Page 55 of Dark Soul

And then, just as Thorne lowered his eyes, it hit him. Thorne wasn’t here because he didn’t trust them—he was here because he was jealous.

He wants to be part of the team.

He filed that information away for future reference and opened the large, white envelope, let out a short whistle.

“We’re Gold donors, apparently.”

“I won’t even tell you how much I had to pay to make this happen,” Thorne said, wrinkling his brow.

“But it’s going to the children,” Slate said wryly.

“Yeah. Let’s hope so.”

“Excuse me if I don’t think too highly of an NGO that associates themselves with Kvyat,” Ash said.

“Only two tickets?” Dark said, looking at the thick cards.

“We’re lucky I even managed that on such short notice. No offense, Rogue,” Thorne added, sparing a glance in Rogue’s direction. “We were lucky you found out about the exchange at all.”

“It wasn’t luck,” Rogue said. “I think you need better analysts on your team.”

“Carrie and Pascale are good. Maybe you could train them to be even better, once this is over.”

“Maybe,” Rogue said.

“So,” Thorne asked Dark. “Who’s going inside and who stays outside?”

“I’m going inside,” Dark said. And he was saying it for the right reasons—because as a team leader he’d never led from the back, he’d never shirked danger. But he knew himself well enough to know there was another reason he wanted to be at the party. A personal reason. He had to make sure Alexia was okay, had to make sure none of this shit splattered her. “And I’ll need Rogue there with me.”

Rogue nodded quickly.

“So. What’s the plan?” Thorne asked, in his clipped English accent.

Again, that eagerness.

He wishes he were one of us.

He clearly has the experience.

Why isn’t he one of us?

One day, he’d ask Thorne. But not today.

“Sit down, Thorne, and we’ll take you through it. There’s still a lot of work to be done between now and then.”

18

* * *

Alexia

Parties were apparently another thing the uber-wealthy did differently.

Alexia wasn’t sure what she’d imagined when Kvyat had told her he’d be hosting a charity event. But it certainly wasn’t this.

All day, there’d been a steady flow of trucks coming and going from Kvyat’s property. Including, and these were just the things she and Nikolai had seen: an entire truck full of silk screens, chandeliers, candles and other decorative items, dozens of cases of champagne, and a green-and-silver five-tier cake that had apparently been flown in all the way from New York for the occasion, together with the baker and her assistant.

And don’t forget the orchids.