Chapter 15

15

Dmitri

Look who just showed up .

Patrick’s text is accompanied by a grainy photo of Leah. She’s wearing the same dress she wore out to dinner that night with Gage.

Fuck. Him.

He told me about this party yesterday. I’d normally be working, but because I worked last Saturday for the auction, I have this one off.

You can still come , he adds. Party’s just getting started .

He’s using Leah to get to me. Fucking asshole.

I’m not going to fall for it. Let him celebrate the whole shitty thing without me. He doesn’t get my support.

I should’ve invited her out for dinner tonight, instead of breakfast tomorrow. I was trying not to interfere with any plans she might have with Gage. That was stupid. Gage isn’t in the photo Patrick sent. He’s probably working. I should’ve asked her to dinner, and if she said no, she said no. I could’ve handled the rejection like a big boy.

I throw myself onto the couch and turn on my gaming system. I’m pissed, but I can take my frustrations out on the dragons in Knights of Incor.

When my phone buzzes with another text, I ignore it. I’m too busy enriching my singing sword with the Waters of Jenero.

A call comes in soon after. I throw down my controller. If it’s goddamn Patrick, I swear to god I’m going to fucking kill him.

But it’s Danica. I’d never ignore her.

I pick up. “Hey.”

“Why aren’t you at your own party?” she asks.

“It’s not my party. I told Patrick I’m out.”

She pauses, and the loud music in the background fades somewhat. She must have walked somewhere quieter. “See, that’s what I don’t get. I thought this was your dream. What happened—did you and Patrick fight about something?”

“It’s fine, Danica.” I don’t want to tell her who our grandfather really is. “It isn’t what I want anymore.”

She makes a thoughtful hmm sound. “Well, either way, I wish you were here. Some of these guys—I don’t know them, I don’t recognize them, and I don’t like them. They seem like a bunch of assholes. I thought Patrick had more class.”

It hits me, then—she’s in fucking Salding of all places. And Leah is, too.

I’m an idiot for not realizing the risks sooner.

I don’t know what the hell Patrick and Granddad are thinking, but now they’ve dragged my sister into it? And Leah?

“Danica, don’t go anywhere. Don’t leave the building, no matter what. Don’t let Leah leave, either.” I turn off my TV and jam on some shoes.

“What? Why?”

“I’ll be there soon.”

* * *

Leah

When I arrive at the club, I stand outside the brick building and take it in. Three stories. An alley on either side. Loud music blasts from the windows on all three levels. I thought the plan was for Dmitri and Patrick to open up a jazz club, but this looks more like a rave.

As I planned, I do look fucking fabulous. I styled my hair in loose, sexy waves, went all-out on the eyeliner, and dabbed on my favorite lip gloss. Unfortunately, the brown dress Gage gave me is way too formal for this kind of party. I should’ve worn a club dress, or jeans and a sexy top.

I pause on the sidewalk, unsure. Several men catcall me from across the street, making me jump. Salding isn’t as rough as the Bellefleur, but Dmitri always cautioned Danica and me to avoid the neighborhood after dark.

That makes it even weirder that Dmitri would choose to open a jazz club—presumably with night hours—in Salding.

Better to go inside and feel self-conscious about my fancy dress than stand out here and feel unsafe.

The inside is dark, lit by small lamps dangling from the ceiling. It smells faintly of garlic. Tables and chairs have been shoved against the wall to create an open space for the party. Several tables are pushed together for a makeshift bar, as well. I recognize a couple of Patrick’s friends standing behind the “bar,” passing out red plastic cups. They’re filling them from a tub of what looks suspiciously like jungle juice. What are we, nineteen and partying in a college dorm?

There must be a hundred people here, all of them dancing, drinking, shouting.

“Leah, you look amazing!” Patrick grabs me in a hug and kisses me on the cheek.

I try not to recoil. He’s more affectionate than usual—he’s never even hugged me before.

Undeterred by my stiff reaction, he throws an arm around my shoulder and leads me farther into the room. “Hey, you didn’t bring Gage Hawthorne with you.”

“He’s out of town.” I have to shout to hear myself.

“Really? Damn.” He uses his free hand to ruffle his light brown hair. He’s trying for the messy, bad boy look, except he could never pull it off. “Would’ve been cool to see him again.”

“I’ll be sure to tell him you asked after him.”

“Thanks.” Patrick smiles, flings his hands outward to show off the entire room. “So? What do you think? We had to rush out the old tenants. It cost a fuck-ton of money to lure them away, but worth it. We haven’t had a chance to gut the old fixtures, but the bare bones are okay, right?”

“I think it’s great. Loud, though. Where’s Danica?” And even though it physically hurts to say his name when I’m so angry, I add, “And Dmitri?”

“He got held up. I’m hoping he’ll be here soon.” He gestures toward a small group of people. “Danica’s talking to those guys.”

If I stand on my tiptoes, I can barely make out her head of blond hair in the crowd. I wonder if she needs rescuing, because I don’t recognize any of the men standing around her.

“I’ll go say hi,” I say to Patrick.

“Sure. I’ll find you later and give you a tour!” Patrick’s eyes are wide with excitement.

I’m so happy for him—he seems to be in his element with this whole thing. This party isn’t at all what I pictured. I thought it would be more subdued, like a jazz club. But everyone’s having fun from the looks of it.

I want to check in with Danica, so I make my way toward her and the group of guys. I have to dodge several overly-enthusiastic dancers who try to drag me into their circles, but they accept my refusal with good humor.

When I get closer, Danica catches sight of me over one of the guys’ shoulders. “Leah! Hey!”

A couple of the men make room for me. Danica’s blond hair is down in loose curls and waves. She looks gorgeous in a knee-length, pearlescent white dress with spaghetti straps. Like me, she’s overdressed for the occasion, but unlike me, she still seems to be in her element.

She passes around clumsy introductions because she seems to have forgotten everyone’s names.

But two of the guys seem especially interested in her. And she must have more than a little interest in them, because she remembers their names.

“And this is Edmund and Troy.”

They each shake my hand. Both men are muscular and tall, dwarfing Danica. Edmund is leaner, with light brown hair and glittering green eyes. Troy has darker brown hair, not as dark as Gage’s, I don’t think, although it’s hard to tell in the dim lighting. He has Dmitri’s bulky, muscular build.

“How do you know Patrick?” I ask them.

Edmund smiles. “We’re just getting acquainted. He moved into our neighborhood, so we’re neighbors now.”

The meaning is warm, but the words come out cold. Danica gives him a hard look.

I force a carefree grin. “Oh, nice. Danica, can I talk to you for a minute?”

“Sure.” She gives her admiring group a little finger wave and allows me to drag her away. Once we’re out of earshot of the guys, she says, “What’s up?”

“Are you all right? Edmund doesn’t sound like he likes Patrick at all.”

“But he just said…” Danica gestures hopelessly.

“I know what he just said. It’s the way he said it. His tone.”

Doubt shines in her gray eyes as she seems to play back the conversation. “I guess it’s possible, but I didn’t hear any tone.”

I bulldoze on. “It’s also weirding me out a little that those…five—six?—guys are all crowded around you. I want to make sure you’re really okay.”

“They’ve been perfect gentlemen.” She laughs. “But you’re probably right. There are a lot of people to talk to here. While it’s good to make nice with the neighbors, I should spread the love. Right?”

I eye the group. They eye me back—especially Troy and Edmund. But when I frown, both men smile.

“Yep, let’s mingle.” I link my arm with Danica’s.

She doesn’t protest, but she gives one last, longing look to her new “friends.”

The music changes to a duet between Cinderella and Bastian Crown. Everyone goes wild. I can’t believe I met Ella and Bastian. I wish I could tell Danica, but talking about the folks who frequent Low Vice is a big no-no. Danica pulls me into the crush of dancers at the center of the room, and we lose ourselves in the beat.

This isn’t the party I expected, but I’m coming to love it.

After a few songs, Danica and I are sweaty and exhilarated and ready for a break. We move toward the edge of the room. Patrick sees us and meets us there.

He reaches for me. “Ready for that tour I promised?”

“Yeah.” I hold up a hand. “Give me a minute, though. I need to catch my breath.”

“I’ll get you a drink. Dani?”

Edmund has already come up to her other side, though. Ignoring Patrick and me, he puts a hand on Danica’s bare shoulder. “May I claim a dance with you?”

Two seconds ago, she screamed in my ear that she was going to collapse from too much dancing. But she hops back into the madness with Edmund leading her away.

A sour look crosses Patrick’s face.

“You okay?” I ask.

“Yeah.” His scowl transforms into an easy grin. “I’ll be right back with your drink. Don’t go anywhere.”

While I wait for him, I watch Danica like I’m an ancient chaperone auntie. She shines like the sun in her white dress, but she’s soon eclipsed by Troy joining her and Edmund out on the floor. The two men seem to swallow her up in their muscular forms.

Patrick returns to my side, two red plastic cups in hand. He passes me one and taps his against mine. “Cheers.”

“Cheers. Congrats on getting this space.” I sip my drink and let the fruity, fizzy alcohol tickle my tongue and go down my throat. It’s better than the undergrad-quality jungle juice I was expecting. “I think you and Dmitri are going to turn it into a magical club, and I can’t wait to see your vision realized.”

“Aw, thanks, Leah.” He takes a big sip from his cup and holds out his arm to link with mine.

I accept. Our linked arms will prevent us from getting separated as we traverse the chaos of dancers.

“Any word on Dmitri yet?” I still want him to see me. I want him to give me that same look he gave me at the restaurant when he showed up during Gage’s and my date.

I thought things were looking up for us. Tomorrow’s breakfast date would give us a chance to hash everything out. But then he didn’t invite me to this party.

We need to figure out what we’re doing—if we’re doing anything at all.

The thing is, I’m falling for Gage, and fast. But a part of me has always wanted Dmitri, too. As Gage said, Dmitri already has half my heart. Is it selfish to want them both? Yes. Especially when I know this only leads to heartbreak. Definitely for me, but there’s a chance they could be hurt at the end, too.

But I can’t stop myself from falling for them. The night of that first auction truly did change everything. It set me on this path, and I can’t get off of it.

Wherever this takes me, I’m in it. Good or bad.

Patrick chatters away. Thankfully, he doesn’t realize my attention isn’t on him. I take a sip of my fruity drink and nod along.

When we reach the stairs leading to the second floor, I can hear him more clearly. I try to pay better attention.

“We bought the whole building.” Patrick brings me up to the second floor. He points to different doors, some of them still bearing the names of businesses. “Originally we were only going to lease the ground floor. But Granddad thought we should have the whole place. We made an offer to the other businesses that they couldn’t refuse.”

“It’s amazing.”

I can see so much potential here. If Dmitri and Patrick want to turn it into a restaurant, there could be private dining rooms for parties.

But the more I see, the more it seems to deviate from the vision Dmitri always had. He wanted a small jazz club, something popular, but personal. I want to know what he thinks about this place and Patrick’s vision.

The room seems to sway. That’s enough jungle juice for me. I thrust my cup at Patrick. “Where’s Dmitri, again?”

Patrick takes my cup and sets it on the floor along with his. He pulls out his phone and smiles. “Dmitri’s on his way.”

“Need to talk to him.” My words come out more slurred than I expected.

“Sure, let’s head downstairs and find him.” Patrick gently turns me to start walking.

I trip as we approach the stairs.

“Careful there.” His hand is immediately at my elbow.

Everything is hazy. I shake my head, trying to clear it. The drink didn’t taste that strong, and I only had half of it.

“Leah, are you okay?” Patrick’s voice sounds warped in my ears. He takes me down a few steps.

“Yeah. Need Danica. Need to call for a ride.” I stop walking so I can fumble with my phone.

“Here, I’ll help you with that.”

But my phone disappears, and he wraps his arms around me.

I thought something was seriously wrong a few minutes ago. Now, he nuzzles his cheek against mine, and my inner alarm bells are deafening.

This isn’t right.

“Hey, it’s okay. Dmitri won’t mind.” Patrick presses an open-mouthed kiss to the corner of my lips.

I turn my head. This can’t be happening here, not in a building crammed with people.

But my arms are weak, my legs are weak.

“Gage said my body is power,” I murmur.

“What’s that?” Patrick keeps his face against my neck.

“My body…power.”

His breath is hot against my ear. “Shh, it’s okay.”

“No, no, not okay.” I try to push him back, away from me.

He doesn’t budge.

Where is my power?