However, this party wasn’t like every other year. It was a ruse. Rebecca and the rest of the Order wives are trying to break the rules and traditions that date back to the beginning of this town, and for what, I wasn’t sure. It was all a game to them and I felt like I would never accurately predict the moves they made. My parents certainly hadn’t. The guys and I had a lot of work to do in the coming weeks once this new family was introduced. If they were anything like the rest of the vile and corrupt members, they couldn’t be voted in. Whatever the Order was playing at throwing in a new family, I had a bad feeling about all of it and my gut usually wasn’t wrong.
Taking one last giant gulp of my mostly cold coffee, I drain the rest in the sink and then turn to Sam, a small smile replacing the deep frown that has been etched on my face all morning since I woke to my alarm to go for a run around the property. “Thank you, Sam. You’re the best.” I pass him on my way out of the kitchen and squeeze his shoulder as I go. I’m almost positive he put the stylists in my room, so I make my way down the hall and step into my room. Sure enough, the same male and female stylists from my first party in Crimson Valley are waiting for me and the woman, Miranda I think her name was, smiles radiantly at me. “Miss Locke! Always a pleasure. I hear you already have your outfit and accessories picked out for the event and you just need us for hair and makeup?” She asks politely, her voice too high for me but I don’t let it show on my face. This day was going to wear thin on my patience and it wasn’t fair if I took it out on the stylists.
“Ah, yes. Just hair and makeup. I trust you can come up with something to really bring out the look of my dress and shoes?” I gesture to the armoire in the corner which has my dress hanging from the top and my golden heels placed neatly on the floor underneath the elegant gown. Miranda glances over at the dress and beams. “Of course! Michael and I will make sure you glow, darling.” She coo’s and I get stuck on his name. Gods above. Their names are Miranda and Michael and I have no idea why it pops into my head, but I decide to call them the ‘M&M’s’. Seems fitting, right, for stylists. I chuckle to myself and move to sit in the chair that Michael pulls out from underneath my makeup vanity. He gives me an odd look, probably due to my random chuckle outburst, but I am definitely not going to elaborate on my brain-dead thoughts to them. I think I needed either more sleep or more coffee.
I get lost in my thoughts and Miranda’s incessant chatter to me and before I know it, two hours pass and I am looking at myself in the mirror as they put the finishing touches on my makeup and Michael adds a few more curls to my hair before he expertly places the crown on my head and weaves a few stray curls from my bangs into my crown to hold it into place and keep the longer strands out of my face. Miranda adds a simple nude lip stain to my lips and a rose dusting to my cheeks and I opt to add some false lashes to really make my eyes pop. The glittering gold on the inner corners of my lids and the soft green she added to the outer corners and my crease really make my look come together with a light line of golden liner on the bottom lid. Yep, Silas was definitely going to lose his mind.
“Absolutely gorgeous.” Miranda croons and I smile at her and it is genuine. I am not a vain person but even I can admit I looked good today. Michael politely steps out while Miranda helps me with my black adhesive bra and then I slip into my gown, making sure to not mess up my hair and makeup in the process. The front of the gown dips down to just at the bottom of the valley between my breasts and most of my chest piece is on display which has made me love this dress even more. The long sleeves come off my shoulders a little, displaying my firm muscles, and neck and collarbone line, and I smile at myself in the full-length mirror on the back of my bathroom door. “I am absolutely loving this slit up your thigh. Wherever did you find this gown?” Miranda asks and I smile over at her as Michael comes back in the room and starts helping her clean up their supplies.
“A close friend of mine found it for me. The shoes and crown too.” I admit, thinking back to the shopping trip a few days ago. It had been the best day I had had in a long time and I couldn’t wait to see the look on Gabe’s face when he saw me in the full outfit with hair and makeup done. Miranda comes forward with my heels and bends down on her knees in front of me to help me put them on. I opted to wear sheer thigh highs with a gold lace band so that Silas would catch a glimpse of the top of my thighs and hopefully, lose his mind. A knock sounds on my door and Sam peers in and I smile at him when his face softens at the sight of me.
“You look extraordinary, Honey. I have James ready with your car out front.” He informs me and I nod. I follow Sam out of my room as Miranda and Michael stay behind to finish cleaning up their supplies. Sam holds the front door open for me and James, one of the guards I usually had on the front gate, waits by the rear passenger door of the Bentley I usually used for public events. I wave at Sam as James holds the passenger door open for me and he smiles at me as I slip into the back.
The early afternoon sunlight filtering through the slightly tinted windows of the Bentley causes my heels to sparkle as I cross my legs and James pulls out through the gates of Locke Manor to make the fifteen-minute drive to town hall. The crisp late autumn air had made my flesh sprout goosebumps but the warmth coming from the vents of the Bentley and the heated seats eventually helped chase the chill away. James remains quiet as we drive to town hall and I am thankful for it as anticipation and nervous energy begins to hum inside of me again. Before I know it, he is pulling up to the front of the already packed town hall and I sigh as I look at the time on the dashboard of the Bentley. It wasn’t even twelve thirty yet and the party didn’t start until one. Just a bunch of eager aristocrats for you.
I wait for James to come around to my side and open my door for me, like a proper lady, and I take his hand as he helps me out of the back and up onto the sidewalk in front of the town hall. “Would you like me to stay here for you, Miss Locke?” James asks as I sweep my gaze over the front of the town hall which has elegantly dressed elites spilling out of the open front doors and I shake my head. “No, you may go back to Locke Manor, James. I will call when I am ready to return home.” I raise the dark green clutch I had in my hand which held my phone and he gives me a polite smile and nod before he returns to the driver's seat and pulls away from the curb. Taking a deep breath, I turn back to the front of town hall and then begin my walk up the center sidewalk and straight up the stone front steps.
People stop their conversations with each other to stare at me like I was some prize to be gawked at, but I keep my attention forward, head held high in regal elegance, the pure gold of my crown glittering in the beams of sunlight filtering through the clouds above me. I felt like a queen. Stepping through the front doors into the main foyer, I stop and glance around, looking for a familiar face. I spot Des, standing awkwardly with his mother and father talking to a man and woman I didn’t recognize, and I move to start towards them when Hawk steps into my path, the biggest grin I have ever seen plastered on his boyishly handsome face.
He is dressed in a fine, crisp custom-made black suit with a creamy undershirt and black tie paired with black Italian leather Cole Haan dress shoes. The suit fits him like a second skin, doing wonders to showcase muscles I didn’t even know he had and I give him a friendly appreciative once over as I return his smile. “Hot damn, Rosie. You are a perfect picture.” He breathes as he sweeps me up into a bone crushing hug. I laugh lightly as my arms immediately slide up to clutch him to me around the shoulders and we keep the hug brief for being in such a public place. I wasn’t even sure if it was wise to be so familiar in public, but I couldn’t care less today. It was nice to get a hug like that from Hawk. “Silas is in the ballroom right now having some chats with the mayor and his crew with his egg donor but he is going to have an aneurysm when he sees you. Gabe picked this out.” It wasn’t really a question, but I nod in answer anyway.
“He can take all the credit.” I inform Hawk and he keeps his stupid grin in place as he looks me over again. “Christ wom
an. Absolutely stunning.” We are just turning to head through the foyer and into the ballroom for the start of the party when Gabe and Kass suddenly appear. Both men are looking stunning, wearing custom suits of their own but it’s pretty normal black suits with matching ties and white undershirts. Expensive Oxfords in black leather on their feet and both opting for a Rolex on their wrist.
“Beautiful, Honey.” Kass takes my right hand and kisses the back and I smile warmly at him. I spy his mother and father down the hall and Asuka is looking at me with a cold, detached look in her dark eyes and it almost makes me shiver. Out of all the Order wives, Asuka Daegden scared me the most. Rebecca had the ability to look that cold and detached but Asuka almost always pulled it off better. She’s dressed in a simple, but elegant floor length shimmering black evening gown with long sleeves and a high neckline. I’m sure the scathing look she was giving me was because of my total lack of modesty but I couldn’t care less what Asuka Daegden thought of my gown or my crown. She visibly curls her lip at me but I just give her a polite condescending smile over her son's shoulder.
“We are going to have to avoid Silas like the plague until you get up on that stage otherwise I am afraid he is going to try and steal you away before the festivities can begin.” Gabe say’s the word festivities like one would try to pronounce a word that absolutely disgusted them and I turn my attention back to the three devastating Reds before me. “We can hang out here then until it is show time. Hawk tells me he has been roped into having polite conversation with the Mayor and his mother.” I curl my lip at this and all three of them laugh lightly at the look of disgust on my face.
“He’s in the far-right hand corner in the back. Come, we can go into the ballroom and get a beverage at least from the open bar.” Gabe holds out an arm to me and I slip mine into the crook of his elbow and we turn as a group to continue on to the ballroom. I smile at Des as we pass but he gives me a look to carry on. I’m sure if I tried to stop to talk to him his mother might actually try and rip me apart, despite the fact I had power over her in this town. She didn’t like me very much. She thought I was responsible for filling her son with the brilliant idea to become gay. As if it was a fucking choice. Stupid homophobic woman. We slip past elites hanging in crowds all over the large hall that leads down to the ballroom also filled with elegantly dressed people, most of which I don’t recognize, and the boys stay clustered around me as if in a protective circle and I couldn’t be happier about it. It may not look like much to anyone who is not elite, but it is a deliberate move on the boy’s part. They were making it clear to anyone who was looking that I was one of them and they protected their own.
We don’t even make it halfway down the hall in the direction of the ballroom before Asuka Daegden is stopping us in our tracks. She doesn’t bother hiding the look of disgust on her face when her dark eyes flick from her son to me. She clearly had a problem with Kass being around me. Well, screw her and the high horse she rode in on. Kass was my brother, whether she liked it or not. We were a fucking family. “Miss Locke. Rebecca informed us you were able to complete your task before the deadline. I suppose congratulations is in order.” She curls her lip at that and it takes everything in me to keep a straight face. I just wanted to rip her damn fake eyelashes off her otherwise eyelash-less face. “Ah, yes. It took longer than expected but the hard work paid off in the end.” I try to smile and keep my tone as light and polite as possible, but Asuka still looked less than impressed.
“Right, well, we ended up finding more evidence that linked the chemistry professor to the crime. Some people are just never too careful with where they stash stolen illegally obtained documents, you know? In fact, I would say perhaps Reemus should have watched his back more than he did.” Something flickers in her eyes and my breath almost catches audibly at that. My heart begins to hammer in my chest. What other evidence could they have found?! Hawk and I only planted what was in his office! Dread begins to pool in my belly at her backhanded comment about Reemus. I don’t dare glance at Hawk because I was not about to give my brother away in my foolish attempt to throw the wolves off of Nina and her secret co-conspirator. Instead, I just push down the rising panic attack and force a smile on my face.
“Indeed, Mrs. Daegden. He should have known better than to try and go against the Order.” I say, trying to keep my voice even and she stares at me for a long moment. Long enough that I shift beside Kass and he dips his head to his mother. “Thank you for relaying Rebecca’s message, Mother. We were just going to migrate to the ballroom for the start of the meeting.” And with that, Kass nearly shoves me forward and away from his evil mother and the further we move away from her, the more I can breathe. However, the dread doesn’t go away. I was going to have to pull Hawk aside later and ask him about what he thought of that. Fuck, I think I needed to make a trip to the cabin again and move all that evidence. If the order found out about it and linked it back to me, it wouldn’t just put me in danger. I do my best to push it out of my mind for now as we continue down the hall to the ballroom. The boys thankfully keep any remarks to themselves about that strange encounter. This wasn’t the time nor the place for discussion like that.
As soon as we step into the ballroom, I spot the Finelli’s and the Rhodes’ clustered together almost dead center of the ballroom, surrounded by a dozen elites eager to be close to Order members, and I immediately dismiss them even when I can feel Penelope and Alison’s eyes on me. I’m sure they were thrilled to see me surrounded by their son’s, just as Asuka had. Emphasis on sarcasm. Gabe keeps a hold on me as we sweep past more clusters of people who stop and stare at us as we approach the open bar directly to the left of the open ballroom doors. Gabe orders me a glass of peach champagne which I accept graciously and the guys get various drinks before we settle on hanging out in the back left corner of the ballroom. I glance at the elegant clock built into the wall above the open ballroom doors. We had about ten minutes before the party was officially supposed to start. As it was, I could spy staff bringing in thrones on the other side of the room to take up and place in a row on top of the stage in the back center of the ballroom.
The guys make idle conversation with each other and I scan the crowd, looking for Nina, but I don’t see her yet. Turning to the guys, I ask “Do any of you know who this new family is?” I had been curious about this for a while. Just because the guys were the heirs to their families’ legacies doesn’t mean that they were privy to information like that. Hell, I was a sitting member for the Locke family and I didn’t even know. I bet Penelope, Alison, and Asuka knew. They had to in order to agree to having the new family partitioning for a seat. Anxiety coils in my stomach as all three of them shake their heads and Hawk reaches down and squeezes my hand. “It’s okay, Rosie. We will figure it out. Together.” He gives me a reassuring smile and I try and return it but I don’t feel it. I especially don’t feel any better when I spy Rebecca and Clarke stepping up onto the stage across the ballroom.
She’s dressed in a satin cobalt blue evening gown with a half slit up the right leg and an A-line neckline, and I could see her diamond hoop earrings and elaborate necklace glittering brightly under the highlights in the ballroom from here. It was an overwhelming show of wealth and it made me want to snarl at her. She steps up to the microphone that is set up front and center of the stage and the noise of the crowd begins to die down before she even speaks. That is how much these people were paying attention to members of the Order. Rebecca raises a hand, covered in blue and black lace gloves that went up to her elbows, in the air and silence sweeps over the ballroom.
“Welcome, friends, to the annual Thanksgiving Festival the Order is proud to hold every year for the wonderful people of Crimson Valley.” She says loud and proud into the microphone and I snort at this. If only the people of Crimson Valley really knew how little she cared about this town. How little the whole Order cared, to be honest. There was not a single middle- or lower-class family inside this town hall tonight and that said somethi
ng about societal norms here in this wretched town. “If the seating members of this council could please come gather on the stage, we would like to begin the Thanksgiving Order council meeting.” Her eyes scan the crowd, probably looking for me, but the guys are standing tall in front of me for the most part so she doesn’t see me right away.
“Wish me luck or something, boys.” I murmur to the three of them and they give me sympathetic looks as I begin to weave my way through the crowd towards the stage. People move out of my way and I hold my head high as I near the steps on the left side. I am careful to step up to them, fisting my long gown in my hands as I make my way up. I must shine underneath the lights because a few people close to the front of the stage gasp in awe at me. I meet Rebecca’s eyes from her spot in front of the microphone still, her husband in his spot at the back of the King throne, and the woman can’t hide her look of utter distaste towards me as she scans me from head to toe in that condescending manner of hers, her dark eyes endless pools of resentment as she beholds me.
I make sure I return the look in my eyes but keep a polite smile on my face as I dipped my chin at her and take my seat on my throne on the left end. Asuka takes her seat on the throne beside mine but she won't even look at me, Haruki’s bold eyes raking over me like a disgusting starving man and it takes everything in me not to sneer at him for the bold look. In fact, Roman and Mason have no shame either as the peer at me from their spots beside their wives’ thrones, but I pay them no mind as I keep my eyes on Rebecca.
Whiskey & Honey: Crimes of Crimson Valley: Book One Page 22