“As soon as possible. There are decorations to buy, meals to plan.” She waved her hand over the table. “Business has been down, thanks to my son’s theatrics.”
“One hundred thousand volts is still far more than extravagant,” Levi gritted between his teeth. “That’s probably the value of this whole casino.”
Vianca didn’t respond to that. Perhaps because this was more than a party to Vianca. If it was the night the election results were announced, then both candidates would be there. Levi wondered when Harrison Augustine had last come home.
The thought of Harrison made his already queasy stomach take a turn for the worse. Now that his wager with Vianca was finished, how many times would she summon him back to St. Morse? How many poker faces could he wear until she learned the truth?
“I’ll expect both of you to attend, of course,” Vianca said. “And I must say, you would look quite handsome as a set.”
“We’re not dolls,” Enne said flatly.
“Of course not,” Vianca answered. “Dolls would never be so stubborn. But that’s really the fun.” She took a pastry off the tower and held it to Enne’s lips. “Eat. Tell me what you think.”
“I think I’d like to leave.” She slid her seat back, knocking it into Vianca’s side.
Vianca scowled. “I could make you stay.”
“But you won’t.”
And to Levi’s utter shock, Enne walked out the door, and Vianca didn’t try to stop her.
The donna collapsed in her seat, her expression strangely haggard. She gave Levi a dark look. “You’ll go, too, will you?” There was only fact in her voice, no accusation.
She’d never given Levi a choice. But if it was sympathy or affection she sought after, they were far beyond the possibility of those. Levi would never forget how she’d laughed at him about Reymond’s death. How he’d nearly died performing her scheme. How she’d dressed Enne up exactly to Sedric Torren’s tastes.
Vianca Augustine was a monster, and a monster who learned remorse was a monster still. Her hands were too stained to wipe clean.
“You’ll have your volts,” Levi said, though he knew that wasn’t what the donna wanted to hear. Then he left his napkin on the table and followed Enne out. And though it was from no effect of the omerta, he didn’t breathe again until he saw Enne waiting at the elevator, holding the door open for him.
ENNE
Enne was uncomfortably full during the elevator ride—her diet had been mostly bonbons and cookies for weeks, so the heaviness of Vianca’s chosen fare made her feel bloated and tired. She had every urge to slip away to her room in the finishing school and sleep off her discomfort, but her mind was racing too quickly for any hope of sleep.
The donna was manipulative, jealous, and cruel, and no amount of weakness on Vianca’s part would change that fact. If anything, the more Enne understood about Vianca, the more she hated her.
Levi cleared his throat, but said nothing. Enne could hardly bear to look at him after all the things Vianca had said. Less because of embarrassment, more because of pride. The way he had looked at her earlier...
Her heart would not be cut in the same place twice.
“I assume Vianca sent a motorcar to bring you here, as well,” he said.
“Yes, but I doubt we can expect the same treatment going home.” Something heavy hung in those words. She had her home, and he had his. And there were miles in between.
“You walked out on Vianca,” he murmured. “I could never do that. I’ve always waited to be dismissed. It was brave.”
“I knew she wouldn’t force me.”
“How?”
“Because it wasn’t her son’s leaving that changed Vianca,” she told him. “It was that he came back.” It occurred to her that Harrison might very well be present at this event Vianca planned, and she loathed to think of the donna in the same room as her son. Enne didn’t have the time or care to piece together the shards of Vianca Augustine after she fell apart.
“Are you afraid she’ll find out?”
“I’m always afraid of Vianca. I was before you told me about your deal, and I still am now.” She met his gaze fiercely. “But I’m glad we don’t keep secrets.”
“Me, too,” he answered.
But there were still secrets, and this time, it was Enne who kept them. She’d never told Levi, Lola, or anyone else that she wanted to destroy the Phoenix Club. Now, after weeks of grasping for power, Enne finally had her first name. She had a time and a place. She had her gun.
