by Amie Gibbons
Carvi chuckled. “Didn’t you have a maid?”
“Yeah, like a once a week for the basic things kind of maid, but putting away our own toys and clothes and stuff, that was on us. Mama didn’t want us bein’ spoiled little pains in the ass who lived with her till we were thirty and used her money to knit candle cozies and call ourselves artists.”
“But she’s an artist.”
“And she did it after her day job like an adult, and yes, I’m cuttin’ out Mama’s more colorful verbiage on that one. You should hear her rant about Millennials whining about wantin’ free everything and the like.”
Carvi snorted.
“That tells me all I need to know about your family.”
“Southern girls. We hate socialists, big gov and Northerners, and we love pearls, shooting and homemade dinners.”
“Every time I think I have a grasp on human politics, something goes in to throw it off. There’s no sense to the way you people do things.”
“It’s called democracy… well, technically a republic, but yeah.”
We entered the ballroom through giant double doors with gold designs carved into them.
The party was well on its way. As the host, Carvi should’ve been on time according to my Southern girl hospitality, but something told me arriving fashionably late was not only acceptable here, but expected.
The room took my breath away. The crystal chandeliers glinted above with thousands of electric candles and danced off the painted ceiling. It looked very Michalangelo-esque with scenes of naked people and fat cherubs but I didn’t recognize the stories the scenes were from.
The dance floor was already hopping to some bouncy pop rap type music that hurt my ears and made my bones vibrate.
“Can’t say much for your taste in music,” I half yelled to Carvi as the noise filled my head.
“Just because it’s not country.”
“What makes you think I only listen to country?”
He chuckled. “Please.”
He made a gesture at the DJ and the music went down a titch so you could still dance to it, but the people on the edges of the room at the tables could hold a conversation.
“Thank you,” I said. “That was hurting my teeth.”
We swished to the front of the room to the rectangular table that looked like something from a wedding.
A server held my chair out for me and I sat, Carvi taking the seat next to me, smack dab in the middle. There was room for about ten of us but no one else was sitting up here yet.
“Who else goes up here?” I asked.
“The rest of my party, if I want them here,” he said.
“What does that mean?”
“If there’s a member of my party I’m not particularly happy with, they do not get to sit up here.”
I waved a hand. “You’re being obtuse. Who else is joining us?”
He smiled. “My second in command will sit on my other side. His date will be with him. And then we have my other lieutenants and two said they were bringing dates. They’ll be up here.”
“When?”
“When they make sure no one is plotting anything now that I’m here.”
“Plotting?”
“I’ve lived through more assassination attempts than years your country has been in existence.”
“Oh, okay, so like one every ten years or so?”
“And I haven’t had one in over twenty years, so I’m due.”
He smiled and I burst out laughing.
“You’re messing with me!”
“A little.” He shrugged. “But this is a prime target tonight. Leaders from every state, most of the major cities. If anyone wanted to try a terrorist attack, it’d be here.”
His phone buzzed and he answered with a blank face. “Yes?”
He nodded along for a moment and turned it off.
“What?” I asked.
He smiled, leaning into my neck and whispering, “Come with me. Keep a smile on like we’re going to go fuck.”
Oh, crap on toast. He just had to say that about gettin’ attacked, didn’t he?
He offered me his arm and we left through a back door into a just as lush hallway. I followed Carvi to the elevator, nodding and smiling at random people as we passed.
As soon as the doors closed, Carvi turned to me.
“My imagination’s goin’ crazy right now,” I said. “So just tell me.”
“We have a dead body in a caterer uniform.”
I pinched myself. “You just had to say tonight would be perfect for something like this, didn’t you?”
Hope you enjoyed this peek and don’t forget to check out Psychic for Sale (Rent to Own) May, 2017.
The Evie Jones Shorts Series
EVIE JONES AND THE CRAZY EXES
EVIE JONES AND THE GOOD LUCK FUNDRAISER
EVIE JONES AND THE MAGIC MELTDOWN
EVIE JONES AND THE SPIRIT STALKER
EVIE JONES AND THE SHADOW OF CHAOS
EVIE JONES AND THE ROCKY ROULETTE
The Evie Jones Series
EVIE JONES AND THE DESERT DEMON (BOOK 1 COMING 2018)
The Laws of Magic Series
PATENTABILITY PENDING (A MILLIE LEHMAN SHORT STORY)
THE TREETOPS EXPERIMENTATION (A MILLIE LEHMAN SHORT STORY)
SHIFTING ICE (A TYLER CARMICHAEL NOVELLA)
THE GODS DEFENSE
THE GODS’ APPEAL
THE GODS’ COURT
PATENTING MAGIC
The Order of the Sphinx Series
SPHINX ORIGINS (A SPHINX SHORT)
PARATA’S SHADOWS (BOOK 1 COMING 2018)
ONE IN INFINITY (A REALITY CROSSING NOVELLA)
The SDF Series
WE INVESTIGATE ZEBRAS (AN ARIANA RYDER SHORT)
PSYCHIC SEEKS (AN ARIANA RYDER SHORT)
PSYCHIC UNDERCOVER (WITH THE UNDEAD)
PSYCHO (AND PSYCHIC) GAMES
PSYCHIC FOR SALE (RENT TO OWN)
PSYCHIC WANTED (UN)DEAD OR ALIVE