute to Isla, I slip through the crowded room to scope him out. Determination spurs me on. I exit the ballroom into a quiet hall, different from the one we used earlier to get to the party from the entrance. The man is near the end, ducking into a room and leaving one of the double doors ajar. This is my chance.
Before I’m close enough to peek in the room, someone grabs me from behind and my heartbeat stutters in a rush of fear.
Twenty
Wren
Rowan’s surprised gasp is stifled when I kiss her. The dress I bought for her is driving me insane, leaving her back exposed to tempt me all night. My mouth waters with the primal urge to push her into a dark alcove and leave a trail of biting kisses to mark her as mine. More than once it’s split my attention from the task of finding out who has invested in Stalenko Corp. Even utilizing the best secrets we’ve held on to as a way to ply the information we need, most of the people we’ve spoken to have remained tight-lipped.
I allow myself to get lost in the taste of her perfect mouth to soothe the frustration of the night. Christ, we need to leave soon so I can get her out of this gown and into my bed. She relaxes into my body, kissing me back for a few moments, then pushes at my chest insistently to end it.
“Behave,” I murmur against the corner of her mouth. “What did I tell you about going off on your own? That curious streak of yours makes you a naughty little kitten.”
“I was until I saw that guy.” She glances over her shoulder. “There wasn’t time and I wanted to know why he was here.”
The playful air of flirting I was enjoying vanishes. “What guy?”
Before she answers, the door to my father’s study opens and he steps out, followed by a bulky man who seems out of place amongst the gala’s high society guest list. Tensing and drawing Rowan closer, I narrow my eyes. The man is about the same build as the man who shot our informant at the docks. His attention lingers on Rowan in a way I don’t like at all.
“Hugo,” Dad says in a scrutinizing tone. “I was waiting for you to greet me half the night.”
I grit my teeth and curl my fingers around Rowan’s wrist. “Dad. I was occupied with making the rounds.” My attention veers to the man still staring at Rowan. “I’m sure you understand.”
“All the same, it’s important for the family to appear unified. Especially at events like this. You know how our peers in the community have shark-toothed smiles.” He turns to the guy. “We’ll reconvene at my offices downtown to continue this discussion.”
“My company only wishes to ensure the preliminary measures are met,” the man replies in a heavy Russian accent. “You understand securing investments.”
“Certainly.” Dad flicks a calculating gaze to Rowan before his eyes shift to me. “Hugo, perhaps it would be good for you to come by the offices as well this week. I’ll have one of the secretaries forward details of my schedule. It’ll be an opportune way for you to get a sense of the way things work and prepare you to step into the role awaiting you.”
My nostrils flare at his presumption that I’ll work for him. That’s never happening.
“If you’ll excuse us, we’ll be returning to the main festivities.”
I don’t wait for my father’s answer before I lead Rowan back to the ballroom, not slowing until we’re on the dance floor so I can keep her in my arms until my heart stops drumming fiercely. It’s the only way to protect how off balance I feel without losing face in front of every powerful player in the city poised to act if they smell blood in the water. It’s the only useful lesson my father ever taught me—never show weakness.
She touches my neck. “That was tense.”
My jaw works and I calm myself by stroking the exposed skin at her back. Unable to help myself, my fingers dip beneath the fine material of the dress to have more of her. “I said earlier my father and I don’t exactly see eye to eye.”
“Like insisting on calling you a name you clearly don’t like?” Her wry tone draws a cynical scoff from me.
“Among other things.” My hold on her imperceptibly tightens as we dance, driven by a strange emotion clawing at me. “Tell me about the man you saw. The one who came out of the study with my father?”
Her lips twist and her lashes brush against her cheeks. I tip her chin up so she’s unable to hid
e another secret from me and she relents.
“Yes. I recognized him.”
“Where did you see him before?” The calmer beat of my heart picks up again. “Tell me.”
Sighing, she focuses on straightening my bowtie as she speaks. “The other day on campus. When you were waiting for me at the student union.” She pauses, biting her lip. A low, insistent growl from me drives her on. “He followed me.”
The arm I have around her waist becomes an iron band when I crush her against me. Every cell in my body turns to an icy rage. First someone comes for the informant, and now they follow Rowan in broad daylight? Something bigger is at work here and I will find out who the fuck is behind it.
“Followed you?” I bite out.
“It was creepy as hell. At first I wasn’t sure, but he was waiting for me in the atrium outside of the bookstore when I pretended to stop there. Once I was sure, I called you and it spooked him off.”
We’re nearly at a standstill now, barely moving after drifting to the edge of the dance floor. My fist clenches around the draped fabric at the base of her spine. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner? I’ll kill him.”
She leers at me, eyes hooding. “I meant to. You distracted me with your attitude at lunch. I was a little busy after that. Pretty sure you remember how that turned out.”
“My stubborn girl. You should have told me. What if he was still following you that night? Christ, it’s good I put Levi on your tail.”
I cup her face, threading my fingers into her styled hair. Resisting the need to pull it loose and kiss her is next to impossible. I settle for pressing my lips to hers with poorly restrained fierceness.
“I did get some photos of him on my phone. It’s kind of blurry, but I didn’t delete it. I was planning to give it to Colton to check out.”
“Good.”
“When I saw him tonight, I had to follow him. I didn’t realize he was going to meet with your dad. Why would someone want to watch me, though? I don’t get it. I’m just a college student.”
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