Chapter 35
Thirty-Five
Ava
I’ve never been to a gala, and certainly not on the arm of someone like Dagen Fox.
When I come downstairs after Elsie and Wylan, I blink in surprise at the brief look I get of the limo waiting out at the curb for us as Wylan lets them inside.
Dagen’s eyes flash when he sees me coming down the stairs, desire flickering in his eyes that reminds me of what we’d done in the dressing chamber while this dress had been pooled on the floor.
There are no wrinkles on it now, the tailor working wonders on it.
Beside Dagen, much to my surprise, is Felix, dressed in his best tuxedo rather than his t-shirt and jeans.
Where Dagen wears a shirt matching the color of my dress and Wylan has the pocket square, Felix instead has a pair of matching Converse on his feet, bright red and squeaky clean.
The fact they’re all matching me in some way makes my throat thick with emotion.
I started this journey for safety and freedom, and a little bit for revenge, but I never expected to find these men in the process, to form this sort of bond.
I never expected to fall so hard for them.
The thought of them leaving after this is all said and done nearly kills me. So, I do my best not to think about it. None of us have discussed what happens once Ric is somewhere, cowering and licking his wounds. I haven’t asked and I don’t want to, but it looms over our heads like a threat.
“I’m not sure the tiara will go with my outfit,” Dagen tells Elsie when she holds it up in front of him. “I have to wear a mask.”
Elsie pouts out her lip, giving him such good puppy dog eyes, it looks like she’s about to cry. “But you’d look so pretty.”
Dagen grimaces. “How about this? I wear it on the ride there, but take it off when I put my mask on?”
Elsie smiles brightly, the fake tears disappearing immediately. “Perfect.”
Dagen takes the tiara and Elsie high-fives Wylan like that had been their plan all along. I laugh at their antics and take in Dagen’s pressed suit. I watch as he lifts the mega sparkly tiara onto his head and settles it, careful not to mess up his hair.
“How does it look?” he asks Elsie.
She claps her hands together in front of her. “Oh,” she gushes. “You’re the prettiest princess.”
Wylan stomps his foot jokingly. “I thought I was the prettiest princess? You’ve done passed off my title, Els.”
Her eyes widen. “Oh no. You are the prettiest princess.” She looks at Dagen. “You’re all pretty princesses, equally pretty.” She looks at Felix. “Would you like a tiara, too, Otto?”
He laughs. “Maybe next time. My hair took an hour to get looking this good.”
She nods. “I’ll save one for you.”
“So where are these masks we’re supposed to be wearing?” I ask, interrupting the pretty princess competition.
Dagen smiles at me and picks up a bag I hadn’t seen. His tiara falls off and he catches it before setting it on the table. “Right here.” He reaches inside and pulls the first one out, handing it to Wylan. “A weasel for Wylan.”
“Because I’m such a slippery bastard,” Wylan says. “Why, you shouldn’t have!”
“A cat for Otto,” Dagen continues.
Felix takes the mask and nods. “Makes sense. I’m often the cat during cat and mouse.”
“A fox for me,” he says, taking out another large mask and setting it aside. “And a bird for you.”
The mask he pulls out of the bag matches my dress with shades of red and orange, making the bird look more like a phoenix than anything else.
I realize that was probably the intention when I take it from him and he smiles.
It’s a really pretty mask, the short beak small enough that it won’t get in the way.
Whoever made these is incredibly talented.
Every mask has enough detail to stun and none of them look cheap against our black-tie attire.
“I love it,” I murmur. “Thank you.”
John peeks his head inside the door. “Everyone ready? We’re going to be late.”
I pick up my skirts and grab my small bag. “Don’t go to bed too late,” I tell Elsie. “Tonya will let me know.”
“Of course I will,” Tonya says, appearing from the kitchen.
But she shoots a look at Elsie that tells me they’re just going to worry about having fun rather than bedtime.
I don’t mind. Elsie deserves to have some fun every now and then.
“Now, you kids go have fun and don’t worry about us,” she says as she ushers us toward the door.
“Dagen,” Elsie says, before we can get out the door, “don’t forget the tiara.”
Dagen glances at the tiara on the table and sighs. He picks it up and settles it on his head again. Elsie claps her hands together in excitement.
“You are such a pretty princess!” she squeals.
Dagen nods and leaves the house, leading me and the others toward the limo, the tiny tiara flashing in the darkness.
“The prettiest princess,” Wylan teases as the door closes behind us. “Putting all us other princesses to shame.”
“Shut up,” Dagen grumbles before helping me into the back of the limo. “Before I put up a billboard of you wearing your own tiara for everyone to see.”
Wylan laughs. “The world would be so lucky.”
It takes about thirty minutes to reach the venue.
In that time, Dagen keeps the tiara on his head as promised, as if Elsie would somehow know.
It would almost be laughable, the sight of this serious man in a pristine suit wearing a cheap one-dollar tiara on his head, if it wasn’t also the sweetest thing he’s ever done.
He’d made a promise to Elsie and he kept it despite Wylan’s little teasing remarks and Elsie not being here.
When we get in line for the literal red carpet outside the building in downtown New York, Felix grabs his bag and scoots over to the door.
“This is my stop,” he says with a quick grin to me. “See you inside, Frogger.”
I blush scarlet as he hops out and closes the door behind him.
“Frogger?” Wylan asks, raising his brow. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It’s a game,” I answer, but I don’t go into why the game means anything. I’m certainly not going to explain it’s the one Felix had fucked me with in the arcade.
“Why isn’t he walking in with us?” I ask once we start moving again.
“Only me and you will walk in together. Wylan and Felix will remain inconspicuous. In fact, this looks like your stop, Wylan,” Dagen says.
“Ay, trying to get more time with our girl, I see,” Wylan teases. “No worries. I’ll see you two love birds inside.” He pulls on his weasel mask and slips from the car, disappearing into the darkness like he was never there.
“I’ll never understand how he does that,” I say, shaking my head. “He’s a literal ghost.”
“He was trained to be a ghost,” Dagen says with a shrug. “It makes sense he’d be able to disappear into shadows. An assassin is no good if he’s caught.”
“Trained how?” I ask.
“You’ll have to ask him that,” Dagen replies. “I don’t know enough of the story to tell it. I only know rumors.”
I nod in understanding. Maybe one day I’ll ask Wylan about his past, but we don’t have the time right now. “So. . . what’s the plan?”
“For you to enjoy yourself,” Dagen answers. “We’ve got everything else covered.”
“And I’m what? Bait? An ornament for your arm?”
“Both,” Dagen nods. “Tempting bait at that.” His eyes trail over my body. “I’ve imagined you in this dress a million times. If we weren’t about to step out of this limo, I’d be smearing that lipstick all over your face.” He straightens his cufflinks. “Unfortunately, it’s our turn to exit.”
He hands me my mask and plucks off the tiara carefully.
He slides the leather fox mask over his face.
All I can see are his eyes through his mask, but it’s enough to make my thighs clench together and make me worry about how I’m going to keep my composure tonight.
All three of the men look amazing, and my adrenaline is already pumping with what we’re about to do.
It’ll be hell keeping my hands to myself.
My cheeks are rosy as he opens the door and steps out, not letting John run around to open the door for us.
He reaches inside and offers a hand, helping me from the limo behind him.
Cameras immediately flash in my face, making me see stars as I try to focus on anything but the people yelling at us to smile.
I’m thankful the cameras can’t see who I really am behind my mask.
We stroll up the red carpet, ignoring the media asking us questions in favor of getting inside the doors.
The moment we escape the flashing cameras and the shouts, I relax.
Inside the large building, everything is decorated with real flowers dripping from every surface.
The ceiling, the walls, the tables. Crystals flicker from every angle, from the candelabras to the glasses everyone carries around.
Servers with trays move around the room, simple masks covering their faces, offering everything from champagne to finger foods.
Everything feels wealthy and luxurious, something I’ve never been a part of or been privy to.
Most Tech Galas include only the CEOs and the most powerful people in the industry, not people like me, the employees who remain in the background.
Ric certainly never brought me to one of these things while we were married.
That would have gotten in the way of his cheating.
I lean in closer to Dagen where I have my arm looped through his. “So, what do we do now?”
“Mingle,” he answers. “Pretend we’re innocently enjoying ourselves. Look coy when your ex notices us.”
I hum under my breath even as my eyes find Wylan in the crowd, his weasel mask both striking and somehow blending into the mass of people.
He winks at me and disappears, off to cause whatever trouble he can.
I don’t see Felix, but I assume he’s currently holed up in a room somewhere while he hacks the entertainment system that’ll be used for the speeches.
One of which will be from the COO of Aria Tech.