Page 110 of Beguiled

My fucking God. Was this a game or was this all about her best friend?

Scrubbing my jaw, I tried to envision the girl. Until catching sight of Saige even in costume, I’d paid almost no attention to the hired help. That hadn’t been why I’d been involved in a fight. But I could remember long, dark hair. Hair that could be mistaken for when Saige wore it down, which was almost never. But it was how she was wearing it tonight.

Hair that could be from the woman in the picture with Davit at the Armenian restaurant.

“The card girl.”

“Yes,” she muttered. “That’s why I was shocked you figured out who I was. We look very much alike.”

I managed to laugh. “Maybe to the untrained eye. Why was she working there?”

“Money. Why else? She very much wanted to get away from her father’s clutches.”

“Who is her father?”

“I don’t know. We don’t talk about our families. But I think she was forced to prove herself to him. This guy she was dating, I had a bad feeling about him.” As soon as she made the statement, she briefly returned to searching my eyes. This time to see if I’d discovered anything about her family. “Were you at the fight tonight?”

Her question sparked several of my own.

“No, but not every night involves me. My attendance is for a select reason only.” However, that didn’t mean I wouldn’t ask Sean some pointed questions. Had the girl been the intended victim all along? It was entirely possible Sean knew who her father was. If an important man, it could be the very reason she’d been allowed to work at the club.

And the reason that upon the girl’s recommendation alone, a substitute had been allowed. That should have raised more red flags than it had.

Unless Saige had been requested specifically.

“You said your friend called you. Correct?”

“Yes.” With a slight jerk of her head, she leaned forward. “She left a voicemail that I listened to right before I left to go to her apartment. Wherever she was, which sounded like outside, the message was garbled, but she sounded terrified and angry. The conversation with her father and whatever he told her was the reason she was so upset. She also mentioned something weird. She had information about me or something like that. She refused to tell me over the phone and the earlier message was too jumbled to make much of it out.”

“No real details?”

“Just that she was terrified. That’s why I knew when her neighbors mentioned she’d jumped from the rooftop, it couldn’t be true. Then the horrible, fucking man. All I could think about was getting to you. I’m sorry. I just… I had no other place to go.”

“You did the right thing. Where is your phone?”

“In my car. It’s on the street behind yours.” Her words faded. “Thank you for saving me. Again.”

Using a single finger, I swept hair from her face. While now wasn’t the time, she’d need to understand how dangerous her life had become.

At least my men hadn’t wasted any time, the buzz in my pocket on my phone indicating they had arrived.

“You need to listen to me. I called several of my soldiers. They are already outside. As you might imagine, I need to do a few things.”

“You can’t leave. Not now.”

“You’ll be fine,moya smelaya, bezrassudnaya zhenshchina.”

“What did you call me?” Every time I spoke my native language, her eyes lit up with a bright fire, a curiosity that fueled more than just the darkness dwelling within.

“My beautiful, reckless woman. And you are. You’re very lucky you weren’t injured. Make no mistake, Saige. The assailant wasn’t working alone, nor will his death stop the assignment.”

“To kill me.”

“Maybe.” At least her quick thinking had saved her life. Of that I was certain.

My guest cocked her pretty little head. “You’re not convinced she was the target, are you?”

“I question everything. That’s one reason I’m able to thrive in my job and my life. Because I pay strict attention to details. As of right now, you’re my guest for the time being.”