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“Holy shit,” she whispered. “I think they fucked up.”
“Go up there.” I let out an amused snort and pushed her towards the stage.
Lexi handed her an envelope and whispered something into Thora’s ear. Thora came back to the table, her face twisted in confusion.
“What did she say?” I leaned over and peered at the envelope.
Thora shook her head and opened the envelope. “She just said that I could call the museum to make delivery arrangements and gave me a card from the artist.” Her eyes widened as she read the card, fanning herself with it a second later.
“Well?” I furrowed my brow and took a sip of wine.
“Fuck.” Thora handed me the card and slammed back the rest of her champagne.
A piece of darkness for the queen of light. K.V.
“No.” My eyes grew big at the initials. “No way.” There was no way Kaviathin had actually given this to Thora. They barely knew each other.
Before I could ask the million questions running through my head, a man walked up to our table and tapped Cian on his shoulder. Cian stood, shaking the man’s hand, a smile spreading across his face.
“Senator Edwards, pleased to see you again. This is my fiancé, Nova.” Cian held his arm out to me, and I stood, straightening my gown. I raised my hand, freezing halfway as I stared at the man I had just seen days prior. The man who had been sitting in the SUV with Althazair.
“Lovely to meet you.” I extended my hand and tried to put a smile on my face. “I’m sorry, did you say Senator?”
“Yes, ma’am. Of the great state of New York. Reelections are coming up, so let’s hope I get to keep my seat.” He chortled and blew his wispy white hair out of his eyes. “I just wanted to give my congratulations to Mr. Blackwood for all of his achievements.”
I nodded politely and sat back down as Cian and the senator spoke for a few minutes. Shit, I’d known I should have told Cian about seeing Althazair in New York. Well, the cat would be out of the bag soon enough.
A server placed a dessert plate in front of me, a napkin sticking out from the bottom. Another note from Delove.
He hasn’t shown. Let’s wrap it up.
My shoulders sagged with relief, and I whispered to Thora, who told the rest of the table. I was happy that we had got to enjoy the night, but that nagging feeling was still at the back of my mind. I excused myself to go to the bathroom, taking my purse with my gun with me. There was a long line, so I ran down the hall where I had seen another bathroom earlier next to where the auction items were being held.
I freshened up, checking my lipstick in the bathroom mirror. I swung the door open, and gasped as I ran right into a man dressed in all black. Before he could even react, I reached into my purse and pulled out my gun, pointing it at him. My breaths came out in panicked spurts, and he threw his hands up in the air and stepped back.
“Don’t shoot, Nova.”
“Dobbs?” I scowled. “What the actual fuck are you doing lurking outside the bathroom? I could have shot you.” I sighed and put the gun back into my purse.
He wiped his forehead and breathed out sharply. “Jesus, honey, you almost gave me a heart attack.” His face was rosy, but I wasn’t so sure it was just from me pointing a gun at him. I could smell the alcohol coming from him from five feet away.
“Dobbs, what are you doing here? Are you attending this event?” I raised my eyebrow and stepped back as he came into the bathroom and shut the door behind him, then locked it. OK, maybe I shouldn’t have put my gun away so quickly.
“Not exactly, honey. I needed to talk to you, and my sources said you would be here tonight.” He took a step forward, and I gave him a pointed look.
“Don’t come any closer. I don’t know what the hell is going on here, but you’re not working this case anymore. You’re retired.”
“Retired?” He scoffed and loosened his tie. “They tried to fire me, can you believe that? But I’ve got news for them. I’m not going anywhere.”
I held up my hand, shaking my head. “OK, just calm down. What does that have to do with me?”
“I came here to warn you.” He reached into his pocket and my hand flew back inside of my purse. “Will you stop trying to pull a gun on me? I’m here to help you,” he barked, looking over his shoulder and then over mine.
Oh, God, he seemed drunk. Was that what he had been doing all this time? Getting drunk and planning his revenge against the FBI for forcing him to retire?
He handed me a picture, and I furrowed my brow. “I knew something wasn’t right, and this proves it. This—” He shrieked as the bathroom door crashed open and Cian stood there with his nostrils flaring.
“Dobbs! What the fuck are you doing?” Cian stalked over and grabbed him by the scruff of his neck. “Are you OK, Nova?”
