14. Bianca
Chapter 14
Bianca
R iver hasn’t left the ballroom the entire time we’ve been here. He’s talked to nearly everyone in attendance, laughing and sharing drinks as though he’s not a monster masquerading as a man. I can see through the charming smile, though, to the evil man beneath.
Silas and I have been all over the dance floor, trying to get close enough to him to overhear something that could be of use—all while trying to ignore the energy buzzing between us. Not that I know whether or not he’s feeling it too. I just can’t imagine I’d be this affected if he’s not in the slightest.
The feel of his arms around me is something I’ll never forget.
“Dinner time!” an announcer calls out.
The music stops.
Silas keeps his arm on me as servers pull out the dining room chairs in unison. It’s almost creepy, the way they move as a singular unit, prepping the spots for everyone. Together, we watch as the guests take their seats, laughing happily as they do so.
Do these people know what River is? Or are they all playing their part?
“Miss Selena Culvers!” the announcer calls out. “Here.” He holds out a chair directly to River’s left at the head of the table. I look to Silas, who maintains his hold on my arm for a moment.
“Mr. Silas Williamson!” another announcer calls, then pulls out the chair across from mine, directly to River’s right.
“Come, sit,” River orders as he gestures toward the chairs. “We’re all waiting on you.”
I turn around, scanning the room for anyone else who might still be standing, only to find that we’re the only ones who haven’t taken their seats. When did that happen?
Slowly, Silas guides me over toward my chair, then helps me sit and growls at the server behind me. The man pales slightly, then backs away and lets Silas push my chair in. Then, with eyes on River, he walks around the table and sits directly across from me.
You could hear a pin drop as everyone watches.
“Great. Now. Let’s eat!” River holds out both hands and the servers leave the room, only to return moments later with individual silver trays for everyone.
Names are engraved on the top in elegant script, making me painstakingly aware of the fact that River has meticulously planned out and given orders for each person’s meal. This can only mean one thing. Someone’s going to die tonight. The question is…who?
Neither Silas nor I touch our food as the others around the table—River included—remove the silver lids to their trays. Only two people at the table hesitate. And it’s that hesitation that catches River’s eye.
A trick I only know because it’s one straight out of my father’s book. I saw him use it one time…the night he killed my mother.
My free hand tightens in my lap.
“Here, let me help you.” River removes the lid, then picks up my steak knife and a fork.
Silas’s hand closes around the handle of his own blade as he watches while River cuts up the steak on my plate—humming the entire time. Once it’s in tiny pieces, he sets the knife down right in front of me, leaving the fork on my plate.
Is he mocking me? Daring me to take it?
Silas lowers his hand back into his lap, but the knife is no longer on the table. My heart begins to pound, and I lock eyes with him. Surely, he’s not going to attack River at the table.
“So, Silas how is fatherhood?” River asks, then shoves a piece of steak into his mouth.
Silas doesn’t answer.
“You were always so chatty before, now you have nothing to say?”
Still, Silas doesn’t speak.
“How about you, Selena? How are things in your life?”
“At the moment? Not great.”
River laughs. “How’s the arm?”
“It hurts.”
“So little conversation, wouldn’t you say so, James?” He shifts his attention to the man sitting to Silas’s right.
“Not nearly as chatty as I remember them.”
Even if I didn’t understand what he was as I was growing up, I learned two things while living under my father’s roof.
One, if you open your mouth, you’d better have something powerful to say.
And two, never let them see you’re shaken.
So, I turn to James. “Funny, I don’t remember you at all.”
His gaze hardens. “You wouldn’t. But your mother would.”
The anger hits me so swiftly, I have to force myself to take a deep breath or risk losing the temper I’ve worked so hard to restrain.
The elevator doors ding.
“Sorry I’m late.”
My heart begins to race.
My stomach churns.
Because I’d know that voice anywhere. Dark hair. Tall. Brown eyes. Small scar at the corner of his mouth. Yarrow Bridges is the last man I ever wanted to see again. Even less so than the murderous uncle sitting beside me.
He’d been my closest friend, once upon a time.
Until he’d tried to take what I wasn’t freely giving, and I kicked him so hard in the groin he vomited all over the dress I’d been wearing.
He also happens to be the man my father was trying to marry me off to on my eighteenth birthday. The son of a respected business ally my father wanted familial ties with. I’d realized too late that I was a pawn to be used in his twisted game of power.
And it was even later that I realized Yarrow was just like him.
“Darling, it’s been too long.” He leans down and kisses the top of my head, then takes a seat beside me.
I don’t look at him. I can barely breathe thanks to the anger singing in my veins.
Looking to Silas, I try to assure myself that it’s all going to be fine. Because I’m not seventeen anymore. I’m not alone in a room. I’m here, in public, with Silas, whose gaze is locked on Yarrow.
“How rude of me. Silas, this is Yarrow Bridges, Selena’s fiancé.”
The ferocity of Silas’s glare is something I’ve only ever seen one other time—when he’d discovered who I truly was. Then, we’d been in a jungle, dressed in the tattered remains of our clothing. We’d been starving, exhausted, dirty.
Now we’re dressed to impress, food right in front of us, yet his look is still the same.
Disgusted at my betrayal.
“No,” I snap. “He’s not.”
“Darling, why must you always be so stubborn?” Yarrow snakes an arm around my shoulders.
Silas leans in. “If you want to keep that arm attached to your body, I strongly suggest removing it from her vicinity.”
Yarrow’s grin spreads. “This is the infamous Silas Williamson then? The formidable Navy SEAL who managed to somehow escape being chained up in a locked room?”
“It is,” my uncle replies. “I told you he’s impressive.”
“I don’t see it.” Yarrow keeps his arm around my shoulders.
Silas starts to scoot back, but River clicks his tongue. “Stay right where you are, Silas. There’s no violence here. Remember our deal?”
“You didn’t make that deal with me,” Silas snaps.
“Easy, Silas,” Lance says through the coms. “Keep a level head.”
“I made that deal with Bianca on your behalf. Any violence here and I’ll send a team right into that little town of yours.”
We might as well be trapped in a cage, but the look I give Silas promises freedom if he only remains calm. We will find a way out of this.
Please, Lord, let us make it out of this.