Page 23 of No Merciful Corruption

“I—”

He shakes his head. “Not like that.”

I open my mouth to argue further but the buzzing phone in my pocket cuts me off. I dig it out and read the name flashing across the screen. “It’s Lyss,” I say before answering. “Hey, I thought you were at work today?”

“I was but Rian called. He wants us to meet at The Empress in a half hour.”

“Us?”

“Yes. All of us.” Honking horns, sirens, and the screech of traffic muffle the sound of her voice. “I’m about to jump in a cab. Is Alex with you?”

“Yes.”

“Bring him too.” A car door slams shut and my best friend lets out a strangled sigh. “I have a bad feeling about this.”

RIAN AND DAHLIA MAKE AMENDS

Dahlia

The Empress looks strange in the daylight.

Sunlight floods the room through the floor to ceiling windows and everything from the coast of Queens to the Jersey skyline is within reach. A single glance over the back of the velvet booth we’re sitting in makes it feel like we’re dangling over the edge of the world. What awaits us at the bottom is a snow and concrete abyss.

The ceiling doesn’t seem so endless. At night it feels like you could reach up and touch the stars. During the day, you can see all the metal contraptions utilized to create the illusion of an endless, starry night. Confetti machines, strobe lights, hangers, metal frames, wires that support the massive chandeliers. The bar is empty and so is the dance floor. Once you learn the magician’s tricks, the wander and awe is gone.

The Empress is just another room, another place. For some reason, I think of El Aliciente and how strange and barren it felt to walk the floor after it’d been reduced to ash.

I sit alone in a booth near the bar where we’ve all seemed to gather. Alejandro stands nearby and leans against the table for support while Lyss and Sasha are one booth over, closest to the bar. Sasha places a cigar between his lips and strikes a match to light the end. As soon as Lyss inhales a bit of smoke she looks over her shoulder and gets up from where she was seated. She comes to sit by me and Alejandro and I might not have paid the insignificant interaction any mind if not for Sasha’s reaction.

He looks at her and does an immediate double take. His eyes are the grayest I’ve ever seen—near volcanic in color—a shade most people wouldn’t believe is real unless they saw it up close. They narrow slightly as he tracks her movement, shoulders still as he holds his breath, and the second Lyss slips into the booth next to me, completely oblivious to what’s transpired, he takes the bud of his new cigar and puts it out on the tabletop. He leans against the side of the booth, arms crossed over his chest, eyes never leaving her, and waits.

Waits, waits, waits.

Lyss doesn’t even know he’s looking at her. She’s too focused on picking her cuticles.

I sit up and tap Alejandro’s arm. He turns to look at me.

“¿Hay algo pasando entre ellos?”

He frowns. “¿Quién?”

I almost tilt my chin in Sasha’s direction but the club’s main entrance opens. Rian stalks into the room, appearing no less intimidating with a slight limp on his left side. A cane hangs from his right arm but he doesn’t use it and discards it as soon as a table is within reach. He yanks off his coat and tosses it aside as Damiano undresses next to him but with less vigor and frustration.

Still deep in their conversation, Rian finally looks up and notices his brother first. The room falls dead silent.

Damiano continues whispering, having not noticed the temperature in the room just dropped by ten degrees. “Besides, it’s not like it’ll cost millions…”

Rian and Sasha lock gazes and Lyss’s back straightens like a rod. Her lips part but the moment Rian tears his gaze away from his brother it lands on Lyss and she silences herself. Sasha, noticing his brother is no longer looking at him, whips around to see who’s captured Rian’s attention.

For a moment, he appears indifferent when his gaze lands on me. Then ferocious when he realizes I’m not the one Rian is looking at; it’s Lyss.

Alejandro and I watch the entire thing unfold in the span of thirty seconds before looking at each other.

“Ah,” he says under his breath. “Luego te lo explico.”

What could’ve happened between the three of them? And is it really so serious that Alejandro can’t tell me in front of everyone else?

“I’ll make this brief.” Rian announces to the room. “Law enforcement is proving to be a rather insurmountable obstacle.”