Chapter 28
Stella
My phone chimed with a notification, which meant it had to be either Blake or one of my parents, since I’d set it to do not disturb.
“I’m so sorry,” I said, leaning back from my client, a short, full-figured Latine woman with pink streaks in her hair and a pin-up girl aesthetic. “I have to check that.”
“Oh, thank fuck,” she said. “I was about to ask for a break.”
“Shading is always the worst part.”
She threw an arm over her eyes. “And I can endure two hours straight of it before I need to tap out, but can I tell the hot morgue assistant who works in my hospital that I have a crush on him? No.”
“You’re a catch, Vern,” I said, pulling off my gloves. “He’d be an idiot to turn you down.”
“I know that. But what if he doesn’t?”
“Then he’s clearly not good enough for you,” I told her, rolling my chair toward my desk.
I scooped my phone up, unlocked the screen, and froze. It was a text from my brother that read Put on a nice cocktail dress. I’m taking you out.
Um . . . at 10 p.m. on a Tuesday? I’m working? I responded. And you haven’t really spoken to me in over a month? Hi, hello?
I’ve been busy, he texted back. But not as busy as your boyfriend. Trust me, you’re gonna want to come to this party.
“Family emergency?” Vern asked, sounding hopeful.
I glanced her way. “Kinda.” What the fuck was Blake talking about?
Vern’s expression shifted to open relief. “We can be done if you need to be.”
“Do you need to be?”
She winced. “Yeah. I don’t think I have much more left in the tank tonight.”
I eyed her thigh and the portrait of her abuela that was slowly coming to life. “Okay, but do you think you can last through me finishing this section?”
She glanced down at where I’d paused. “How much longer?”
“Five minutes, I promise.”
She laid back, looking resigned. “I can do it.”
I rolled over, pulling on a fresh set of gloves. “What a brave woman. Next up, asking out a man who knows his way around a dead body.”
She waggled her brows. “Hopefully he knows his way around live ones, too.”
I laughed and got back to work.
Vern was, luckily, my last appointment of the evening, and once I was finished checking her out, I tried to call Blake.
He sent me to voicemail and texted me a location instead. Meet me in thirty.
Not until you tell me what this is about.
I can’t explain it over the phone. Just please. I’m asking you to trust me.
Normally, I wouldn’t have hesitated, but between the whole gambling-away-his-entire-inheritance thing and how moody and aloof he’d acted since (no matter how much I apologized), I wasn’t sure I knew my brother as well as I’d once believed.
And him not telling me where we were going felt like a giant red flag.
Was it even him?
Where did we hide Cordy’s pug statue?
In the suit of armor by the front entrance of her townhouse. Why?
Just checking.
It’s ME. Blake. The little brother you’ll thank by the end of tonight because I’m fixing the problem I created.
Unease twisted my stomach. Uh . . . what the fuck was he talking about?
There’s nothing left to “fix,” I texted back. I’m free.
No. You’re not. None of us are. And I’m about to prove it to you. Half an hour, Stella. Be there.
I tried texting him back several times, but he’d gone radio silent.
Shit. What the hell was he up to? I had just gotten clear of Theo’s blackmail, had finally gotten onto his good—scratch that—less bad side. If Blake did something to mess with him, I worried we’d wind up right back where we started. Or worse.
I rushed to Derrick’s booth. He was closing tonight because I’d decided to actually start taking care of myself by limiting my hours to a more manageable work schedule.
“Heyyy,” I said, hanging off his doorframe. Thankfully, he was in between clients.
“Yes?” he drawled, raising one bushy white eyebrow.
“I have to head out for a bit, but I can be available if anything pops up.”
“It won’t,” he said, and from his tone, I had a feeling that even if something did, he’d handle it himself.
I raced upstairs.
“Treaaat?” Amos called.
“You’ve had enough today,” I told him, rushing straight to my closet.
He let out a sad little whistle, tugging at my heartstrings, but I needed to start putting my foot down.
I’d been guilt-feeding him extra treats for weeks because of my absences, and that was worse than giving him none at all.
I wanted him to live to out the full promise of his long lifespan, and overfeeding him was counterproductive.
I threw open my closet door. Black as far as the eye could see.
“Like your soul,” Theo had joked, but my monochromatic wardrobe was more practical. Black went with everything. Ink stains were hard to see on it. It cut down on decision fatigue when it came to outfit selection. Plus, it just plain looked good on me.
Hiding near the back was a short, corseted tulle cocktail dress that made me feel like the Black Swan whenever I wore it.
I pulled it out and quickly changed into it before running to my bathroom.
The location pin Blake sent me was twenty minutes away without traffic, which meant I needed to get my ass in gear if I was going to meet him on time.
A glimpse in my bathroom mirror revealed that my makeup had held up pretty well throughout the day. All I needed to do was blot my face, reapply my blush and lip stain, and then add another layer of setting powder and finishing spray.
There. Good enough.
I ordered an Uber, locked the apartment behind me, and headed outside.
One apprehensive car ride later, I was back in the balmy night air, standing on a corner near a jewelry store and a hair salon. This was a busier part of the city, filled with hotels and bars, and there were people everywhere. I scanned the sidewalks for my brother but didn’t see him.
I’m here, I texted.
Where? I don’t see you.
I searched for him again, then peeked my head around the corner of the building, and there he was, walking toward me in a tuxedo, looking dapper. He’d done something to his sandy brown hair, slicking it back, and the sullen look I’d seen on his face lately was gone, replaced with determination.
“Are you ready?” he said.
“Hi, yes, hello. It’s nice to see you, too. I’m glad we’re speaking again. Do you finally understand why I did what I did?”
“No, you self-sacrificing idiot. Now come on.” He wove his arm through mine and led me down the street.
“You couldn’t pay it,” I said, my eyes clocking a few other well-dressed people heading in the same direction.
“You could?” Blake asked.
“We came to an agreement.”
He shook his head. “And you trusted him to stick to it? That he didn’t have ulterior motives?”
“Don’t give me that look,” I said. “I’m not actually an idiot. I have never, nor will ever, trust that man. And yes, I was worried about ulterior motives, but I was more focused on getting us clear of him.”
“That’s where you went wrong. While you spent the last month flirting with him, I was paying closer attention.”
“I was not flirting.” At least, not the whole time.
Blake shot me a look full of censure. “Yes, you were.”
Anger swept through me. I hadn’t thought less of him for losing three million dollars, and yet here he was judging me for what I’d done to get that money back.
“What are we even doing here?” I asked, my voice flat.
I wanted to get this over with, then go back to my apartment and calm down.
I also planned to take some more time away from Blake.
Because it was clear that my relationship with my brother was on rockier ground than I’d thought, and I wasn’t in the right headspace to try to fix it.
“I told you,” he said. “We’re going to a party. A very exclusive party.”
Exactly as I’d feared. “How’d you even get another invite?”
“I stole Henry’s.”
“And you think Theo’s just going to let us waltz in together?”
Blake snorted. “Theo won’t have any idea we’re there until it’s too late. These parties make our society functions look like cute little get-togethers.”
“What do you mean, too late?” I said, reaching out to pat his chest. “You don’t have a bomb on you or something, do you?”
He slapped my hand away. “No, and you’ll see soon enough.”
“If you do something stupid, he’ll find a way to get back at us.”
“Not if he’s in jail,” Blake said, his tone dark.
My pulse skyrocketed, thoughts circling to those big scary men Theo had mentioned, who wouldn’t be in jail, but still free to hurt people. And yeah, Theo tried to avoid that, but I was willing to bet he’d make an exception for those responsible for putting him behind bars.
I grabbed my brother’s arm, trying to slow us down. “What did you do?” I had to find some way to stop whatever was about to happen.
He pulled free from me and kept walking. “You’re about to find out. We’re here.”
I wrenched my gaze away from him, our surroundings coming back into focus. Here? Here, where? This street looked like any other congested part of the city. Traffic, pedestrians, storefronts, construction barriers.
My eyes homed in on the one thing that was different: two large men wearing city uniforms and safety vests, guarding the entrance to the work site. Late at night.
A woman in a trench coat stopped in front of them. The three had a brief exchange, and then she passed between the pair into the darkness beyond.
Blake pulled away from me, and I hurried to catch up with him, my heartbeat pounding so hard I felt like I might choke on it.
I didn’t want any part of what was about to happen, but it was clear Blake was determined, and I had no idea how to stop him without resorting to hitting him over the head and dragging his unconscious body out of here.
Maybe I could find some way to change his mind once we were inside? Threaten to go to Mom and Dad? Remind him that Theo was a scary, evil mastermind with untold minions ready to do his dark bidding?
“Password,” said the beefy guy standing on the right, his head on a swivel as his gaze swept the rest of the street.
“Rhoticity,” Blake replied.