by Cora Caraway
My parents exchange a glance, no doubt performing some perverse internal calculus. For Rex, I know it’s all about the money. But I’m sure Desiree would love knowing that she took my engagement ring, and one from a prince to boot.
Their conflicting desires are their undoing. As they open their mouths, no doubt preparing to start a debate that will quickly devolve into a shouting match, I duck behind the door, locking it behind me. There’s even a deadbolt on this side, so Rex will have to work to get this door open.
I turn to run upstairs, and nearly trip over Booboo. He’s sitting beside me, tail wagging madly.
“I guess I can’t fool you,” I say. He licks my hand. Ignoring the howling and pounding at the door, we head up the stairs together.
Here are the French doors, but something’s wrong. Beside them is a number pad lock that wasn’t here last time. Natalia must have just installed it. I curse under my breath. I can’t begin to guess how many numbers it uses. It’s probably still factory set to 1-1-1-1 or 1-2-3-4, but I can’t take the risk of getting it wrong and alerting the guards.
Closing my eyes, I try to remember that room. There’s the computer that I need to get to. Last time there was a nice breeze through here, and I said something about a balcony. My eyes fly open. That’s it.
Trailed by Booboo, I investigate the room beside it. This one isn’t locked. Pushing open the window, I breathe a sigh of relief. There’s a balcony here, one that’s a short jump away from the one I want. And I’d bet anything that the wide glass windows of the computer room aren’t locked.
Stepping onto the balcony, I climb onto the railing. I refuse to look down. The ground isn’t far away, but I still don’t want the distance to get to me. At this height, a fall could mean a broken ankle or worse.
Booboo yelps, standing on his hind legs. He seems to know what I have in mind, and doesn’t want to be left behind.
“Fine,” I tell him as I put him in my bag. “But only because someone might hear you barking if I leave you here. Not because I like you.”
I shift the strap so that my bag rests against my back. Booboo is a light load, but I don’t want him to unbalance me. Holding my breath, I look from one railing to the other and gauge the distance. It’s long enough to make things interesting. All I have to do is clear the railing, and not crush Booboo when I land. Easy. But I have to go now, or soon my legs are going to start shaking.
I leap. Not quite far enough, because instead of clearing the railing, I smack into it. My fingers close around the wrought iron before I can fall, but I find myself hanging off the edge of the balcony. Not at all ideal.
The force of my body meeting the railing makes Booboo thump against my back. He doesn’t protest, but I can hear him panting with anxiety. I hope he doesn’t try to stand up or jump out. That’s the last thing I need.
“Stay,” I tell him. Go, I tell myself. My muscles protest as I climb. This isn’t the time to think about how I haven’t done many pull-ups lately. The weathered iron punishes my palms, but I drag myself upward. I exhale all my fear as I hoist myself over the railing and onto the relative safety of the balcony.
Massaging my hands, I scan the night for any sign that someone’s seen me, but the distant guardhouse is quiet. I’m glad no one noticed my antics, because I’m much too sore to run right now.
I was right about the windows. Not only are they unlocked, they’re wide open. Natalia tried to throw me a curveball, but she’s not capable of thinking like a cat burglar. I reach for my bag. “Everyone okay back there?”
Booboo hops out before I can set the bag on the balcony, clearly no longer trusting me. He shakes himself, his ears flapping comically, then makes a beeline for the far corner of the room. I don’t think he’s up for any more adventures tonight.
I’m about to follow Booboo inside when I hear the crunch of tires on the long gravel drive. I duck down as headlights sweep over me. My blood turns cold, but I’m sure Natalia has that effect on most people.
She’s home.
I watch as the car pulls up behind mine. Natalia stomps out, slamming the door behind her. Downstairs, my parents’ yelling has ceased. Rashad drives away, leaving us stuck with his horrible passenger.
The front door opens with a bang, and I run to the computer. I don’t have much time. My fingers fly over the keyboard. QueenBee456. I hope she hasn’t changed her password.
“Vivian!” Natalia shrieks. She’s at the other end of the house, but her voice still grates in my ears. “Vivian, where are you? Get your ass out here now!”
Booboo cowers at my ankles as the desktop springs to life. I pull a flash drive out of my bag, ramming it into a slot. I need these files, and now.
Natalia rages through the first floor, getting louder until she’s right under me. The windows must be open downstairs, as I can hear her every curse. I guess she and Vivian don’t really get along.
“There you are.”
I jump. It almost sounds like she’s in the room with me, but she must have found my parents one floor below.
“Are you just going to laze around my house,” she says, “or are you going to tell me where Vivian is?”
Rex’s drawl rises from below. “Who’s Vivian?”
I wince. My parents are going to be no help to me, though I shouldn’t be so surprised. Clicking around the desktop, I find the folder Natalia retrieved the file from last time. My fingers are so shaky that I double-click everything, almost launching the video player. My stomach turns when I see what she named the tape: SexVid.
My throat is so dry that I can’t swallow. Part of me screams to watch the video immediately, to know if nothing else. Then it won’t even matter if I escape with a copy. But no. I want evidence, either way. I copy the file to my drive. It’s large. I can tell the transfer will be painfully slow.
“Who’s Vivian?” Natalia’s voice is like ice. “She isn’t here, is she? It’s your whore of a daughter.”
“I don’t know,” Rex says, “I haven’t seen any whores come through here, have you, hon?”
My mother sniffs. “Maybe one.”
I have to stifle a laugh. I can only imagine the look of rage on Natalia’s face. I check the transfer screen: 5% complete.
“I should have known.” Natalia’s voice is so low that I almost don’t catch it. “Your daughter is trash, and it’s easy to see where she gets it. But I should have known better than to invite trash into my house.”
There’s a long silence. I imagine them standing there, trying to stare each other down. Like a Mexican standoff without guns, but just as dangerous.
22%.
“There’s no need for harsh words,” Rex says. “We’ll help you find this Vivian, if it’s so important to you. You are our gracious host, after all.”
“She’s not here and you know it,” Natalia snaps. “Grace pretended to be her to get past the guards.”
“I don’t know,” Desiree says, “that doesn’t sound like Grace at all. She’d never do anything like that. She’s too darling.”
“Of course not,” Rex says. “We taught her better than that. We will help you find Vivian though. Do you think she went straight to a guest room?”
67%. My heart leaps with the progress bar.
“Oh no,” Desiree says, “I hope she doesn’t take my bed. I have … delicate items on my nightstand.”
“Enough of this.” The wall closet to the computer shudders like Natalia has struck it. “You know she’s here, and you’ll tell me where. If not, you won’t get any of that money we talked about earlier.”
Shit. If she offered them money, I’m sunk.
“Natalia dear,” Desiree’s voice lilts, “we wouldn’t dream of accepting money from our host.”
I can’t help but smirk. There’s only one reason why my parents would refuse money, and that’s if they aren’t offered enough.
“I don’t need your help!” Natalia shrieks. “Let me through.” I hear her test the doorknob. “Who locked this?”
I walk over to inspect it, barely able to suppress a grin. I know these all too well. Most contain fail-safes, meaning that they’ll automatically lock down if damaged. I pop open the back, and pull out a wire at random. With that, I’ve turned Natalia’s house against her. It won’t open for her code, or for anything else. Unless she wants to try balcony jumping, I’m safe in here.
Natalia must have gotten the door downstairs open, because I hear her charging up the stairs.
“I know you’re here, Grace. I’m going to have you deported and locked up where you can never see Damon again.”
“But will I never be able to see you?” I ask. “That’s what really matters.” I probably shouldn’t goad her, but she’s not the only one who can play with locks.
“Don’t you understand?” Her shadow looms beneath the French doors. “I’ve won.”
I hear beeping as she punches in four numbers, followed by the delicious sound of a buzzer rejecting her.
“What the—”
She puts in the numbers again, and the buzzer rejects her a second time.
“Good for nothing security company,” she mutters. “Open this door!”
There’s no point in answering. I watch the file transfer, the green bar nearly complete. 99%. Done. Just one last thing to take care of. I took something from Natalia, and it’s only fair that I leave her something in return. Clicking the handy little program I once took as payment for a job, I drag it to her C: drive. I watch as it goes to work destroying each and every one of her files. I hope she didn’t have anything important on there, because the program will overwrite her hard drive at least seven times, then make her computer overheat until its motherboard melts.
Natalia jiggles the door handles, screaming unintelligible words. I calmly remove my flash drive as she batters the doors with her shoulder. I hope she bruises it.
Rolling the computer chair toward the doors, I jam it under the handles for good measure. I don’t want to make anything easier for Natalia, now do I?
Flash drive secure in my bag, I walk onto the balcony and revel in the night air. The next balcony over has a spiral stair descending from it that looks awfully inviting. Booboo whines as I stand on the railing.
“Sorry, buddy.” I feel bad for him, but as much as I hate Natalia, I can’t steal her dog. Gathering myself, I jump to the next balcony. It’s much easier without Booboo’s weight on my back.
As silently as I can, I climb down the metal staircase. Natalia’s fury makes silence unnecessary, but I do like keeping my skills sharp.
I touch the ground. It’s done. Over. My parents wave to me from the front window. I smile as I get back in the black car. This is the first and last time my parents have ever done anything nice. I’ll consider that their wedding gift to me.
Booboo yowls at his abandonment as I start the engine. I speed away, saluting the guard at the end of the drive. He salutes me back, and I have to wonder if he knew all along that I wasn’t Vivian. If I know one thing about Natalia, it’s that she’s not good at making friends. The gate swings open for me, and I urge my car into the night.
12
The euphoria of victory recedes with the lights of the villa. Yes, I triumphed over Natalia and secured the tape, but that was the easy part. How am I going to be able to watch this thing? And what if it’s as horrible as she says?
I glance at my bag, unable to think of anything but the flash drive lurking within. If I have the only copy, I could just destroy it, couldn’t I? Then I wouldn’t have to face my darkest fear, that I’m a cheater like my mother. I don’t know if Damon could forgive me, but I’d never be able to forgive myself. I’d have to seriously consider stepping in front of a speeding bus.
My headlights wash over a man in the middle of the road. I stomp on the breaks, stopping mere inches short. He doesn’t seem fazed, calmly walking to the passenger side.
“Jesus, Nic, are you insane?”
He buckles himself in like it’s the most natural thing in the world to hail a ride by almost getting run over. “Yes, but that’s beside the point.” Setting my bag on his lap, he sits expectantly. “Shall we?”
It’s like he expects me to argue. I step on the gas, doing my best to hide my satisfaction as he smacks against the headrest.
Nic swears. “With all I did to help you with this mission, the least you could do is get me home in one piece.”
His words make me feel sick. Home for me isn’t a place. It’s Damon, his smiling eyes and welcoming arms. I can’t lose that. It’s all I have.
“What is it?” Nic asks.
“We might have the only copy of that tape.” I swallow. My throat feels awfully dry. “Would you destroy it, if you could?”
“No.” He stares straight ahead. “We didn’t do anything wrong, Grace. This is our proof.”
I wish I could be as confident as him. The rest of our ride passes in silence. I don’t know what’s going through Nic’s head, but my mind is torturing me. Since I can’t remember what happened that night, it fills in the blanks with a reel of imagined debauchery.
As I turn onto the palace drive, I know that Nic’s right. We have to see this tape, if only to spare ourselves the torment of the unknown. I need to find out if I’m loyal, or worthless like my parents.
A lone man stands on the palace steps. I don’t need the headlights to know who it is. My stomach lurches.
Damon waits patiently as we exit the car. My fingers tremble so much that it’s hard to unbuckle my seatbelt. Nic opens the door for me, handing me my bag as I stumble out. I look up at the prince, silhouetted against the ivory palace walls. His face is dark, and I can’t make out his expression. All I want is for him to take me in his arms, but judging by his rigid posture, that’s not going to happen.
Nic and I approach, stopping at the bottom step. Damon watches from on high. It seems appropriate for a prince. I wait in agony for him to say something, anything.
Finally, he speaks. “Natalia made quite the scene when she left. What did you do, Grace?”
I should have prepared an answer for this. Something nice and neat, a lie if necessary, until we could speak alone. But I can’t lie to him anymore. It’s breaking me. Instead of giving him an answer, I burst into tears. I don’t want him to be mad at me. And he’s going to be furious.
Damon rushes down the stairs, gathering me into his arms. I try to push him away, but to no avail. I don’t want any sweetness from him right now. It’s just going to make it worse when his love crumbles to dust.
“You’ll want to hear this in private,” Nic says. “Your quarters, perhaps?”
“Right.” Damon carries me up the steps and into the palace. Nic runs to summon the elevator. My face is buried in my hands, but I can only imagine the scores of onlookers, even at this hour. This will be the talk of the palace within minutes, I’m sure.
The elevator doors slide shut around us. I take in shuddering breaths, trying to pull myself together. If I’m about to face the worst moment of my life, I want to do it with some goddamn dignity. As the elevator glides to a stop, I wriggle out of Damon’s arms.
“I can walk,” I say. At least, I’m pretty sure I can.
Somehow, I make it into the prince’s room. Well, it’s still our room. For now. Nic closes the door firmly behind us.
“All right.” Damon crosses his arms. “I want someone to explain to me what’s going on.”
“Remember the engagement party?” My voice sounds so far away. “That night, Nic and I ended up in the same room.”
“So? He’s my bodyguard. I trust him, with my life and everything else.”
I exchange a nervous glance with Nic. “We don’t remember what happened.”
“What?” Anger, confusion, and pain ar
e etched on Damon’s face. I’ve never heard him use that slicing tone before, and it stings that it’s directed at me.
“Natalia taped us.” I press on, even though I feel like I’m about to pass out. “She wouldn’t show me the whole thing, but she tried to blackmail me with it.”
Damon stares into the distance. I wish I knew what he was thinking. Maybe I don’t want to know.
“Can we just play it, please?” I fish the flash drive from my bag. “Not knowing what’s on here is killing me.”
He doesn’t respond, but Nic opens a panel in the wall. After pressing some buttons, a screen slides down. My stomach drops. A projector. It’s too big, too real.
Wordlessly, Nic takes the flash drive from me and plugs it into the wall. The tape starts to play, and I find that I can’t look away.
There’s a dark hotel room, larger than life on the screen. A light switches on.
“Get her in bed, will you?” Natalia asks off-screen. It seems that this version has sound. I think I might be sick.
Nic and I appear, and we don’t look too good. Not only are we obviously tipsy and disheveled, he has one arm around me as I lean against him. He carefully helps me sit on the bed, his hands grazing my arm.
“Make sure Grace is comfortable,” Natalia says. The door clicks shut, though it’s hard to see at this angle.
“This isn’t the right room,” Nic slurs. “I insisted on inspecting the suite.” He staggers toward the door, and I hear him testing the handle. “It’s jammed.”
On the bed, I sway dangerously. “What’s happening, Nic?”
“I don’t know.” The bed creaks as he sits beside me. He’s close to me, too close as he puts his head in his hands. Only lovers or drunks sit that close. “We may have to figure it out tomorrow.”
“Are you very tired?” I ask.
He nods. “And very drunk.”