17. Delancy
Delancy
T his is a bad idea.
This is a bad idea.
It’s not going to work.
He’s going to murder me.
“He’s not going to murder you,” Noah says, and I realize I’d been nervously muttering to myself.
“Have you ever brought someone to meet him?”
“Well, no.”
“Exactly. He’s going to kill me.”
She’s putting on gold hoop earrings and pauses.
“You’re being dramatic.”
“You’re his only child, and he wants you to take over the Empire someday. That means he’ll probably want you to marry someone of his choosing.”
“Well, he should know by now that I do what I want.”
“Right. Like gallivanting around the world, killing the corrupt and powerful?”
“Who even says gallivanting anymore?”
I ignore her sass. “Your father seems insanely protective. How did he allow that?”
“Oh, I noticed his protection detail no matter where I went. He always had eyes on me from the moment he sent me away. It made it harder for me to take on hit jobs, but I managed to ditch his goons.”
She picks up a gold chain with a single diamond in the middle and puts it on.
“Why didn’t your parents have kids after you? Wouldn’t Gio want to make sure he had someone to take over the organization once he’s gone?”
Noah stares into the mirror with a frown, her fingertips on the chain. It’s clear she’s thinking about her mother’s necklace, which she lost in the explosion. I’ve yet to return it to her. I’m waiting for the perfect moment.
“My mother struggled getting pregnant with me. She had complications throughout. I was born, and the doctors basically said she could die if she got pregnant again.”
She gives herself one final look in the mirror, smoothing her hands over her black dress. It’s absolutely stunning on her. Form-fitting on top with a dipped neckline showcasing her cleavage. It has puffed sleeves that fall off her shoulders and a full skirt with pockets.
The pockets were important.
“I’m surprised my father didn’t cheat so he could have more. I know he desperately wanted a son and got me instead.”
She walks to where I stand and adjusts my tie. Her father is hosting a Christmas party—something he does every year. Despite being back for a few months, Noah is announcing her official return tonight.
And since most of the underworld believes she’s dead, tonight’s expected to get… interesting.
“You think bringing me tonight and introducing me as your fiancé is a good idea?”
She sighs and places her palm flat on my chest.
“I’m not going to lie; he’s going to be pissed, but he’ll get over it.”
I’m fucking screwed. She came up with this fake engagement idea as a way to bring me into the Empire so we could dismantle it together.
I know this is what I wanted. I needed to work my way in so I could get to Gio.
But my plan was always to target his associates, not bypass them and go straight to the man in charge.
Did Noah consider that her father might not accept me into the family? We plan to use one of my aliases. I can’t exactly go into an Empire party and introduce myself as Lance Carter. I may be an unknown QBM heir, but my last name could spill blood.
“It feels weird to be celebrating,” Noah says, frowning. “I wanted to stop celebrating Christmas after my mother’s death, but my father turned the holiday into a memorial for her. It’s the only reason I returned every year to visit. I wanted to honor her.”
Noah looks down, and I cup her chin, lifting her head.
“We’re going to get our answers. What we find might hurt, but we’ll get closure. We’ll have each other to lean on. Okay?”
She nods, her eyes glazing over with tears. “Okay.”
I place a soft kiss on her lips.
“Do you still want to kill me?” She pouts, fluttering her lashes.
“I’m not ruling it out just yet.”
Her laughter makes my heart dance, and I smile at the fact that I turned her grief into a happy moment.
“You won’t do it.”
“Yeah? How do you know?”
“You’d miss this body if I were to die.”
“That is true,” I say, silently adding that I’d miss her more.
I smack her ass when she walks past me to open the door.
She holds out her hand. “Ready fiancé?”
I hire a car to take us into Manhattan. Her father’s Christmas party is being held at the Wyndock Hotel in Midtown.
It’s a five-star luxury hotel with all the amenities you can think of and views of the Empire State Building.
Rooms cost thousands of dollars, including the penthouse, which goes for about $50,000 per night.
The lobby is two stories high with sleek black and silver marble floors. I count four round columns, two crystal chandeliers, and an elaborate painting on the ceiling as if this place is the freaking Sistine Chapel.
On the left, a woman decked out in a fur coat, a pearl necklace, and white gloves leads a worker pushing a luggage cart full of bags to a row of elevators to head to her room.
How cliché.
We pass the bar area on the right where a man in a tux plays a Christmas song on a grand piano. Just past the bar is a hallway that leads to the grand ballroom.
We turn the corner and encounter a line of about six people waiting to be let in. Two women wearing earpieces hold clipboards checking names, two other workers check coats, and three Goliath security guards wave metal detectors over bodies.
“Daddy’s not playing, huh?” I say out of the corner of my mouth.
I glance at Noah when she doesn’t answer. She’s wringing her hands and fidgeting on her feet while we wait.
I grab her shaking hand and squeeze.
“It’ll be fine.” She squeezes back and nods. I point my chin at the double doors that lead into the ballroom. “Can’t we skip the queue?”
“I don’t want to bring attention to us. Not yet. I want to get in, see who’s all in there, then find my dad before we make our announcement.”
I bring our embraced hands up to my lips and kiss her knuckles. “Have I told you how beautiful you look tonight?”
“Yes, about five times now.” She smiles, some of her anxiety slipping away.
“Well, it’s still true. Even though you wouldn’t let me fuck you in the car ride over.”
“I didn’t want to wrinkle my dress.”
“You could have at least let me fuck you with my fingers,” I whisper, though not quiet enough because the elderly woman in front of us turns around and scowls. I wink at her, and she clutches her pearls. Literally.
“Don’t worry, Puppet. I plan to reward you for your patience tonight. I’ll let you put it any—”
Before she can finish, it’s our turn. Noah is immediately let in without giving her name or going through any security checks.
She tries to pull me in after her, but one of the older guards, who I just know gets off on power trips, stops us.
He scans me for weapons and goes the extra mile patting me down, swiping his hands up my legs too close to my crotch.
I almost ask if I can buy him a drink with how frisky he’s getting.
Noah is about to step in when the man finally releases me.
“Sorry about him,” she says, handing our coats to a worker. They give Noah a ticket, which she puts in her clutch. “That’s Vershun, my father’s head of security. I’m sure he’s already called him to let him know I’m here… with a man.”
Fuck.
I’m going to die tonight.
The ballroom is decked out in red, green, and gold.
The Christmas tree that’s nearly as tall as the room is packed full of decorations.
Bows are wrapped around columns and gold streamers hang from the ceiling.
A string quartet plays an instrumental version of a popular holiday song while a handful of people dance along to the music.
Others stand around drinking, eating, and chatting.
“Is it always this…”
“Gaudy? Tacky? Extravagant? From what I can remember, yes.” She grabs two champagne flutes from a server making rounds and hands one to me. “When I used to come to this thing, I’d never stay long. I’d have a few drinks, eat the hors d’oeuvres, and find someone to fuck.”
I break the stem of the champagne glass.
“Aw, does that make my puppet jealous?”
“Yes.”
The grin she gives me tells me she’s up to no good.
“What? You don’t want to share me? Come on, Deli Baby. Let’s find someone to take home with us tonight.”
She wags her eyebrows at me.
“Someone?” I ask, even though I know she’s attracted to all genders. I want to hear her say it.
“Man. Woman. Nonbinary. I find beauty in everyone.” She runs her lower lip between her teeth. “What about you?”
“I’m bi, and while I do enjoy a threesome... you’re mine, and I’m greedy, and I don’t want to share you with anyone.”
Her cheeks warm to a beautiful red, and she swipes her tongue over her plump lips.
“Stop thinking about me fucking another man.”
She snorts. “I was actually thinking about you fucking a woman while I ride her face. But now that you mention it…”
“Lance?”
My brother’s rough voice startles me, and I whip around, snatching Noah by the wrist to pull her behind me.
“Del, why are you trying to hide me?” She peels out of my grip and steps to my side.
“Hi. I’m Noah.”
Elias scans Noah’s body and rubs his thumb over his bottom lip, letting me know he likes what he sees.
“Elias. This idiot’s brother,” he says, pointing his thumb at me. He takes her offered hand, but instead of shaking it, he lifts it to his mouth to kiss her knuckles.
“A gentleman,” Noah purrs.
The fury that races through me is nearly debilitating.
“He’s not a fucking gentleman!” I growl.
Elias laughs, the asshole. “I have to say… I’ve never seen my brother so… protective of another person before.”
Noah takes my fisted hand and opens it to weave her fingers with mine. She squeezes my arm, then rubs her palm up and down.
She’s trying to calm me.
“What are you doing here?” I ask, my voice low. “If anyone were to find out the leader of the QBM is at an Empire party…”