A tall man with sandy hair bumps into me as he passes, placing something in my palm. Bristling at the bold contact, I whip my head around as he walks away. Our eyes meet over his shoulder, and a mysterious smirk graces his full lips. I glance down to see a necklace in my hand—the same one the woman wore. When I look up again, he has disappeared into the crowd.
With trembling hands, I stuff the necklace inside my corset while tossing nervous glances around to ensure no one is paying attention.
Lauren was right. They’re here. And they’re here in numbers.
A shadow falls over me from behind, and a cold, controlled voice says, “Meet me on the upstairs balcony.”
I spin around, spotting Beaumont’s retreating back. He’s a man I should stay far away from, but I don’t have a choice.
I’ll meet him upstairs and turn him down in person. Why did I bring the USB? What was I thinking? Trying to save my own skin? Now that I’m here, I can’t do it—I can’t betray Darian. I don’t care for Beaumont’s threats. There must be some otherway to put him in his place. My hands turn clammy, and the walls feel as if they’re closing in. I shouldn’t be alone with him, not after his threat to hurt me to get to my husband.
Fuck it. I refuse to let a man make me feel weak. I’m not scared of him or any of the men in this damn secret society. Who is he to try to intimidate me into obedience?
With my mind set, I exit the crowded hall and hurry upstairs. My heart pounds the entire time, and my brain screams at me to turn back. I have minutes until Darian comes looking for me—minutes to get this over with.
Finding the balcony hidden at the back of the library took longer than expected. Beaumont is facing away from me, hands in his pockets. He looks sharp in a tux and gelled hair and exudes an air of danger that makes my skin crawl.
The minute I enter the cold evening air, his beady eyes land on my eye mask, and he slowly turns to face me.
“Mrs. Delacroix,” he says suggestively, his gaze traveling down my body. “It’s a pleasure to see you again.”
“I wish I could say the same.” My voice bleeds with toxic venom, and I watch him carefully, feeling like he’s about to strike any minute.
He sniffs and takes in the night sky and the streetlights in the distance. “It’s a beautiful evening. Very tranquil.”
“Why are you here?”
“It’s a party, Mrs. Delacroix.”
A chilly breeze licks at my skin like a sharp blade, cutting and slicing. Beaumont stalks closer, but I hold my ground, refusing to let the vulture sniff my fear in the air. “Did you get the information I requested?”
“I came here to tell you to leave me alone.”
“Leave you alone?” He eats up the short distance and swamps me with his large, imposing body. “I thought I made it clear that you have no choice but to sing to my tune, unless ofcourse…” A chill-inducing, suggestive smile plays on his lips as he reaches out to finger a loose tendril framing my face. “You want a secret little dalliance in a dark corner.”
“With you?” I smack his hand away. “I don’t fucking think so.”
One moment, I’m standing there, and the next, he punches me so hard in the face that I fall back onto the ground. Stars explode behind my eyes, and pain ricochets through my skull, but before I can crawl away, he kicks me in the ribs.
I double over, bleeding from a cut on my lip, and a sharp, stabbing pain guts me when I try to sit up.
He circles me with slow, predatory steps, flexing his fingers as if he’s readying to strike me with his fists. “Since I’m a gentleman, we’ll try again, Mrs. Delacroix. Did you bring the information?”
I feel blood trickle down my chin as I glare up at him, my skirt pooled around my upper thighs, my dress and hair in disarray. Running my tongue over my bloodied teeth, I sneer at him. “Is this all you’ve got? You think I’m scared of you because you’re a big, bad man?” My smile widens, as cruel as the glint in his eye. “Newsflash. I’m not. You’re pathetic?—”
With a grunt, he kicks me in the head, and for a moment, everything fades away. When he flips me over onto my back and pulls down my corset, I become vaguely aware of the gritty ground beneath me. The cold air nips at my bare skin like tiny bites, and I feel a warm hand squeeze my breasts, tweaking and kneading.
A deep ache in my skull renders me defenseless against his heated, sour breath on my face as he leans down to drag his tongue through the blood on my chin and says, “Thank you for bringing the USB, sweetheart. You should have told me you like a rough hand.”
He gropes between my legs while I whimper uselessly, my head lolling on the hard, unforgiving ground. Overhead, stars twinkle and a gust of breeze sweeps over my bruised body.
I pull at his shirt with shaky hands, fighting him off, but my heavy arms refuse to obey. “No, please,” I choke out as searing pain spreads between my legs.
A manic look enters his almost black eyes, and he forces another finger inside me. “Relax, sweetheart, and it’ll feel good.”
A shadow falls over him from behind, and relief curls inside my chest when Darian’s murderous gaze gleams like cat eyes in the dark. The weight on top of me disappears as he hauls Beaumont away and lays into him with brutal fists and a vicious, calm control that does little to cloak the unhinged fury in his eyes. I’ve never seen Darian like this. He’s nothing short of lethal.
Sinclair helps me cover up, but Lauren rushes outside and orders him away, faffing over me while the bloodbath continues in my periphery. “Careful with her. She has a concussion.” It’s only then I realize I’m bleeding from a cut on my brow, and more blood oozes from my throbbing lip.
