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I blink, working hard to keep my jaw from dropping. I’ve never seen luxury like this before. A large, ornate fountain sits in the center of the circle drive, and the mansion itself is massive. It’s a visceral reminder of everything that’s at stake here, what all the players in the game are competing for.
This is the future for whoever wins.
A valet takes the keys from Theo when we pull to a stop and get out, and as the
car rolls away down the drive, the two men come to stand on either side of me, sandwiching me between them as we all look up at the house.
Nerves make my stomach pitch, but I stoically ignore them. If I feel out of my depth, I’ll act out of my depth, and we can’t afford to show any weakness here. We’ve got a target—Adrian Reyes—and if we can walk away from the party tonight with him in our pocket, we’ll be one step closer to ending this fucking thing.
The silky fabric of my dress swishes around my legs as we walk up the wide marble steps to the massive double doors that lead into the house. It feels a little like walking into a palace, which I’m sure isn’t an accident. Luca D’Addario is the king here, and he obviously wants everyone to remember that.
The inside of the mansion is just as insanely elaborate as the outside, but I’m careful to keep my head from swiveling around as a guy who I guess is the butler leads us deeper into the house.
When we step into a sweeping ballroom, soft orchestral music greets us, courtesy of live musicians. It’s a barely audible backdrop against the buzz of conversation that fills the space as people gather in small clusters or move through the crowd.
It’s packed. Clearly, a lot more people than just the families involved in the competition were invited, and my gaze sweeps the crowd, searching for familiar faces from the church.
When I catch sight of a man with ash-brown hair and a haughty sort of face, I do a double-take. Then I blink slowly.
“Is that…?”
“Jeffrey Purcell. Carson’s dad. Yeah.” Theo nods, his gaze tracking mine.
“What’s he doing here?”
I can’t hide the shock in my voice. Less than two weeks ago, that man buried his son. And unlike the Constantines, there was no room for doubt or even a fraction of hope. I saw Carson’s body. And now he’s at a party hosted by the man who started this whole thing?
“Carson isn’t even in the game anymore,” I add, pulling my gaze away from the middle-aged man and glancing from Theo to Ryland. “What possible reason could his father have to be here? There’s nothing left for him to win. He lost.”
Ryland’s brows pull together. “Is that Sadie?”
I look back toward Jeffrey Purcell just as he takes the elbow of a young woman. The family resemblance between them is so strong that I’m sure she has to be his daughter, and she looks maybe seventeen or eighteen, tops.
“Yeah, it is.” Theo’s voice hardens. “He’s not going to—”
“Like hell he isn’t. Watch.”
I don’t get what they’re talking about, but I do what Ryland says and just watch. Jeffrey and Sadie are joined by an older woman who must be her mother, and the three of them make their way through the crowd in a tight knot. Jeffrey and his wife both wear stoic, determined looks, but Sadie looks miserable. Awkward and uncomfortable and… terrified.
When they’re about halfway across the ballroom, they stop in front of a man who’s holding a glass of amber liquid casually in one hand. He’s tall and broad-shouldered, with dark hair that’s just beginning to show streaks of gray at the temples. He’s got to be in his late fifties, but there’s something striking and vital about him, a power that makes him seem almost ageless.
The way he carries himself makes me certain I know who he is even before Ryland leans a little closer and murmurs in my ear, “Luca D’Addario.”
I nod, my gaze transfixed on the scene playing out across the room as Jeffrey steps forward to greet the dark-haired man. Luca nods and says something in response, then turns to greet the two women. After a moment of quiet conversation, Jeffrey tugs Sadie forward. She moves hesitantly, and even from this distance, I can see her eyes shifting from side to side as if she’s looking for a way to flee.
Jeffrey speaks again, his expression turning earnest and his gestures becoming more emphatic. Ryland makes an angry noise low in his throat, and the three of us watch as Luca raises a hand, cutting the other man off.
“What’s he doing? What’s going on?” I ask in a low voice as Luca speaks to Jeffrey and his wife, all but ignoring Sadie. The casual ease in the tall man’s body is gone, and he seems even taller now as his face settles into hard lines.
“Well, if my guess is right, Carson’s dad just tried to sub in a second string player.” Theo snorts, sounding angry. “And Luca didn’t go for it.”
“Wait, you mean he tried to put Sadie in the game as a replacement for Carson?” I turn to gape at him. “What the actual fuck?”
Beyond the fact that such a move obviously violates the rules of the game, it’s heartless to a degree I can barely comprehend. He just lost a son, and instead of mourning that loss, he’s offering up his daughter on the same altar, praying for one more chance to win.
“Jesus,” I mutter, nausea churning my stomach. Every time I think I’m getting used to this world, the level of depravity shocks me all over again.
“Yeah.” Ryland’s voice is hard. “And you can bet your ass it wasn’t Sadie’s goddamn idea. She looks like she’s about to piss her fuckin’ pants.”
