Page 25 of Ravage
If I have to bump into any of them tonight, let it be anyone but Dane.
I don’t know if I have the strength in me to stop him if he decides to kill me.
Please let me escape this city without seeing him. I can handle the others. Just…not him.
The car pulls up in the line in front of the museum, and we wait our turn to get out. There are bright lights and cameras flashing when Elias opens my door, and I grip his arm more tightly than I intended to. I’ve spent the last few years in hiding and keeping my face out of pictures or the public eye to avoid being found.
Now here I am, having my photo taken for some stupid gala.
Great.
Elias seems to notice me curling myself into him more to avoid my face being captured, so he wraps his other arm around me and hustles us through. I can hear him greeting those around us with a smile on his face, but he keeps everything short and moves us along until we’re inside.
He drops his arm and then tilts my face up, his eyes analyzing my face.
“I’m fine.” I release his other arm and step back. “Stop searching for shit.”
“Lie,” he counters smoothly, reminding me of his gift. He pulls two sleek, black masks from his jacket pocket and hands me one. “You believe GE will see your photo and come after you before you’re ready?” he surmises in a hushed tone.
I nod solemnly and put the mask on. He’s observant as hell.
“I apologize. I should have considered that earlier and given you your mask before we left the car. That’s on me.” He relieves a passing server tray of two champagne flutes and hands me one.
Shrugging, I take a sip while scanning the arriving guests. The masks vary from animals, to jesters and royalty, to over-the-top accessories that spread well-beyond their heads.
The masks are great news for me, but it will be harder for me to memorize faces if all I can see are their eyes and mouth. Some masks cover their entire faces, and with makeup around their eyes to blend into the mask, it’ll be impossible for me to know what they look like.
As if reading my mind, Elias leans down to whisper in my ear. “I’ll keep an eye on body language when we meet with people, but getting them to share about themselves is going to be your best bet.” He offers me his arm. “Now, time to mingle?”
I down the rest of the champagne in one go, exchanging it for a fresh one from another server’s tray. I have a feeling I’m going to need the buzz to get through tonight and loosen up a bit. “Yup. Mingle time. If I keep disappearing, it’s to write information down for myself for later.”
His blue-grey eyes sweep me from head to toe, and he gives me a puzzled look.
“My thighs,” I answer his question with a teasing tone, and when he blanches, I straight up cackle at him. “I brought a pen and paper. Relax.”
Elias grins and shakes his head. “I never know what to expect with you.”
I pat his arm. “That’s probably for the best. Keeps you on your toes.”
Getting information out of people becomes easier as the night wears on and the drinks keep flowing, doing the hard work of loosening tongues for us. The donors are the easiest to speak with because they’re oblivious to what they’re actually giving their money to. A waste of time, really, so we move on quickly once we’ve identified that’s all they are.
The GE employees we come across are more tight-lipped, but Elias is charming, and he can get a few to share bits of information that I’ll piece together later. I have a handful of names to research after this, and I take it for the win it is.
On my way back from the restroom to jot down the latest name and information into my notes, I hear a scuffing noise and freeze. The hallway around me is clear, but I’ve been on the run long enough to trust that I heard what I did. I slip around the corner into a dark hallway and curse Elias for the long dress as I gather it up and out of the way, reaching for my knife when a hand covers mine over my thigh and another covers my mouth.
My body reacts on instinct, jerking to throw the person off of me and jabbing at their midsection to aim for their kidneys. There’s a faint grunting noise—male—and then my arm is pinned to the wall with his body.
“I just want to talk,” a familiar, velvety voice murmurs into my ear. He smells like cinnamon and freshly baked apple pie, which throws me for a second until he speaks again. “Let go of the weapon, Raegan.”
Aiden.
I knew they would be here tonight, but I’d been so consumed by talking to everyone possible that I’d forgotten.
Jackson may be willing to let me walk away, but my last encounter with Aiden didn’t end well for me.
I play along and relax myself, pulling my hand away from my thigh holster as he loosens his grip on me. As soon as I’m free of him, I shove off the wall and slam my shoulder into his chest to knock him back and then tear down the hallway.
My hands scramble at my dress as I run and try to get under the heavy fabric to reach for my blade again. Fuck long dresses. I’m never wearing them again. I finally get it out of its sheath when arms wrap around my shoulders and waist from behind, yanking me back into him.
