Chapter 5 Bianca
BIANCA
I didn’t give my sister any time to waylay me after my last set. I flew into my dressing room, grabbed my things, and went straight to the Aces parking garage.
Part of me wanted to leave right after that awkward conversation with her. If she suspects the worst, then the clock is ticking.
But an early departure would have really tipped her off, so I decided to stay. Keep things routine so as not to arouse any suspicion.
No matter what, our time is limited. It will only be so long before Rouge visits the Caterpillar Hotel. She’ll see that Maddox and Alissa’s rooms have both been broken into, and then she’ll follow our tracks and figure out what we know.
She checks the Caterpillar weekly. She won’t be there for a few more days.
As luck would have it, I’m not due back at Aces until Friday. This is Tuesday, a night that the club is normally closed, but Rouge opened it specially for St. Patrick’s Day. I have the next few days off, and hopefully that will be long enough for Harrison and me to pinpoint our next maneuver.
Just in case Rouge visits the Caterpillar earlier than we anticipate, though, it’s best that I lie low.
I don’t think returning to my apartment is a good idea, which is why I’m on my way to Harrison’s now.
Rouge has no way of connecting this to him, so he’ll have to let me hunker down with him for a few days.
I have a feeling he will. He’s as big a fan of sleeping with me as I am with him.
Of course, it might be safer if we figure out some third location to stay together. Book a hotel under an assumed name or something.
We’ll figure it out.
I pull into Harrison’s driveway, park my car, and get out. I trudge up to his front door and knock.
He opens it almost immediately—it’s like he was standing right there—and throws his arms around me. “Thank God you’re okay,” he breathes.
I squeeze him. “Same for you. I was so worried after… After…”
The words catch in my throat.
I haven’t told him yet.
All I want to do right now is crush my lips to his, tangle our bodies together, and let his thick cock pound me into oblivion, take me to a place where my sister can never touch us.
But it’s not the time.
He breaks the embrace. “So what the hell did you find in there?”
I swallow. “You’ll want to sit down for this.”
He frowns. “Will I want a drink?”
I exhale sharply. “Possibly. But you might want your wits about you, too.”
He leads me to his couch.
I close my eyes, take a slow breath in. “When I went into the crawlspace… I found a small cooler under a folding table.”
He nods slowly. “Uh-huh.”
“Inside the cooler…were three human hearts.”
He drops his jaw. “What?”
“Hearts. As in the organ. I think Rouge is killing her waitstaff at the end of their five-year terms and then selling their organs on the black market, primarily to her older patrons.”
Harrison blinks for several seconds and then rubs at his forehead, his eyes squeezed shut. “Fuck.”
“You’re probably rethinking that drink right about now.”
“No fucking kidding.” He stands, paces the living room. “It does all connect to the disappearances. But what about the red diamonds Alissa and Maddox found in Rouge’s office?”
“I think they’re payment. A lot more discreet than cash.”
“Diamonds are hardly discreet.”
“But they’re not trackable. You don’t have to launder them like you’d have to with money.”
He swallows. “But your sister is covered in head to toe in those damned diamonds. To have that many, she’d have to have sold…”
“Hundreds of organs, yes. Possibly even thousands.”
He breathes heavily. “Sweet fucking Jesus.” He pinches the bridge of his nose as creases form across his forehead. “And you’re sure what you found was legit? Not some, I don’t know…realistic Halloween decoration or something?”
I shake my head. “These were real, Harrison. We could go back and you can see for yourself.”
“Abso-fucking-lutely not.” He stops pacing, crosses his arms. “There’s no way either of us is setting foot back in Aces until your sister is behind bars…or six feet under.”
I stand and face him. “I agree. We should approach this delicately, but we also don’t have much time before Rouge figures out what we know.”
“Right. Right.” Harrison gazes out his front window. “Holy shit, Bianca.”
“Holy shit doesn’t begin to cover it.” I walk up behind him, rub his shoulders. They’re tensed. No amount of massage is going to loosen them. “Do you have any idea where we should go from here?”
He turns. “I was about to ask you the same question.” He widens his eyes. “Wait. This might be something.” He crosses over to his kitchen counter and brings a tiny teapot into the room.
I narrow my eyes. “What the hell is that?”
“It’s a music box. I found it in my car trunk when I got home.
It was placed there before we rescued Alissa and Maddox.
I noticed the gift bag in my trunk that night, but obviously with everything else going on, I didn’t give it much thought past that.
” He places the music box on a side table by the couch and winds it up.
“The tune is disjointed. It’s some kind of code. ”
“Code?”
“Yeah. Remember what Alissa told us? Maddox found a riddle that led them to that poor girl’s head in the nature reserve out by O’Hare.”
I lean down and examine the small teapot. “How did someone even get this in your trunk?”
“Remember when we left your apartment and picked up my car? The valet driver didn’t recognize me because I’d left my car with someone else?”
I widen my eyes. “Right. You were freaked out someone had stolen your car.”
He nods. “I think some guy disguised himself as a valet so he could take my car and plant this music box inside it.”
“But who would have done that?”
“I’m not sure.” He sits down with a sigh. “He didn’t speak, and his face was completely hidden by his outfit.”
“Are you even sure it was a he at all?”
“I’m pretty sure. He was super tall. Most women aren’t as tall as this guy was.”
I widen my eyes. “How tall was he?”
He bites his lip. “Pretty freaking tall. He made me feel short, which isn’t something I’m used to. At least six-six, maybe six-seven.” He shrugs. “This could be a nonstarter, though. The valet said it could have been some guy named Chad.”
I shake my head. “Chad has parked my car before. He does wear a lot of scarves, but he’s average height.”
He shifts his gaze. “Oh, shit.”
“Yeah.” I sit down on the couch next to him.
“Come to think of it, I’ve never seen a valet driver at my complex that tall, and I’ve been there a few years now.
And why would a person of that height take a job where he’d have to be cramped inside tiny cars all day?
Doesn’t make a lot of sense.” I tap at my chin.
“You don’t see men who are considerably taller than you every day.
It’s not impossible, but it’s uncommon. In fact, the only person I know who’s that tall is… ” I clamp a hand over my mouth.
He leans in. “Who, babe?”
I blink several times. “The only man I’ve met in Chicago who is as tall as this valet driver you describe…is Chet.”