Chapter 2
CHAPTER TWO
Kieran
I f anybody asked my opinion, I would happily tell whoever was asking that the famed Met Gala might just be the most asinine function that I’ve ever witnessed with my own two eyes.
Here I stand, in my designated post, by the main stairway – and I might as well be invisible. So many layers of fabric and faces of high-profile people that I couldn’t keep track even if I wanted to. Each one more oblivious and entitled than the last. The grand entrance is a sick spectacle of opulence and artistry, the famous stairs adorned with a lush red carpet and surrounded by a throng of photographers and journalists clamoring for a glimpse of the elite attendees. The air is polluted by the buzz of excitement, punctuated by the stinging flash of cameras and the murmur of hushed conversations.
A-listers, influencers, designers, all of the rich elite moving past the sea of people that they will always feel are beneath them. They don’t see the photographers, all they see are the flashing lights. They don’t see the security guards or staff, they only see the champagne and the glitter. The entire event is supposed to be for charity, but everybody who is outside of this room knows that it’s just a pissing contest. There’s no other way to put it.
But, in this instance, it works to my advantage.
My sharp eyes scan over the glamorous crowd, taking in the dazzling array of couture and high fashion that parades past me. It’s sickening but, tonight, I need to blend in.
I am here for one purpose, and one purpose only.
I played the long game to get here. Five years of planning and biding my time. Doing everything that was needed in order to get me to this very moment. There is no way that my plan will fail. I’ve been dedicated to this with a single-minded focus.
Now that the moment is here, I expected a sort of giddy excitement but instead, I feel almost anxious. There is very little that could go wrong, but my analytical mind can’t help but to turn over all of the variables over and over again. After tonight, it’s clear sailing. Everything has led up to this - I just have to find her.
Getting a legitimate position on the event’s security detail had almost been child’s play. Truly, their vetting process is comical. I wonder how they would all feel if they knew how easily their security documents were wholly forged. Nothing about my presence raised even a single red flag. Which was perfect, because I needed to ensure that nothing would raise suspicion in Cristiano Dominio’s meticulous planning. My ego almost can’t take the fact that I finally have one up on him. I’m finally going to make a move that he doesn’t see coming.
I stand with comfortable but perfect posture, my hands clasped in front of me wearing the same plain black suit that every other security guard has been assigned. Granted, most of my co-workers wouldn’t have been able to afford Dior suits like mine, but hey the perks are the things that make stuff like this worth it. My face is a mask of professional detachment. Only those who know me well would recognize the cold calculation behind my green eyes. Every few guests announced into the room has me checking my phone. I’m so close to the prize. I just have to keep an eye out for any changes noted by my contacts. I certainly have enough contingency plans in place for anything that might happen.
Ada Dominio should be here any moment.
While she can’t choose her family, she’s the key to my revenge. Her brother is responsible for dismantling my father’s clan and ending his life. My jaw tightens at the very thought of Cristiano. He deserves everything that’s coming to him. My resolve hardens. He will pay for what he’s done, starting with his baby sister Ada.
A text message vibrates on my phone in my pocket. I take only a moment to read the message. It’s from Liam, my cousin. After my father’s death, they are the relatives I had to turn to. I have never felt like more of a failure than the day that I showed up on my uncle’s doorstep.
Are you sure that this girl is really worth all of this trouble?
The message belies how bored my cousin must be. I know that for all his teasing and complaining, he will do whatever I ask of him. It’s a street that goes both ways. My fingers hover over the keyboard for just a moment, debating whether I should dignify his comment with a response at all.
But the choice is made for me, because, just as I start to type, she appears.
Ada Dominio.
Her pictures don’t do her justice. She’s ethereal. Angelic.
Somebody that seems so effortlessly perfect ought to be criminal in some fashion or another. My breath catches in my chest. Stunning would be putting it lightly. She is wearing the dress on her body as if she were doing it a favor. No doubt the ivory and cream creation is one of Maeve’s. Cristiano's wife was actually my ex-fiancée for a minute or two, and she is also on my hit list, but I have to be careful how I start this.
The gown flows like liquid silver, hugging her delicate curves and shimmering under the lights. The intricate lacework and delicate beading highlights her stunning beauty, making her look like a goddess descended from the heavens. Her dark hair has been styled elegantly, and her makeup is flawless, enhancing her striking features. For a moment, I’m struck dumb. I forget why I’m here and what I’m supposed to be doing. I forget everything that isn’t her as she walks up those stairs.
I shake my head, forcing myself to look at something, anything that isn’t her. I have to focus on the mission at hand. There will be plenty of time to admire her later. She might be incredibly gorgeous, but she’s still my target. I can’t afford to be distracted by her looks. I’ve worked way too hard for this opportunity and waited too long. Nothing will get in the way of my revenge. I won’t allow it.
Ada ascends the stairs alone, gracefully. Her bodyguard, the flea that’s been bugging me for months, has not been allowed to accompany her through the main entrance. Alberto will have been stopped by now and is working on her clearance. All according to my plan. I had to ensure that Ada would be vulnerable and unprotected as she makes her way inside.
To me.
My phone buzzes in my pocket for a second time. Liam doesn’t tolerate being ignored very well. No doubt the longer I let him sit there being bored, the more messages I’m going to get. But, for now, I need to keep my eye on the prize. So, I ignore my clingy cousin.
I wait, my patience slowly slipping with every passing second. The night has only just begun and I have to wait for the perfect opening. Ada starts to move back down the steps and into the room itself as I trail after her, blending into the background that most guests are oblivious to as Ada strikes pose after pose for the photographers and journalists. She seems to float from place to place as she moves easily in her skin. It’s an effortless sort of grace that simply cannot be taught. She has no idea of the true danger that she’s in right now, lurking so near. She makes such perfect prey, wholly oblivious of the predator so close to her. Ready and waiting to exploit even the smallest weakness that she might show.
I note the way she moves between people, the way she walks, the comments that she makes to those who address her.
However, between the pops of camera flashes, I notice something else, something I couldn’t have anticipated. There in the spaces between, when she thinks that people are not looking at her, I see subtle signs of what I can only assume is strain. There are moments where her megawatt smile… slips. Just a fraction, when her eyes grow distant. What sort of burdens does she carry to have such weight on her shoulders? To affect her in a place like this? What secrets lay beneath her polished exterior?
I intend to find them all out.
She moves further toward the large crowd and away from the photographers when her footing slips. Her heel catches on a step. She is about to humiliate herself in front of hundreds of people.
I don’t mean to move, but my body acts without thinking. My hand is around her slender waist as my other catches her by the wrist, elegantly saving her from planting that perfect face at the foot of the stairs. Her breath catches in her throat as she turns those bright, wide eyes up at me with a shocked expression. Slowly, my hand slides over her waist and her lower back, relishing in the silky feel of the dress sliding over her skin. When I’m sure that she’s steady on her own feet, I slowly let her go.
“T-thank you, sir.” She stammers, catching her breath and smiling like the slip was somehow deliberate and that she had planned the whole thing for attention. As she looks up at me once more, her hand sliding out of mine, there is some sort of unexpected jolt deep in my gut. Something that I’ve never felt before, like a flicker of something that I can’t quite identify.
I push it down as deep as possible and take a swift step back and away from her so that she can continue moving. As security, I’m not supposed to interact with the guests and I don’t want to blow my cover.
“You’re welcome.” I keep my eyes averted until I speak again. “Just doing my job.”
Her eyes widen in surprise when our gazes lock once more. Even as she starts to move back down the stairs, I clock the way that she glances back gratefully over her shoulders as if she might even be a little bit curious about me. All things that will work further in my favor.
My resolve solidifies. No matter how beautiful or kind she seems, she is still the key to his revenge. And I will not let anything, not even a moment of unexpected connection, deter me from my goal.