Chapter One #3
Olivia brushes past him, pulling me behind her.
As we come out of the room, Carlisle offers me a once-over and gives Olivia a quick nod. “Remember all you have to do is pass the message along.”
“How do you know you can trust the messenger?”
Olivia’s hand darts out, and she slips something into my pocket. Then she brushes imaginary lint off my sleeves. “You’ll know when you see them.”
I shift from one foot to the other. “You’re putting an awful lot of faith in these messages. It’s a code, right?”
“Yes.”
“Olivia—”
“It’ll be fine,” Olivia repeats, in a tighter voice. “Deliver the message, and then if things go according to plan, we’ll go to phase two. Keep your head down and don’t draw attention to yourself.”
Without waiting for a response, she squeezes my hand and disappears into the shadows.
A heartbeat later, Carlisle reappears and leads me back to the club.
I scan the dimly lit room and do a double take when I spot Olivia talking to a dark-haired man in the corner.
When she places a hand on the man’s leg, I frown.
Then Carlisle is leading me to the bar. I spot Miss Deveroux and breathe a sigh of relief.
Slowly, I turn back to Carlisle, but he’s vanished.
I glance around the room again and nearly jump out of my skin when a hand touches mine.
Miss Deveroux is looking at me intently. “She did a good job. I almost didn’t recognize you.”
I blow out a breath and turn, so I’m facing her completely. “I should’ve known it would be you.”
Miss Deveroux releases my hand and takes a step back. “I’m a sucker for a good love story.”
I offer her a weak smile. “That makes sense.”
“This reminds me of when Olivia was younger. I used to help her get him messages then too. I thought it was so romantic, all that forbidden love stuff. I guess some things don’t change.”
I swallow past the lump in my throat. “I guess not.”
Miss Deveroux reaches under the counter and pours me a drink. “Anyway, nobody is paying that much attention to us now, but we need to make this quick. There are eyes and ears everywhere. Meet me in the bathroom in five.”
After handing me the drink, she takes a few steps back and turns her back on me.
I watch as she steps out from behind the bar and vanishes into a hallway.
The drink is bitter as it slides down my throat.
I clear my throat, straighten my back, and weave in and out of the groups of people.
In the hallway outside the bathroom, I pause to take a deep breath.
As soon as I step in through the door, I’m met with silence, and the smell of a citrus-scented air freshener.
I walk over to the mirror, take a quick glance, and grimace.
When the door to the bathroom opens, I nearly jump out of my skin.
“You’ll get better with practice.” Miss Deveroux’s voice is low as she walks up to the sink and examines herself. “Do you have the note?”
“Yes.”
Miss Deveroux pats her hair and reaches into her pocket for some eyeliner. “Good. I’ll leave the bathroom first. Wait a few minutes, then come back out.”
I stare at my reflection in the glass. “That’s it?”
Miss Deveroux twists to face me, and her expression softens. “For now.”
My pulse quickens as I reach for the note and hold it out.
Without meeting my gaze, Miss Deveroux takes the note and slips it into her bra. Then she offers me a small smile. She casts one last look in the mirror and leaves, the sound of her heels echoing back to me.
For a while, I stand there, staring at the space she occupied.
Once I’m sure enough time has passed, I wash my hands and splash water on my face.
Olivia is leaning against the wall outside, a bored expression on her face.
As soon as her eyes land on me, she pushes herself off the wall and begins to walk.
I hurry to catch up to her. “I don’t understand how any of this is going to help Mason or why so many people need to know. Couldn’t Carlisle have delivered the message himself?”
As Mason’s right-hand man, I’m sure he has a lot more resources.
“Carlisle has enough to do. Besides, Mason will be expecting me to try and get to him,” Olivia says, without looking at me. “This way, we’ve managed to get the message across.”
She stops a few feet away from the bar and twists to face me. “You can’t talk to anyone about this.”
“I’m not as stupid as everyone thinks I am,” I tell her, in a low voice. “I may not have lived in this world as long as you have, but I know the stakes are serious.”
Olivia’s eyes sweep over me, but she says nothing.
I glance over at Miss Deveroux, who is serving people drinks, and then I look back at Olivia. “So, what happens next?”
“We wait.” I have no idea why Olivia thinks a coded message is going to work, but she seems to have more than enough faith for the both of us.
There’s definitely more to the story than Olivia is telling you, but she’s just like Mason. Push her too hard, and she’ll withdraw even further.
Olivia is going to bring me into the fold eventually.
She has to.
In the meantime, helping her find a way to stop the war is better than doing nothing.