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I reached out and did as she asked, not saying a single word.
Zander, on the other hand, had no qualms about talking, for he asked, “What are you guys doing hiding upstairs?”
“Oh, we aren’t hiding. We’re just… killing time,” Piper replied. “This little party wasn’t my idea. It was Atticus’s. He wanted to bring all the remaining applicants together to get to know them more in a—oh, what the hell did he say? A more relaxed setting.” She huffed, “I don’t know how the hell a party like that is a more relaxed setting, so don’t ask.”
The elevator went up and up, floor after floor. Zander spoke, “How much longer until the decision is made? You’re… you’re the one leaving, aren’t you?”
Piper tossed her blue eyes his way. “I am—but not until I’m satisfied that my successor, if you want to call him that, is chosen correctly. I’m not going to hand my family’s spot over to the first person who walks in. The Black Hand is a family in and of itself, and it needs to stay that way.” She looked away, her voice quieting, “Just because I’m leaving doesn’t mean I don’t care what happens.”
Zander didn’t say anything after that, which was probably for the best. A few moments later, the elevator’s doors opened into what must be the penthouse suite of the building. Not an office space, but more like a… an apartment with floor to ceiling windows that overlooked the city on all sides. We stepped off the elevator, walking out into a giant living room area with a big flat-screen TV hanging on a wall opposite a leather sectional, where a few of the heirs sat.
Another group of heirs hung near a pool table closer to the windows, in the middle of a game. Everyone looked up the moment we walked in, and a guy with black hair and piercing blue eyes handed the man beside him his pool cue, saying loudly, “Great! The drinks are here. Awe, Piper, did you find a girlfriend on your way down?”
Piper rolled her eyes as she went to set the box on the counter in the kitchenette area. Zander followed her lead. “She’s not my girlfriend, Jett. This is Giselle Santos, Miguel Santos’s daughter.”
Jett was beside us the next moment, ignoring all of us as he went straight for the alcohol. “Oh, right. Cool. Another would-be heir.” He winked at me, grabbed two beers, the glass on each bottle clinking in his hand, and then he returned to the pool table, where he handed a girl one of the beers.
Piper started to unpack the boxes, lining up the drinks we’d brought up, and I stood near Zander, not really wanting to go into either crowd. I wouldn’t say I felt awkward, more like out of place.
A voice that was eerily familiar to Jett’s caused me to jump a little, coming out of nowhere as he said, “Don’t mind Jett. He’s just a jerk sometimes. You’ll get used to it.” He got his own beer, giving me a smile that was lightyears more genuine than Jett’s had been.
I stood staring at the other Jameson heir, the other brother.
“I’m Dex,” he said, popping the top of the bottle off on the corner of the counter.
Piper moved beside him, adding, “The nicer twin, because what he said is a lie.” To me, she said, “You never get used to Jett. Just when you think you have, he does something or says something to prove you wrong.”
“Yeah,” Dex agreed, “you’re right. He’s a little shit.”
Across the space, Jett called out, “I heard that.”
“Come on,” Piper said. “I’ll introduce you to everyone.”
Not exactly what I wanted to do, but I supposed I should. I could tell my father that we’d gone up here to get close to the current heirs and the other young Black Hand members—and to gauge the competition. Some of the heirs hanging around the leather couch were in my position, their parents wanting on the Hand. Still, I ended up following Piper across the room, heading to the pool table, with Zander sticking close behind.
“Hey, guys,” Piper said. “I want everyone to meet Giselle. Giselle, meet the gang.” She skipped Dex and Jett, starting with a rather tall and muscled blond guy whose black eyes bore into me hard, almost like he could see straight through me. “That’s Slade, and next to him is Nix.”
Beside Slade stood another man. His hair was a bit longer, a brown color, and his eyes were a bright, vivid green. He studied me in silence, and I could tell something was off about him. Nixon Hawke was definitely not the kind of man you’d want to be alone with.Noted
And, finally, Piper pointed to the girl nestled amongst the men, saying, “And that’s Shay.”
“Hey,” Shay spoke, taking a sip of her beer. Her brown hair was down, falling past her shoulders. Her eyes were as dark as mine, done up in gray eyeshadow, while her lips were painted in a dark red. While the men wore suits in various disarray, she wore a dark red dress. The color fit her well.
“Want to play?” Piper asked.
“Hey, we’re still in the middle of this game,” Jett whined out. “Next one.” He’d set down his drink and took his pool cue back from Slade, walking around the table to make a shot. The shot knocked the solid green ball right into a hole.
I shook my head. “I’m not really good at these things.”
“So, we know who you are,” Dex said. “But who are you?” That was to Zander.
“I work for her father,” Zander said, smart enough to keep the fact that he was supposed to be glued to my side under wraps. Didn’t want any of these people thinking I couldn’t take care of myself; I could. I had blood on my hands, just as these people surely did.
For the next few minutes, Zander and I watched the others play pool. Piper watched with us, since she had to stand this round out to get the drinks. As much as I found it fun to stand there and listen to them banter and constantly try to cheat in order to win—I grew bored. Eventually, I wandered away, moving away from the pool table, toward the windows overlooking the city.
From up here, the city looked so different. This wasn’t the tallest building in the downtown area, but it had to be damn near close. The buildings around this one were all shorter, and since we were on the top floor, I could see everything. All the lights, the cars on the street below. The world of day had turned to twilight, and the moon would soon make its appearance in the sky.
How long we would be here tonight, I had no idea. Dinner hadn’t been served yet, so if I had to guess, it’d still be a few hours. I doubted the Black Hand would throw a party like this and not have dessert.
