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When I reach the pool area, now lit to make the water look like blood, I grab a champagne flute from a serving tray to help me blend in. As if that’s even possible. Everyone around me is in deep conversation with one another and I know literally no one here. I sip my drink and offer the passing gentleman an awkward smile.Focus, Ari.
I continue through the party, keeping my eyes peeled for Alister, Sophia, and their guards. I’m sure this entire place is under surveillance given the intense security check at the gate and the shadowy figures of the Amato guards I spotted throughout the forest. But Alister and Sophia’s personal protection won’t put that much distance between them and their charge. I find the guards, I find the boss.
I loop the party twice without any sight of them. That is, until the DJ cuts his set to introduce them.
“Alright, alright, alright. Let’s give a warm welcome to our hosts, Alister and Sophia Amato, our King and Queen of Halloween.” Yeah, they’re the king and queen of something. Just not Halloween. Nevertheless, I join in with the rest in applauding their entrance. But within a matter of seconds, the applause shifts to whispers and sideways glances as the crowd discusses what’s on everyone’s minds—Cara.
“I feel so terrible for them.”
“I’m surprised they didn’t cancel.”
“Oh no, they couldn’t cancel even if they wanted to. This event is cohosted by the Historical Preservation Society and has been planned for a year.”
“You know, as awful as what happened to their sister is, why did they choose to reveal the truth today, knowing that we would all be here? Now no one knows what to say to them. It’s just awkward.”
Geez.Make it about you much?
“Well, maybe that’s why. They didn’t want to lie to us.”
“Poor things.”
As Alister and Sophia make their way down the steps from their mansion with a capitalM, they look fabulous. Sophia wears a formfitting silver flapper dress. Jewels and beads adorn the bodice while silver fringe shimmies from her hips down to the ground as she walks. Alister, on the other hand, doesn’t look much different in his typical three-piece black suit. Though he, along with his sister, still look every bit the business moguls and royalty they are. And yet, I find myself pitying them as I overhear the chatter of the vipers waiting for them at the bottom of the stairs. The same woman who’s upset at them for puttingherin an awkward position is one of the first to gather to greet the siblings.
Sophia’s eyes move from the party to the ambush that awaits her. Her lips part as worry furrows her dark brows. As they near the group, she turns to her brother. Alister gives her an empathetic look and takes her hand in his. The simple gesture brings a small smile to my lips and makes me feel even more guilty for what I’m about to do. Nevertheless, I down the rest of my drink and proceed to join the vipers.
As I approach the group, Sophia instantly finds me among the crowd of partygoers. Good to know our coffee dates made an impression. “Mr. and Ms. Amato, I’m sorry to interrupt. But there’s an urgent matter requiring your attention.” As I deliver the Amato siblings a life raft, the crowd’s attention shifts from Alister and Sophia to our surroundings as they try to find the urgent matter that doesn’t exist. With the guests briefly distracted, Alister’s personal guard makes his move.
The tall, brooding man with perfectly groomed facial hair and slicked back hair that nearly reaches his shoulders leans toward me, taking my wrist in his hand, and I jump. “Turn around and walk,” he bites out as he presses the barrel of his handgun into my back. But before I can even muster up fake fear, Sophia steps in.
“Gio, no. She’s my friend,” Sophia whispers, looking between me and the gun with frantic eyes. The man named Gio immediately follows orders, concealing the gun within his suit jacket before anyone notices. Despite this, his dark eyes, now shifted into suspicious slits, don’t leave me, nor do Alister’s.
Alister—he stands only two feet away. I’ve never been this close to him before, close enough to see the golden hue of his brown eyes, the wide bridge of his nose, the precise shave of his facial hair, and the way his muscles threaten to rip the sleeves of his black tux. As Sophia approaches me, pulling me in for a hug, I find myself entranced by him. I’m not sure if it’s my desperate need for the truth, my desire to see him brought to justice, or something else, but my legs feel frozen in place in his presence, as if we are being forced together by a magnetic field.
“I am so sorry,” Sophia says, pulling away from me. When she takes a step back, blocking Alister from view, the trance is broken. “I’m not sure if you saw the news today, but we, um, we’re kind of on edge around here.”
“Yeah, no, it’s okay, really. That’s actually why I brought theurgent matterto your attention, so you’d have an excuse to leave these vultures in the dust.” She smiles, both surprised and pleased with my plan. “You both would,” I say, nodding in the direction of her stern older brother.
At that, Sophia steps aside and reaches for Alister’s hand. He reluctantly gives it to her and closes the distance between us. “Let’s go,” she says, dragging her brother away from the steps with Gio following closely behind him.
Sophia leads the four of us away from the party toward a gravel trail that winds through the forest. Alister and Gio keep close while within view of the party guests. I suppose they don’t want to risk getting sucked back in by the busybodies. But, once we make it to the enchanted forest’s edge, they fall back a few steps to have a hushed conversation. No doubt it’s about me. I try to hear what they’re saying, but the chirping crickets, moaning frogs, and whoosh of the fog machine drown out their voices. Speaking of fog—
“Whoa!” I extend my arms to balance myself as I nearly fall on the dimly lit path.
“Careful,” Sophia says, instinctively reaching out to steady me.
“Thanks. Note to self, gravel and high heels, not the best combination.” Sophia laughs. “You seem to handle it pretty well though.”
“Yeah, well, I’ve had a lot of practice in heels. And, besides, I could walk these paths in my sleep.” She looks up then, taking in the beauty of the night. I do the same. Even without the floating chandeliers, black roses, and twinkle lights draped through the oak trees, I imagine this place is beautiful. Tonight, it’s even more so. “Thanks for saving us,” Sophia says then.
“No problem.” I offer her a smile, which she returns, though it quickly leaves her. “Listen, we don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to, but I do want to say I’m sorry.” I don’t say for Cara or what happened to her sister, because I know this night is painful enough. Hearing her sister’s name would only make it more so.
“Thank you. And you’re right, I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Alright, that’s far enough.” Sophia and I turn to find Alister and Gio closing in on us. When they reach us, Gio moves his hand to his pistol, ready to draw it if I try anything. Talk about on edge. If they knew I’m FBI, then I’d understand the reaction. But, to them, I’m just a normal girl with no weapons who can barely walk in these heels let alone fight and run in these angel wings. I get that Cara’s abduction has probably made them hypervigilant when it comes to protecting Sophia, but I have a feeling there is something else prompting this over-the-top response.
“Gio, again with the gun,” Sophia says, crossing her arms over her chest. She sighs, letting me know this is only a taste of the overprotectiveness she’s forced to endure. “Alister, Gio, this is my friend Ariana. She is my guest tonight and should be treated as such.”
“Ms. Sophia, with all due respect, when someone unfamiliar approaches you at a party with a made-up excuse to get you away from the safety of the crowd, it’s my job to take precautions,” Gio says.
