Chapter 22 Harrison
HARRISON
Bianca and I made it out of the hotel safely.
I wasn’t sure what our move would be from there, but she suggested we hunker down at the Harold Washington Library for a few hours.
It’s huge, with several hidden corners. We slipped into a thrift store on the way and bought a sweater, skirt, and a pair of tennis shoes for Bianca.
Luckily, there’s no charge to go inside the library. We found a table behind a large display of dystopian fiction—something I feel like I’ve been living through myself—and began to collect ourselves.
I was hoping we could stop by the hospital to check on Alissa and Maddox, but if the cops figure out who I am from the security footage at the Gilded Rose, the hospital will be the first place they’ll go.
Maybe I’ll get on one of the computers available here at the library, log on to Facebook, and try to message Dinah.
We’re not Facebook friends, so she might not see my message immediately.
She probably doesn’t have her phone on her anyway.
The nurses typically keep their phones in their lockers to make sure they stay focused on the patients’ needs.
“They might think it was an accident,” Bianca says. “That’s what we told them.”
I exhale sharply. “How exactly does a man accidentally shove a fountain pen into his eye?”
“A very poorly timed fall?”
“Sure.” I rub at my forehead. “Let’s assume that could happen. Even then, we were the last two people who went into Rose’s office before it happened. The cops would want to hear our side of the story.”
“Fair enough. So it’s a race against time then.”
I nod. “We need to implicate your sister as soon as possible. Then we’ll be able to connect her to what happened in Rose’s office, and the cops will understand we were acting in self-defense.”
“Which is perfectly legal.”
“Exactly.” I sigh. “And here I thought staying in a hotel would make our day less complicated.”
She pats my hand. “We had no way of knowing.”
I shake my head. “I should have looked up who was in charge. I didn’t know Rose was Rouge’s confidante, but I did know he was a handsy little fucker. That he had some connection to Aces.”
“You’d be hard-pressed to find a place in this city without a connection to Aces,” Bianca says. “Rouge has her fingers in everything. Any hotel in town—certainly the nice ones—could harbor someone who’s in her pocket.”
“Then we should have stayed in some skeezy motel.”
She laughs. “That’s almost worse than what we went through at the Gilded Rose.”
I look at her, really look at her. After all we’ve been through, she’s still able to make a little joke. Neither of us is exactly rolling in the aisles at it, but she’s found a touch of levity in this gravely dangerous moment.
God, I love her so much.
I grab her hand. Squeeze it. “I wouldn’t take it back, you know.”
She raises an eyebrow. “Changing the hotel?”
“No. Meeting you. It’s been fucking crazy from the get-go, but even if I had to go through all of it again, I’d do it all over if it meant meeting you.”
She blushes. “You’re just saying that.”
“No. I’m really not. I can’t believe I went to the club with Maddox all those years and never turned my attention to Hearts. I’d have fallen head over heels for you then and there.”
She looks down. “You’d have fallen for a woman who sells herself to the highest bidder?”
A tiny pinch of jealousy tweaks my heart at her words, but I swallow it down. I don’t care about her history as long as she’s mine now. I tip her chin up, bring her gaze to mine. “I wouldn’t have cared. Just as long as you felt for me what I felt for you.”
She swallows. “I’m not going to do it anymore, you know. I mean, if things ever go back to normal, I’m done. I want you to be the last person I ever sleep with, Harrison.”
I lean across the table and press a chaste kiss to her lips. “You’re my once and forever.”
She smiles. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
The words fall out of me so easily. Like we’ve been married half our lives and I’ve been saying them for years.
We stare into each other’s eyes for a few fleeting moments before Bianca looks at her watch. “It’s about time to make our way to Aces.”
“Great.” Then I realize something. “Wait. You can’t go on wearing a sweater and a skirt. You look lovely, but you’ll need a gown.”
“No problem there,” she says. “I keep a spare gown in my dressing room for emergencies. You’d be shocked how many times men spill drinks on me or tear my dress when they’re”—a flush crosses her face—“disrobing me.”
Another spear of jealousy lances through my heart at the thought, but again she just told me she’s done with that for good, so I let it evaporate.
“And there’s a spare pair of shorts for me?”
She nods. “Easily. And you obviously won’t need anything else for the uniform beyond that.”
Right. I’m not looking forward to being next to naked again in the club. Makes you wonder how the rest of the waitstaff feel. I guess they learn to grin and bear it.
At least Rose won’t be there. He was trying to get into my tiny shorts the last time I disguised myself as the Ace of Clubs. That won’t be the case tonight. The pen protruding from his eye is a good reason to take the night off.
“I also keep a spare car key there,” Bianca continues. “And my car is still parked in the Gilded Rose garage, so I’ll steal over there once things finish, and I’ll be able to follow you on the bus back to the Caterpillar.”
“Good thinking,” I say.
“Never thought this would be the reason I’d use it, but I’ve learned to roll with the punches the last few days.” Her lip twitches.
I sigh. “Understatement of the fucking century.”
* * *
We make our way to Aces, sneak through the back entrance that leads to the ladies’ restroom, and slip into Bianca’s dressing room unnoticed.
We quickly clamber into our outfits for the night, and I can’t help sneaking a glance when Bianca’s tits spill out of the sweater we bought at the thrift shop.
She’s perfection. But we don’t have time for a quick roll in the hay right now, as much as the blood currently rushing to my cock would like that.
She slinks into her spare gown. It’s a tight little black dress, which makes me even crazier.
“That’s different from the dresses you normally wear.”
She grins. “Yeah, Rouge likely wouldn’t approve. The spare dress is black, in case I get a drink spilled on me a second time in a night. That way it doesn’t show up as much.”
“Will Rouge wonder why you’re starting the night in your spare dress?”
She shrugs. “I’ll tell her the rest of my gowns are at the cleaners.”
“If you’re going to play the opposite tonight, you should accessorize.” I walk across the room to the pile of stuff from Rouge’s office scattered in the corner of Bianca’s dressing room. I pick up a dark-gray fedora, the kind Maddox often wears.
Shit, this might actually be Maddox’s hat. He probably wore it the last night he came to the club with Alissa. Rouge probably threw it in this corner.
All the more reason for Bianca to don it tonight.
She looks at herself in the mirror. “I look like I’m about to play Sally Bowls in Cabaret.”
“And maybe this time, you’ll get lucky.” I plant a kiss on her, grind my crotch into hers.
Her face flushes. “I’d love to, Harrison. But we both know we don’t have time.”
“Right.” Blue balls for me then. But I’ll deal. My boner will go down once I’m focused on playing the role of the Ace. Especially if another older guy comes on to me. “How much time do we have?”
She checks her watch. “None. The doors should be opening as we speak.”
Damn. Time really does fly when you’re in the company of a beautiful woman.
It’s been a full fucking day. Only a few hours ago I was swinging down a hotel balcony on a rope of bedsheets. Then I stabbed a guy in the eye with a fountain pen.
But like I told Bianca at the library, I wouldn’t change a thing if it meant meeting her. Caring for her. Loving her. Making love with her.
She gives me one more smooch on the cheek, her eyes fiery. “You’re on, Ace.”
I kiss her hand. “Yes, my Queen.”
She grins and then pushes me out of her dressing room. I quickly—but not too quickly—make a beeline to the Clubs section. Mr. Night catches me and his eyes widen temporarily, but then he simply bows his head.
I have a feeling he’s playing a part, too. A part I don’t quite understand, but I’m ninety percent sure he’s on my side. He’ll have to be if we’re going to pull this off.
I glance around the club. Rouge isn’t here, at least as far as I can tell. Maybe she’s at one of her other clubs tonight. I hope so. The night will be a lot less complicated if I don’t have to dodge her the whole time I’m here.
“Ace, over here!” A man calls out.
I look up and meet the gaze of a middle-aged man sitting in one of the green leather chairs in Clubs smoking a cigarette.
It’s showtime.