Page 53 of High Reward

Victor sighs. “I’ll get you in touch with her.” Then he turns to me.

“Is the club OK, Spitfire?”

I shake my head. “I just want to see Grace.”

His expression softens. “You will. Let’s go, sweetheart. We’ll all be together soon. We have a couple of stops to make, though.”

Chapter 15

Grace

ThelongerIgowithout hearing from Victor or Lili, the smaller his house feels.

It’s almost nine at night, and they should have been back by early afternoon.

Talking to Owen and Victor a few hours ago did little to relieve my anxiety. Especially once I learned that Phineas Draven had kidnapped his wife. But I’m doing my best to believe that they’ll be OK.

After a dozen attempts to finish my paper, I give up and take a blanket from Victor’s bed and settle on the couch in the den to watch TV, hoping to get lost in something mindless while I wait for an update.

The local news is on, and before I can change the channel, the chyron at the bottom catches my eye. My hand flies to my mouth.

“In a shocking move, Mayor Miranda Brandt resigned her office today, effective sixty days from today. She cited personal family matters as the reason, but those closest to the mayor say the decision was abrupt and came with no warning. Mayor Brandt’s chief of staff, Caroline Berry, has said a more detailed statement is forthcoming.

One anonymous source told our reporters that a visit from Hunter Novak, one of Las Vegas’s most prominent business owners, is what set off the mayor’s actions today.

“In a bizarre twist to this story, a cabin that has since been discovered to be owned by the mayor’s foundation was the site of a major explosion at about six this evening. Authorities have not provided details regarding the cause of the explosion or whether there were any casualties. The fire chief is expected to make a statement at a press conference before the top of the hour. We’ll bring that to you live.”

I mute the TV and dial Victor again, but there is no answer. It goes straight to voicemail like his phone is off.

Lili still doesn’t have a phone, so I can’t even call her. My stomach is in knots as I dial Owen first, then Matteo, Luke, and Tobias. When none of them answer, I try Bellamy, Skylar, and Zara.

Zara answers after the third ring. “Luke tore out of here about three hours ago. I finally got a text a little while ago saying he would be out late. Do you want me to come out to your house? We can keep each other company.”

“That would be really nice, but I’m at Victor’s. I don’t want you to drive that far.”

“Victor’s is what I meant,” Zara says.

Is it my house? Do I live here now? I might as well. To be honest, I can’t imagine going back to my apartment after spending so much time here with Victor and Lili.

But I’m sure things will go back to normal once all of this is over.

“If you don’t mind driving, then yes. There’s a bunch of stuff on the news, and I’m worried because no one is answering their phones.”

“I saw the news too, sweetie. It’ll take me a solid hour, hopefully not longer, but I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

Almost an hour goes by before she knocks on the front door, and I still haven’t heard from anyone. I’m starting to get pissed off on top of worrying.

Zara brings a bag of snacks and a bottle of wine into the living room where we pour ourselves glasses and turn on a trashy reality TV show that I’ve never heard of, but she seems to love.

I spend the entire time locking and unlocking my phone to check for missed calls or messages.

“They’ll call,” Zara says as a commercial for life insurance plays in the background. “This is the life we sign up for to be with men like ours. Luke does his best to keep things normal, but at the end of the day, his father is still the head of the Irish mob, and he’s still working with less than legal enterprises. That’s going to mean secrets and being in the dark sometimes.”

I pop a piece of candy into my mouth and think about all the ways she’s right. But I can’t imagine life without Victor, so I have to accept these parts of him the way Zara has accepted them about Luke. “How was your trip to D.C.?” I ask, trying to keep my mind off the fact that my phone is still seriously lacking in notifications.

Her eyes light up, and she shifts to sitting cross-legged, facing me on the couch with a glass of wine in her hands. “It was amazing. I’ve partnered with a national non-profit to build education programs to education the public on the realities of sex work to destigmatize it. And I’ve secured a space to launch an adult content creator-friendly studio like the one we’ve been working on here. I’d love to have them all over the country, but that’s going to take some time.”

We chat about her plans for the next half hour while another episode of her show plays. She’s in the middle of describing her experience at a BDSM club in D.C. called Exposure when both our phones light up.