Chapter 15 Bianca
BIANCA
Tomorrow.
Jack’s last day is tomorrow.
Damn it.
I thought Harrison and I would have more time to come up with a plan.
No time like the present, I suppose.
“Will you give me just a second?” I ask Jack. “I have to make a quick phone call.”
Jack shrugs. “Be my guest.”
I quickly dial Harrison’s number and press the call button.
It rings a few times.
“Hey, babe. You okay?”
I run my free hand through my hair. “I’m fine. I’m at the Caterpillar Hotel. In Jack’s room.”
“Are you able to speak freely?”
“Yeah. I told him what he needs to know. How are things at the hospital?”
“They’re good. I’ve been doing some digging. I think I figured out the name of the organization that your sister is selling the organs to St. Charles under.”
I widen my eyes. “Really?”
“Yeah. Shinzo Life Center. It’s on the same city block as Aces, just on the opposite corner.”
I nearly drop the phone. “I’ve passed the front of their business hundreds of times! I assumed it was a life coaching place or something.” I frown. “Are you sure that’s the place?”
“A hundred percent. And here’s the kicker. The CEO’s name is an anagram for ‘Rouge Montrose.’”
I swallow. “That’s it, then. She’s behind all of this.”
Not that there was much doubt at this point.
I’ve known since I was seven years old that my sister was capable of doing terrible, evil things.
But I pushed the memories away whenever they threatened to emerge, especially when she offered me help the day I got rejected from Reflections.
She pulled me out of the ocean when I was at my lowest point, so I forgot and forgave.
No longer.
I’ve been looking the other way for far too long.
“Why don’t you come over to my place tonight? We can figure out what our next move is.”
I glance back toward Jack. “Actually, we should probably make the plan now. Jack’s last night is Friday. As in tomorrow.”
“You’re kidding.”
“I wish I were.”
He sighs. “Damn it. I thought we’d have more time.”
“So did I. But it’s now or never. From what Alissa told me, Svetlana—the Nine of Diamonds—disappeared the same night she finished up her contract. If Jack is their next target, we’ll have to act fast.”
“Right… Right…” He pauses. “Obviously then, our move is to keep Jack in our sight at all times tomorrow evening.”
“Agreed. You can disguise yourself as the Ace of Clubs again, and I’ll be there as a singer. Jack works in my section, and Clubs is close by, so between the two of us, we’ll be able to keep an eye on him.”
“But that wouldn’t make much of a difference. Even Rouge can’t murder a man in front of a hundred witnesses.”
“Right.” I pace the room. “We’ll have to follow Jack home. You’ll get on the bus with him—you’ll be dressed as a waiter, so you won’t have any trouble getting aboard—and then I’ll follow behind. We can join Jack in his room at the Caterpillar and make sure nothing happens to him.”
“And what do we do if someone does come to collect?”
“We’ll be ready. I doubt they’d do away with him at the actual hotel.
But if they do, we’ll have our phones. We can record everything.
Maybe you could start an Instagram livestream or something.
Make sure everything that happens is documented.
Then we’ll be practically invincible.” I swallow. “Worst case, we call the cops.”
“Worst case is we get killed too, Bianca.”
I bite my lip. “If my death means countless other lives are saved, it’ll be worth it.”
A long pause in the conversation.
“Are you there, Harrison?”
“Yeah. I’m just thinking it over. Because no way in hell am I going to allow you to put your life on the line.”
“You don’t have a choice. It’s my life.”
Another long pause. “I would be devastated if something happened to you.”
Warmth fills my heart at his words. “I would feel the same way about you, but we’re talking about the bigger picture here.”
He sighs. “I’ll do everything in my power to ensure that doesn’t happen.”
“I’ve never felt safer than when I’ve been with you.”
“I’ll do my damnedest to make sure you’re okay.” His voice darkens. “Even if it means laying my own life down.”
“It won’t come to that.”
“It better not. I have a whole life ahead of me, and I want to spend it with you.”
Again my heart soars. But it’s not the time for us to be declaring our feelings for each other.
“Do you have a firearm?” I ask. “We should be armed.”
“Yeah. I’ll have that on me. Except… Shit. I won’t. I’ll be in my Ace of Clubs outfit. Those shorts don’t even have pockets.”
“Even if they did, someone would easily see you were packing.”
Harrison’s bulge is already conspicuous in those teeny shorts. A gun would be extremely obvious.
“I’ll hand the gun off to you, then. Have you ever fired one before?”
I exhale. “No.”
“Fuck. And we don’t have enough time to get you to a shooting range to practice.” He sighs. “Well, you’ll learn quickly. Point and shoot, pretty simple. But I can only loan it to you on one condition.”
“What’s that?”
“Only use it if your life is in immediate danger. If there’s no other choice.”
“Of course.”
“Good.”
My heart thrums. I’m not getting cold feet, but I’m starting to get anxious. This is getting real. Harrison’s talking about me actually shooting someone, ending another human life. Likely the life of one of Rouge’s Kings.
But possibly the life of my sister herself.
She’s evil incarnate, don’t get me wrong. But she’s still my sister.
My sister who knows where I live. Who knows everything about me.
“Harrison…”
“Yeah, babe?”
“If something goes wrong, I probably shouldn’t go back to my own apartment. Rouge knows that’s where I live. She’s never visited me there, of course, but it’s where my checks are addressed to.”
“You’re welcome to crash at my place.”
“I’d love that, don’t get me wrong, but I think it might be best if we got a hotel for the next couple of nights. It’ll be harder to track us that way.”
“Won’t you be booking the hotel under your name?”
“No.” I walk over to my purse, grab my wallet, and reach into a hidden pocket behind my driver’s license window. “I never told you about my pickpocket ex-boyfriend, did I?”
“Your what ex-what?” His voice is tense.
“Calm down. It’s ancient history, and we parted on decent terms. But he knew a guy who knew a guy who could make great fake ID’s. They’re practically indistinguishable from the real thing.” I pull out the fake from the secret pocket in my wallet. “We’ll book it under my pseudonym. Whitney Royale.”
He lets out a short, humorless laugh. “Sounds like a cocktail.”
“My ex said it sounded like a stripper name.”
“That, too.”
“Does Rouge know about your alter ego?”
“No. And she’d have no way of finding it out.”
A pause. “Okay. You can book the hotel. Get somewhere near Aces.”
“I will. I’ll stop at my place and pack a few days’ worth of clothes. You should do the same once you finish up with your shift at the hospital. Once I make the arrangements, I’ll text you the details.”
“Sounds good. See you in a few hours.”
I smile. “I’ll count the moments.”
* * *
I decided on the Gilded Rose, a historic hotel off Michigan Avenue that’s within walking distance to Aces. I booked the room online and am now on my way there, lugging a small carry-on bag behind me.
Harrison is waiting in the ornate lobby when I get there with a small suitcase of his own at his side.
I widen my eyes. “I thought you were going to be working for a few more hours.”
He shrugs. “I had already delegated most of my duties to my interns and nurses, so I took off early. I didn’t like the idea of you at this hotel without me.”
I wrap my arms around him, squeeze him tight. It feels like an eternity has passed since we were last together. “I wasn’t too fond of the idea either. But are you sure your patients won’t need you?”
He strokes my hair. “I have a fantastic staff covering for me. I won’t be missed.”
“I’d certainly miss you.” I finally break the embrace, regard his handsome face. “I guess we’d better check in then.”
He gestures to the marble slab to our right manned by people at small computers. We cross over.
A woman with curly blond hair and half-moon spectacles waves us over. “Good afternoon, and welcome to the Gilded Rose. Do you have a reservation?”
I place my fake ID on the counter. “Yes. For three nights. The name is Whitney Royale.”
“Wonderful. Just one moment, Ms. Royale.” She grabs my ID, looks it over, and then returns to her screen. “Yes, you’re in our system. I’ll just need a credit card for incidentals.”
I widen my eyes. I don’t have a credit card with Whitney Royale’s name on it. I forgot about that.
Harrison clearly is thinking faster than I am, because he quickly grabs his wallet and takes out a card. “Those are on me. I’m treating my girlfriend to a weekend of pampering.”
The receptionist smiles at Harrison. “Lucky lady.” She grabs the credit card and runs it through her system.
“Everything seems to be in order. One question, though. Would you be interested in upgrading to our luxury suite? It’s almost always booked, but not this weekend.
We offer a last-minute discount to guests. ”
“How much would it be?” Harrison asks.
She clacks on her keyboard. “It would be a little under five hundred dollars to upgrade for the whole weekend, sir.”
Harrison grins. “Let’s do it. Charge the extra money to my card.”
I grab his arm. “You really don’t have to do that.”
He sears his gaze into mine. “I really think I do.”
And in his eyes, I see what he means. We’re about to put our lives on the line to save Jack and the rest of the waitstaff at Aces Underground. We could be six feet under by this time tomorrow. We may as well live a little.
I turn back to the receptionist. “Okay, we’ll take the upgrade.”
“Excellent choice.” The receptionist smiles. “The luxury suite is truly something special. You’ll be quite comfortable. Will two keys be sufficient?”
“Yes,” I reply.
“Perfect.” She grabs two key cards, swipes them through another machine, and gives them to us in a small envelope. “You’ll be on the seventh floor. Have a wonderful first night, and please don’t hesitate to call the front desk if you encounter any issues.”
“Thank you,” I say weakly.
“Thank you, Ms. Royale. And welcome to the Gilded Rose.”
We take the elevator—it’s one of those old ones that’s controlled by an operator sitting on a tall bench in the corner—up to the seventh floor and Harrison swipes his keycard, letting us into our suite.
We open to a living space that’s lavishly decorated with nineteenth-century art adorning emerald-green wallpaper.
Over the room’s light-pink carpet, two cream wingback chairs stand across from a loveseat in the same color, both outfitted with soft leather.
They surround a dark cherry oval-shaped coffee table holding a golden vase with a bouquet of red roses.
In the corner stands an elegant wooden desk with assorted stationery.
“Damn, this is nice.” Harrison plops down on the loveseat. “I should stay downtown more often.”
It is nice, but it does nothing to quell the goosebumps popping up over my arms. This may very well be the last place I ever sleep.
Harrison gets back to his feet. He walks over to me, brushes a finger over my cheek. “Everything’s going to be okay. You know that, right?”
I swallow, look down at my feet. “I’ll feel a lot better after tomorrow night.”
“Of course. We both will.” He tips my chin up and gives me a kiss.
It’s sweet, chaste.
And that’s the last thing I want right now.
I place a hand on either side of his head and kiss him back much harder.
His eyes pop open. “Babe?”
“It’s okay, Harrison. I want this. Everything might go well tomorrow, but just in case it’s our last night on earth—the end of the world—I want to… I want to make love to you.”
He blinks several times.
I didn’t say the three little words. But this is the closest I’ve come.
But the moment passes, and he crushes his lips to mine, prying them open with his tongue. I gladly let him in, and we stand there locked in each other’s embrace for an unending moment. Eventually he leads me to the loveseat, and I lie back. He crawls on top of me.
He breaks the kiss for a minute and caresses my cheek. “Fuck, Bianca. You’re so beautiful.”
“So are you,” I sigh.
He brings his mouth back down and unbuttons my blouse. Eventually I shimmy it off my shoulders, exposing my lavender bra. He fondles my breasts, still kissing me.
I squeeze his cock. Already he’s so hard for me, ready to fill me the way only he can. He moans as I tease him through his jeans.
He’s working my bra off now, and in a few seconds my breasts are free. He pinches my right nipple and brings his mouth down on the left.
And it’s heaven. Paradise.
He swishes his tongue over the areola and then wraps his lips around the nub, driving electricity directly between my legs. I unbutton his shirt and push it over his shoulders, exposing his hard chest. He groans against my sternum, sending vibrations through my entire body.
Now he’s unbuttoning my jeans, and he slides them off in a single pull. He whips my panties off and dives tongue-first into my pussy.
Stars. Planets. Celestial bliss.
And before I realize it, I open my mouth and a stream of words pours out.
“God, I love you, Harrison!”