Page 142 of Deathless & Divided

Before Damian could get Lily dancing again, the lightest tap on his shoulder interrupted them. Turning to see who had cut in on him and his new bride, Damian came face to face with Terrance Trentini.

“You two look lovely,” Terrance said.

Lily offered the man a smile that was nothing like the one she graced Damian with five seconds before. Damian had to give her the credit where it was due though, because she never once gave Terrance the slightest inclination that she disliked the man.

“Thank you,” Lily replied.

“May I cut in?” Terrance asked.

Damian shrugged. To refuse would be rude even if he hadn’t wanted to part with Lily just yet. “Sure.”

“Thank you,” Terrance said, taking Lily’s hand when she held it out. “I’ll be leaving soon as I’m not as young as I once was. Abriella, Alessa, and Joel are staying, but I just can’t keep up with you younger ones anymore.”

“Well, I’ll end your night off right with a dance,” Lily said.

“Yes, let’s do that.”

Damian winked at Lily. “Chances are now that someone’s cut in on me, the people won’t stop, Lily.”

“We’ve done all the important things.”

They had. From cake cutting to tossing the garter and bouquet. Everything had gone off smoothly. Mostly, the couple had just been enjoying the last bit of their reception together. In fact, they’d barely spent any time apart. But the night still had hours and hours to go before it could be officially over and the couple could say goodbye.

“I’ll be back,” Damian told Lily.

He would be … eventually. Damian had things to do. His wedding didn’t stop business from being finished. Terrance, without even knowing it, had given Damian an opening. Damian planned on taking it. If he was lucky and quick, he’d get the job done and be back before anyone really noticed his absence for long.

“Will you?” Lily asked.

“Soon,” he promised. “Let your brothers dance with you after the boss has his turn.”

“Yes,” Terrance said. “You must dance with your brothers, Lily.”

Damian smirked. “But don’t get too tired smiling and dazzling the crowd, sweetheart.”

The soft sound of squeaky footsteps padding down the hallway outside of the office broke Damian from his daze. Italian leather always gave off a certain sound when it hit hardwood floors. No matter how quiet you tried to be, the shoes gave a man away every single time.

Not a second later, the office door opened, followed by the sounds of familiar grumbling. The decorative lights above turned on, illuminating the space in a warm yellow tone. Damian didn’t turn the large office chair around as Terrance Trentini closed his door.

“You may spin around,” Terrance said quietly.

Damian was surprised the man knew someone was in his office. He’d parked his car a couple of blocks away from the home, sneaked in the back under the old willow that was unprotected by security cameras, and got inside the house with little to no problems.

Terrance trusted Damian too much. Maybe that was the problem. In fact, he trusted him enough to give him the keypad passcode to shut the security system off and get inside without anyone knowing.

“I said turn around,” Terrance ordered, firmer the second time.

Damian spun the office chair slowly, facing his boss. A brief flicker of shock passed over Terrance’s features before the Outfit boss turned stone cold again.

“I should have known,” Terrance muttered.

“Probably,” Damian replied quietly.

Terrance waved at the chair. “I always push my chair in before leaving my office. Anyone who is smart knows better than to come inside here without my permission. I didn’t think it would be you in that chair, Damian.”

“Yes, well …”

“I wondered, though,” Terrance said softly.