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Yet, this expensive apartment washis.
Of course, I understood. It would be rather inconvenient, I knew, for her to be in a committed relationship, when a man with a hundred times her partner’s wealth turned up at her door with a gift.
Alana wasn’t independently wealthy. She found her lifestyle by jumping from rich man to rich man—most of whom were in the movie industry, as that seemed to be where she was most comfortable.
She’d become more proficient over the years. At least in her time with Love there had been an attempt at a true relationship before money and fame were brought in. He’d wanted to keep it a secret, after all. But now she went for men who were happy to be public about having her on their arm.
As we drank, I engaged in a dull conversation about the industry, my pack, and Love, though I stifled that topic quickly so I didn’t ruin my own plans. And I counted every time she placed those manicured fingers on my arm in affection.
“So… a gift?” she asked as she finally finished her glass. I could tell she’d been itching to bring it up, but she was practised in hiding that desperation of hers. Come across too intense, and she would never have been able to snag the richest celebrities that would allow her into their spaces.
“Will you join me?” I asked, nodding toward the door. “I’ll show you.”
She didn’t argue, and I took great pleasure in watching her shut the door to her apartment, pulling out her keys and locking it, knowing that it was the last time she’d step foot in such luxury.
I led her down the stairs and out onto the street. It took only a few minutes for us to reach the little side alley in which I’d parked the rickety old van.
“The gift,” I said, stepping up and sliding open the rusting side door.
She frowned, looking into the interior that had been gutted of all but the front two seats. Instead, there was a ratty slim bed and a boxed off area for a toilet.
“Go on, get in and I’ll show you.”
She looked so perfectly confused, but like the idiot she was, she climbed in, heels wobbling on the uneven flooring. Shame, really. She’d be stuck with those heels for a while.
I stepped up behind her and slid the door shut. She spun, a frown on her face as she looked at me, ducking down against the low roof.
“Solid van,” I said, climbing up into the front passenger seat. “Half converted to one of those travel vans that hippie girls love. The bed looks a bit uncomfortable—but it’s yours and that’s what matters. Couldn’t get you one with one of those nice composting toilets, but it does have a bucket. Very economical.”
“What are you talking about?” she asked, staring at me from the back. I shrugged, pulling a set of keys from my pocket and putting them in the ignition.
“A place for you to stay,” I said, as if it were obvious. “But this was only half the gift.”
As if on cue, police sirens rang out down the street.
She glanced between me and the street outside where the sirens were growing louder. “What do you mean?”
“That apartment we were just in is about to be raided for drugs. Successfully, I might add, since Evan is rather entrenched in less savoury means of making money. He likes his expensive cars, and pretty birds on his arm. There’s only a few ways to make that happen when you’re a C rate actor.”
Alana’s face blanched.
“On the bright side, you aren’t in there, which means you do, in fact, have a chance to flee.”
“To… what?”
“To flee.”
She was staring at me with a blank look.
“There’s a storm coming to New Oxford,” I told her. “And you, Alana Swan, are right in the middle of it,” I told her. “All thosealternativemeans in which your partner makes his money are about to see the light of day. Only, he’s not alone, is he? Our profession isinfestedwith these vermin, making their money on tainted drugs, keeping the best for themselves—and that… that doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface.”
“It’s not…” She shook her head. “I have nothing to do with it.”
“Ten days, you have, before the lid is blown open and Alana Swan is planted right in the epicentre. You’ve dated a dozen others who’ll be outed by the end of the week. It will be all but impossible to believe that you had nothing to do with it.”
“W-why are you doing this?” she stammered.
“You came for Vex Eden because you are a pathetic jealous bitch,” I said.
