Breaking News: Senator Claren stabbed through the eye with a butter knife.
I take my hand back and resist the urge to wipe it on my dress.
“I hope you don’t mind, Daniel, but the dancing is about to start, and I was hoping I might steal your lovely date for a song?”
Danny looks at me and I try to convey to him through just my eyes that dancing with the senator is possibly the last thing on this earth I want to do. It would seem my telepathy needs some work because Danny just smiles. “Of course not, sir.”
“Wonderful.” The senator beams, just the earliest traces of crow’s feet stretching from his eyes. He holds out his hand again.
Come on Hazel, this is what you came for. Go be a super sneaky undercover reporter.
I slip my palm into his and let the man responsible for multiple rapes lead me onto the dance floor.
The music starts slow and I flinch a little when the senator’s hands land on my hips. I put my own hands on his shoulders, and we sway to the music.
There’s a reason Claren has done so well in his career. The man is attractive, with a strong rectangular jaw, clear blue eyes, and a dimple on one cheek. Even now he’s in office, he still volunteers every Sunday at his local soup kitchen. A good man who makes my stomach turn.
“So, Hazel, what do you do for work?”
My mind whirls. Telling him I’m a reporter doesn’t seem like a great idea and I’m quickly learning I’m really not that good at being sneaky because I just blurt out, “I’m a 911 operator.”
Surprise flickers across his face. “That’s very admirable and not an easy job I’d imagine.”
“No,” I say. And then I dig deeper and look him right in the eye. “The worst are the rape calls.”
I shouldn’t have said it. I know I shouldn’t, but I couldn’t stand here, dancing with this monster and pretend like everything is fine.
The senator just nods, sympathy dripping from his pores. “Yes, that’s a large part of why I’m building this clinic. So people like that have somewhere to go.”
I open my mouth but before I can say anything else I regret, a body barges into me, cold liquid running down my chest. A tray clatters to the floor, glass smashing.
Around us guests stop dancing and a young waiter stares at me, his eyes wide. “I’m so sorry, ma’am. Please, come with me, I’ll get you a cloth to clean up.”
The cold champagne sinks into my dress, cooling my rapid heart. The senator’s hand touches my elbow. “Mind the glass.” He turns to the waiter. “Send someone to clean this up, please.”
The boy nods. “Yes, sir.” He gives me an apologetic smile, and I follow him through the ballroom, desperate to get away from the dozens of staring faces. The waiter keeps muttering apologies to me, but I brush them off. My dress is damp, but the champagne won’t stain and honestly, I’m more than happy not to be dancing with the senator anymore.
It’s not until we’re out in the hall and the waiter turns to face me that I get the sense I might have been safer with the senator. “I really am sorry, miss,” the boy says, regret twisting his face. “But he paid me a hundred bucks to get you out here.”
My stomach drops. “What? Who did?”
The answer comes from behind me. A voice I recognize all too well. A voice that is beyond furious.
“I did.”
20
STFUATMCLAGG
Flynn
Anger pulsesin time with my heart, a violent beast I’m oh so close to letting off the leash.
Ever so slowly, Hazel turns to face me, wide eyes taking in the black slacks and white shirt I’m wearing. The other waiter scurries off back inside the ballroom, leaving Hazel and me alone in the red carpeted hall.
I’d been keeping my distance. I’d been trying to do the right thing and let her go but then I’d looked up to seemyLittle Lilac dancing with the fucking senator.
I take my time, rolling up the sleeves of my shirt and thinking of all the ways I’m going to teach her that disobeying me has consequences. That putting herself in danger is unacceptable.
