Page 85 of The Unravelings

Hux must feel the same as me, with his lips pulled into a frown and the vein on his forehead protruding like it might burst and splatter us all. Fuck. Hux might lose his shit once and for all. And the cause of it all is the girl currently making googly eyes at him.

What a sight that would be. I can imagine all the carnage after Huxley unleashes his demons and lets them roam free.

I smile to myself. Discreetly, of fucking course. I can’t have Amanda knowing I’m thinking about her demise at Huxley’s hands.

He doesn’t want her. Or want to be around her. Have her in his future. Be here. Or have an engagement party.

I don’t blame him. Maybe we can send her away somewhere. Like the bottom of the ocean with concrete shoes? Here, sharky, sharky, here’s some delicious fresh meat. Nah. That would be too obvious. Besides, I’m sure Preston would go scorched earth to find her. Father of the year and all. Maybe we should toss him, too.

Two birds, one stone kind of situation. Ugh. Then Franco would be all “where’s Preston and Amanda?” and we’d have to lie our asses off to his face. Something he doesn’t take too kindly to, and he would be able to sniff out our lies within minutes.

Franco assesses Hux and Amanda with a distant look. Gone is the bright smile he once held, and in its place is an expression I can’t quite figure out. He takes a drink of his champagne and stares off into the distance with indifference.

“We’ll have thrones on the stage!” Amanda says excitedly again, ignoring Hux’s rejection. “And crowns made of diamonds and rubies. We’ll be the king and queen of the gala. Ballgowns and suits. Open bar. We’ll even have aerial silk performers, fire dancers, and oh—a beautiful symphony orchestra, right over there!” She gestures toward a small area off to the side of the stage, grinning. “It’ll be magical,” she sighs overdramatically. “The perfect engagement party.”

I raise my brows. “The king and queen?” I mutter sarcastically, but it draws eyes to me. Oops. Must have said that louder than I thought. “What the hell is the damn theme of this party, anyway?” That was a smooth recovery, right? Yeah. That won’t get me whooped later by Franco.

“Indeed, Son,” Franco says without glancing my way. “The newest Greenwood Royalty. On my dime, of course.” He offers them a cordial smile, but it feels a little more ominous than anything. Something hidden behind his beady little eyes. Or shit, maybe I am a little too tipsy right now.

“Yeah, magical,” Hux says, but his sarcasm takes a leap over Amanda’s head while she grins up at him with parted lips and glazed-over eyes.

Franco’s brows furrow as he reaches into his pocket and pulls out his phone, staring at the number flashing across the screen. His fingers tighten, turning white, and he mutters unintelligible words under his breath.

Funny, it seems he’s important enough to still have his phone when we all had to leave ours at the door along with everyone else. Perks of being the boss. I guess.

“If you’ll excuse me.” He nods to each of us as he steps away and walks through the door to a private area.

Preston hovers for two more seconds before meandering away with a simple goodbye and narrowed eyes on his daughter, who sways to the music that has started up again while smiling happily to herself.

I think she’s on drugs. Maybe high on life. Or too drunk to function at a normal level. Whatever it is, I want to run and hide away from her existence. At least her overly friendly friends aren’t hovering around the edges, too.

“So planning soon?” Amanda asks, batting her eyelashes again.

“Sure,” Hux placates her again with a tight smile. “Now, if you’ll excuse us, we have recruits to take care of.” He gestures to the group of guys huddling together near the stage, loudly celebrating their new titles.

Idiots.

They should be running, but whatever. Poor guys don’t know any better. Not yet, at least.

They stiffen when they see us looking their way. Smiles fall off. Shoulders hunch to their ears.

“I can smell their fear from here,” I chuckle. “And it’s fucking glorious.”

“Much better company than her,” Hux says, shaking his head. “I’m going to lose my shit if I actually have to walk down the aisle with her. I don’t know—” He folds his lips together, a hint of vulnerability showing through his eyes. “I don’t know how I’m going to survive that.”

“I’m still looking,” JJ offers, lacking the confidence Huxley needs. “But the contract they signed in agreement to your nuptials has been ironclad. There doesn’t seem to be an inch we can take, and if you pull out or can’t make it, Franco loses everything to Preston and vice versa.”

“Or, and hear me out, we can ditch this shit, change our names, and go with our original plan.” I grin, exposing my teeth, hoping they’ll agree.

I know they won’t. We’re too deep into this. Franco made sure of that. We can’t leave, even if we wanted to. The only chance we’d have is if someone took Franco out and blew up the entire Franco Syndicate.

“I wish,” JJ mutters as we slowly inch away from Amanda, who stands in the same spot, pouting as we leave her.

“Good riddance,” I mutter, waving at her with a big grin.

“Stop antagonizing her,” Hux grumbles, grabbing my hand. “You’ll only encourage her to be more annoying.”

I groan. “If we have to live with that, I might choke her in her sleep.” I give him a pointed look.