She smiled. “Oh, it’s not what I did to her that you should worry about.”
Even though he couldn’t hurt the donna, Levi took a threatening step closer. He smelled the alcohol on her breath.
“If something happened to her,” he hissed. “I’ll never forgive you.”
Vianca looked around the room, at the grandeur bought with the volts and lives she’d stolen, as though she watched it all from far, far away.
“Neither did he,” she murmured.
Levi cursed and pushed past her, frantically searching the faces in every room of the casino.
Tick. Tick. Tick.
Another game had begun.
And this time, he would save her.
ENNE
Enne had spent an anxious morning trapped within the St. Morse Spa, under the sadistic care of Vianca Augustine.
You will not contact anyone, the donna had hissed as her assistant scrubbed Enne’s skin scarlet and raw.You won’t speak of my instructions.Enne gasped as the dress—several sizes too small—crushed her chest like a corset of iron.You won’t leave this casino.Not ever again.
But because Vianca didn’t know of the plot the street lords had devised for tonight, she hadn’t known to forbid Enne from acting out her part in it. So as the gangsters waited outside the casino to set that plan in motion, Enne slipped her mask and her revolver into the pink satin of her dress, and concocted a plan of her own.
“Hurry up,” Vianca’s assistant snapped, tapping her heels. “The guests are already arriving, and I still need to speak with the caterers.”
Enne applied her black lipstick and puckered her lips in the mirror. She needed to match her wanted poster. “You could always leave me be.”
“No, Madame wanted me to watch you until you arrived at the party.” She checked her watch. “Which was supposed to be ten minutes ago!”
Fear crept over Enne’s heart like ice as she followed the assistant down several stories to the ground floor. The lobby was already crowded with people, and Enne recognized many faces she had encountered during her parties on the South Side.
Her eyes scanned the crowds for Lola or Grace. The three girls had been assigned an important piece of Levi’s plan, and Enne would see it through.
Even if it was the last thing she ever did.
While searching for the Spirits, she instead found another familiar face. Poppy Prescott entered the casino on her father’s arm. Her white dress shimmered with beads like sugar crystals, and she wore black satin gloves up to her elbows, cinched with ruffles and pearls. She waved at Enne from across the room and hurried over to her.
Enne swallowed. She didn’t have time to spend with Poppy tonight.
Poppy gave her a hug and admired the dress Viana had chosen for her, a dress meant for a doll. “You look stunning.” Then she studied Enne’s face. “But you’re practically shaking. Are you okay?”
“I feel fine.” Though of course, she didn’t. Across the room, Vianca Augustine watched from the entrance to the Tropps Room, and she smiled at Enne knowingly. The fear of the past night swept over her, and Enne unconsciously held a hand to her throat.
You will break his heart, and then you will die.
Poppy snatched her hand down. “You don’t look fine. Did something happen?”
Enne shook her head. “No, don’t worry about me. What about you?”
“I’m just thrilled this will all be over soon. This night couldn’t have come fast enough.” She examined the opulent decor of the casino. “I’ve never been this far up the North Side.”
Enne let out a laugh. There was still much of the Casino District and Ruins District above them. But of course, Poppy would have no reason to come here. Enne had spent the past four months sneaking into Poppy’s world, but what would Poppy say if she learned that this was Enne’s? For all that she might tease Enne about her supposed North Side boy, Enne was sure their friendship would collapse under the weight of her real secrets.
“My father can’t go anywhere without his bodyguards trailing after him. They’re like gnats,” Poppy complained. “I don’t see why we needed to bring them here. Half the city’s whiteboots are outside.”
“Are they?” Enne said shakily. They’d been expecting as much, but it still worried her to hear it.
