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“I made the decision when I ordered the kill. This is just the next move,” I said.
Huck smirked then as he put a cigarette between his lips.
“When are you going to get her?” he asked.
I didn’t look up from the paperwork in my hands when I replied, “She’s already here.”
Fifteen
Madeline
The expensive dress, professionally styled hair, and red-soled heels didn’t give me a sense of belonging. Instead, I felt more like an imposter. Whenever I passed a mirror and caught a glimpse of my reflection, it startled me. I didn’t recognize the woman looking back at me.
It was as if I had been dropped in the middle of a movie and expected to blend in without knowing the plot. Finding my place in the stables had been easy. It was comfortable. But this was a different world from Moses Mile. The elite of the horse racing world mingled with the wealth and power of those in high places.
Here I stood, among them, wearing the silver dress Melanie had chosen for me, feeling like everyone who looked at me saw the girl from the wrong side of town. A glass of champagne in my right hand slightly trembled, and I had to will myself to relax.
I could make it through this evening. It was important to the Houstons, and I owed them.
“You still haven’t taken a drink,” Saxon said as he came to stand beside me. “Drink it, Maddy. It’ll calm your nerves. Then, you can go dance with me and appease my mother.”
I glanced over at him and forced a smile. “Do I look nervous?” I asked him.
“No,” he replied. “You look stunning. That’s all the people here will see.”
I felt a blush warm my cheeks. I lifted the glass to my lips and drank slowly.
“That’ll help,” he said with a grin.
Seeing him in a tux, all clean-shaven and his hair smoothed and not in a messy disarray, had been shocking. He appeared older and intimidating—until he flashed his dimples at me.
“I’m not sure what I am expected to do here,” I said honestly.
Saxon shrugged. “Look beautiful—which you do—dance, and enjoy yourself. Drink the champagne, eat the food—although if they offer you the shrimp on that black shit, don’t take one. It’s disgusting, trust me.”
I smiled and felt a laugh bubble inside my chest.
Saxon raised his eyebrows. “I made that mistake once. Never again.”
I gave him one nod. “Noted.”
His gaze scanned the room, and I took another sip of my drink. I was fairly certain it was helping my nerves. Saxon had been right.
“See that man talking to my dad?” he asked me.
I looked over to where his father was standing with an older gentleman with a balding head and glasses. “Yes,” I replied.
“That’s probably going to be our next president—if the people in this room have anything to do with it, which they normally do,” he said in a low whisper.
I studied the man closer, wondering if Saxon was right. Could these people truly have the power to place a man in the most important political rank in the US? I wanted to ask him how they could do that, but as I was turning my gaze back to Saxon, they found someone else.
The sight of Blaise Hughes in a tuxedo wasn’t exactly fair to the female population. His hair was pulled back tightly in a ponytail. There were no loose strands of hair that had broken free tonight. I’d never seen him without his cowboy hat. His jawline wasn’t freshly shaven though. It was a small defiance that didn’t surprise me. I doubted he wanted to be here. From the little I knew of him, he didn’t like to be near his father, and Saxon had pointed out Garrett Hughes to me earlier.
It was then that his green eyes met mine. I didn’t like him. I was almost sure I hated him. However, my female parts weren’t on board with those feelings. At least not completely. Neither was my stomach. It felt weird, and I wasn’t sure why. Other than that he was possibly the hottest man in this room. Which was frustrating and incredibly shallow of me.
His gaze traveled down my body slowly. Then, as if he was done and not at all impressed, he shifted his attention elsewhere. I didn’t allow myself to follow him as he moved through the crowd. Even if I wanted to.
“I didn’t think Blaise would come to one of these events,” I said aloud before I could stop myself.
