Chapter 1 Donovan
ONE
Donovan
I snatch the mask off the corner of my bed and move back to the standing mirror on the far side of my bedroom. The reflection of the curtains dances behind me as I study myself.
My teeth grind as I’m reminded why I’m wearing this fucking tuxedo and have this damn mask in my hands.
My gaze drops to the matte black mask. I absently trace the intricate swirls of glossy back and red lines with my thumb.
The pattern is elegant, though it doesn’t make any sense.
The mask doesn’t need those lines, yet they are there.
Hell, I would have been happy with a solid black mask.
This is what I get for passing the task off to Torrin.
At least I look damn good.
I tuck my knife away before holstering my gun at my side. The two accessories I always have on me.
I head toward the bedroom door, mask in hand.
Torrin moves to stand in front of me the moment I step into the hall like he’s been waiting for me to emerge.
His gaze roams over me, the same as mine does to him. He’s wearing a solid black tux with a black shirt and a red tie.
Red.
I smirk.
Our little rebellion since the colors for the night are strictly supposed to be black and gold.
Torrin not only knows how I think, he’s also right there backing me up with my asshole ideas.
Some might say we’ve known each other too long, but I think that’s the very thing that makes him a perfect second.
Of course, I’d never tell him such a thing.
I wouldn’t want it to go to his head and have him thinking he could actually be me.
“Looks good, Boss,” he says with a smirk.
“Yes, but you already knew that when you picked it out.” He is right, though, I do look good.
A smirk flashes on his face before he asks, “Ready?”
“Yep,” I clip out and head down the stairs with him trailing a couple of steps behind me. “Let’s get this over with.”
“You won’t have to interact with him that much,” he says like he’s trying to give me the upsides to going. “One night won’t kill you.”
I grunt my displeasure.
I drive. He must read my aggravated energy because he doesn’t even argue with me.
The ride goes by in silence. When we reach the Aubert mansion, there are three cars in line before us.
I make a mental note of who exits each vehicle, though I’m likely not going to make small talk with any of them tonight.
I’m only here to make my presence known.
I will not let Aubert think he’s got me running coward.
There’s a way to get to him, I just haven’t found it yet.
“You can’t kill him,” Torrin tells me as he pops open the door and steps out. I’ve heard these words from him too many times when it comes to fucking Greely Aubert. I take a second to calm down. I don’t like it, but I know he’s right.
“So you keep saying. I’m going to have no choice but to think you’ve lost faith in me if you keep it up,” I joke as I toss the keys to the valet standing there waiting for assholes like me who don’t ride around in a town car with a driver.
The kid’s eyes go wide. He’s either excited to drive my Challenger for a minute or shocked to see it’s me who’s tossing the keys.
Oh, yeah. That reminds me.
I set my mask against my face and tie it tight behind my head.
I don’t like how this thing restricts my vision.
I guess it’s a good thing I have an extra set of eyes with me, even if Torrin’s sight is going to be impaired as well.
In this case, four eyes equals two, and that’s good enough for me.
Besides, Aubert would be a fool to try anything in front of a large group of people.
I discreetly scout the area as we walk the million-and-one marble steps to the front door. As if it weren’t a massive enough sight looming over the city, it sits on a slight hill, which seems to give it more power, or so some would think. To me, this monstrosity is an eyesore.
“I can feel your need to roll your eyes,” Torrin says under his breath as we step over the threshold and onto the polished white marble of the front hall.
I grunt instead of replying to his remark. We both know it’s the truth anyway, so no point in denying it.
We get stuck behind a slow crowd as we enter, eventually making our way to the back of the house where the ballroom is located.
Aubert loves nothing more than to host parties and use his grand ballroom.
I’ve seen it many times before, and not once have I been impressed with the two-story room or the glass ceiling.
Inside the room, the scent of baked pastries and crisp sparkling wine fills my nose. I might not be drinking, but I wouldn’t pass on something sweet.
“Keep your wits about you,” Torrin says as he catches me eyeing a tray of puff pastry treats across the way. I’m not sure if he thinks I’m hungry for the food or the hot waitress carrying it.
As if she can sense our gazes, she turns and sends me a sly smile. That one’s a fox, and I wouldn’t doubt she’d be down to take a break with me.
I’ll have to save that for a little later. I wrench my gaze away from hers and frown at the fact that I’m not getting a pastry. Despite knowing the area well, I scan the whole room slowly. I’m not looking for exits or bathrooms, though. I’m looking to see who is where.
Aubert is easy to spot across the room. Two horns twist outward from the top of his black half-mask.
Even from here, I can see the bright gold coating the tips.
I know Aubert, and so, I wouldn’t doubt it was real gold.
His smile is slimy as he chats vibrantly, so loud that everyone around can’t help but be pulled into the conversation.
He hasn’t noticed me yet, and I move back against the wall to blend in with the shadows.
I know this mask covers my face, but there’s no hiding I’m the one underneath it.
I stick out as much as a virgin in a brothel.
I nearly snort at the thought. Comparing myself to a virgin is so ridiculous that it should be illegal.
Aubert’s smug. I can see it from all the way over here. The man walks around like he constantly has something up his sleeve. I have enough shit to worry about, I don’t need to chase after a giant toddler too.
“Do you think it was him?” Torrin asks as he casually nabs a glass of white wine. He brings it up to his nose and inhales. I shake my head because his face says how much he doesn’t like the smell.
“I do,” I say.
Sonny’s alive, but we still don’t know if the poison caused any permanent damage.
He barely got a taste of it on his tongue before he pulled the bottle away from his lips.
But a drop of liko is enough to kill a giant.
Having it diluted in the water helped. I guess we should count our lucky stars it went down the way it did. Only it shouldn’t have happened at all.
I can feel the sneer tugging at my lip.
“But I can’t fucking prove it was him,” I say through clenched teeth.
“Why do you think he would do it? Don’t you think if he wanted to take you down, he’d just go after you directly? Like, say, here.” He looks around dramatically while he swings his hand out, the wine sloshing dangerously in the glass.
“Hmm,” I hum. Maybe he’s right. Maybe we’re both just missing something. I’d hate to think I’m getting paranoid in my old age, though I swear thirty-seven isn’t old. All I know is, I’m keeping my eyes on the fucking asshole until I can prove it wasn’t—or was—him.
“That tells me nothing.” Torrin turns his head to look at me for the first time since we found our spot on the outside of the crowd. I can feel him raising his damn brow at me under his mask.
“He is a man lost in too much power.”
I turn my attention to Mayor DuPont. He gestures wildly, nearly spilling the contents of his drink on his wife beside him. But he doesn’t even notice. All of his attention is on Aubert.
Another sneer twists up my mouth. I’d complain about this city being so corrupt, but I really have no room to talk.
Lester DuPont has been the mayor for decades despite there being laws on the number of consecutive terms one can serve.
What can you do when he’s run unopposed all these years?
No one will step up. No one will take it from him.
And it really doesn’t come as a surprise, given the company he surrounds himself with.
Why haven’t I tried? It’s a question I often ask myself.
Yeah, it would give me satisfaction if I could actually pull it off.
The only thing is, I don’t want it. Not to mention, I already have a big enough target on me now, pissing Aubert off in a such a big public way would only make my life worse.
“And what are you?” he asks, and I can hear the humor in his tone. Aubert and I are nothing alike, and Torrin knows it. He simply loves to rile me up.
“A man who is aware of his power. A man who acknowledges the people who’ve helped him obtain it, and the people who help him keep it.
I do not step on them, I protect them.” And that just scratches the surface of how we are different.
Maybe my methods are a bit dark gray, but I have no desire to hurt the good people of this city.
I push off the wall and begin to circle the room, my attention never straying from Aubert for long. We lock eyes, but luckily, someone steals his attention before he can make it to me.
The scent of fresh roses drifts into my nose.
I close my eyes and tilt my head, trying to pinpoint the direction it’s coming from.
Not just fresh roses. Wild. Like the ones surrounding the city.
The ones people have tried to kill numerous times before, yet they always come back.
Summer after summer, those roses are there with their little buds and thick thorns, filling the air with a bittersweet scent which is like nothing I’ve ever smelled before.
But it’s not summer, and we’re in the dead middle of the city. There’s no way I should be smelling them now.
My lids snap open, and my gaze instantly locks with a pair of deep brown eyes behind a light pink mask.
Her champagne-colored dress clings to her like a second skin. Her thick ass catches my attention as she turns and walks away from me. I can’t stop watching. The crowded room parts for her. She’s getting away.
I wait, letting her cross the room and find a spot to perch. She turns around and holds my eyes, as if she could feel my gaze on her the entire time.
I flash her a smirk as I see her tits heaving, threatening to spill over the square-cut neckline. Yeah, I want to get my hands on those.
She looks over her shoulder. I’m not sure why, there’s no one behind her. Is she searching for someone? Or does she think I want someone else? There’s a sweetness in the way she nervously fiddles with her caramel-colored hair, which hangs in thick curls around her shoulders.
Her head tilts down, and she flutters her lashes briefly as she peeks back up at me. She looks stuck between calling me over and wanting to run.
Oh, my sweet little doe, I think as I feel the hot blood pumping through my veins. If she’s going to run, I sure as hell am going to chase after her.
She is mine tonight.
But she surprises me. She doesn’t run, not exactly. Instead, she turns with the grace of a woman full of confidence and walks toward the back of the room.
“Do you really think it’s a good idea?” Torrin asks.
“I don’t think she’s going to kill me,” I tell him. She wants me, and I’m not letting this opportunity pass me by. She’s too delectable to let slip through my fingers. “Watch the good host for me, will you?”
I leave Torrin there and chase after the sweet beauty calling me to her with a siren’s song.