Chapter 16
Dean
Twenty-four hours ago, I was a naive man that believed Sophia and I were on the way to finding Bishop Blackstone. I believed. I’ll even dare to say I found myself falling for Sophia.
Ok, maybe not falling, but seriously attracted and was forming a connection. A friendship with her.
That was until the moment I found out she slipped out of my apartment like a thief in the night. I was furious when I realized she’d left.
And I am livid my men can’t find her.
“How hard is it to find a woman in New York?” I yell at Leo.
“Dean, we’ve got men staked out at her apartment, so if she goes there, we’ll find her. We’ve also got men watching the DeWinter home.”
“Where else could she be?” Did she find out info about Bishop she didn’t feel she could share with me?
“What will you do about tonight?” Leo asks.
I shrug. “I have to go. I’ll just say my wife is sick or something.”
“Won’t it be weird that you’re going to the party without her?”
I slam a fist on my desk as I rise from my leather-office chair. “What else am I supposed to do? I won’t lead on that she left. And I don’t want to be rude to Hollingsworth.”
Leo shakes his head, like he’s not on board with the plan.
“I can tell you one thing, if I find Sophia, I may just lock her up.” I’m not kidding either.
I’m fuming. I’m angry with her, yes. But mostly with myself.
“Dean, take a breath. We’re close to finding him. Bishop doesn’t surface, ever. If you’ve got a lead, you need to take it, whether or not Sophia is with you.”
I nod, running my fingers down my stubble. “Yes, exactly.”
I won’t let the pain of knowing Sophia left me without a thought in the world about how I feel stop me. Not that I have any big feelings for her, but there’s something that was building. Maybe it was only building for me. Maybe I’m just feeling sentimental because we shared something on the island of Pico during the hurricane.
But that’s all behind me now. It’s over and she’s gone. The sooner I can convince my head of that, I can move on. It’s not like I was in love or anything crazy like that.
It was just a feeling. Something that sizzled in my chest whenever she smiled in my direction. I think back on the other night in the club. My hand up her dress and the way she felt against my fingers. How she sounded when she came against my hand. The way her eyes pierced into me when her body calmed.
I’d be a fucking liar if I said I didn’t want to do that again, but I know I can’t go there with her. I know she’s not the type of woman who does this sort of thing, and I should have taken things slower with her. I shouldn’t have fucking pushed her to do anything she was uncomfortable with.
Is that why she left?
I need to do a few business errands before tonight, and I’ll try my hardest not to picture her lithe body beneath me.
Humphrey Hollingsworth’s home makes all other homes look like a shack. Even the rich and famous homes are nothing compared to this man’s palace.
And it is something like right out of a fairytale. It has the big castle walls, with vines sweeping up the sides. It’s a mansion in Long Island, and I can’t believe how many people are already here.
Exotic car after exotic car is ushered away as Leo drives me toward the circular drive. For the first time in my life, I get nervous.
Not because I have to pretend I’m into this sort of lifestyle, but because I’ll have to pretend my wife would be ok with me coming here by myself.
When I enter the brick mansion, with its glass entryway and chrome fixtures, I glance around. I know Humphrey likes a flashy style, but this house is like a kiddie fun land. There’s a horse eating from a green patch of grass in the center of the large foyer.
“Is that a horse?” I ask security near the front entrance.
“It’s Galvanar.” As if this answer makes everything all clear. “What’s your name, sir?”
“Dean Maddox,” I tell him, and he glances at the clipboard in his hand. “Hopefully Galvanar isn’t on the menu for entertainment tonight.” I give a little laugh so he knows it’s a joke, but apparently security has no sense of humor tonight.
“Galvanar is the personal horse of Mr. Humphrey Hollingsworth.”
I nod. “Of course. I meant no disrespect.” I give a brief smile and the man checks a box on his list.
“Your wife is already here, sir.”
I raise a brow. “My wife?”
“Mrs. Sophia Maddox.”
I laugh, like this is an absurdity that I don’t know my own wife is here. “Yes, of course she is.”
Fucking little minx.
I move away from security, steering clear of the horse. Only the extremely wealthy would have a horse in their house.
I pass by a waterfall with a small little rainforest. I shake my head. This shit should be illegal. I am frantically searching the crowd for Sophia. Why would she be here?
The main level is filled with people chatting with each other. Almost like a cocktail party that’s centered around a bar in the middle of the room. The decor is white with a splash of red. White leather couches. White walls. White lamps. Red shag carpet with red throw pillows on the couches. There’s about five couches around the space, but few people are sitting. They stand in groups, laughing and conversing. I’m sure they’re all figuring out who will do who later.
These parties aren’t really my thing, but I can’t deny the times I visited the clubs with Sophia were hot as hell. In fact, it was even hotter than that. Magma. Molten lava.
But I think Sophia could get me hot no matter who’s around or watching. She turns me on that much.
“Dean, where’s that pretty little thing of yours?” Humphrey Hollingsworth in the flesh. He almost matches the decor, a white suit with a red fedora and a large red feather in his hand. And then, it dawns on me, I bet this motherfucker changes the decor in his house for every party he throws. Sounds like something he’d do. He sure has a flair for the dramatic.
“She’s around here somewhere.” I hold out my hand to shake Humphrey’s.
He smiles. “Not at my house, come here.” He pulls me in for a weak hug. Nothing too crazy.
I laugh. “So, what’s your plans for tonight?”
“Are you looking for a little adventure?”
I raise a brow, letting him know it’s exactly what I’m after. “Absolutely. I’d love it if my wife could join as well, depending on what you have planned.”
He slaps me on the back. “How do you feel about having your every wish granted?”
I shrug. “Yeah, I’m always up for something like that. What exactly does that mean, though?”
“You’ll see.” He winks. “We’ll be reconvening in my master suite upstairs in about an hour. I have to play host duties for a bit. Find your wife and meet me.”
“Oh, we’ll be there.”
I have no idea what I’ve signed on for, but I need to let this man know I’m in it to win it. I need the intel on Bishop Blackstone. And right now, I need to find Sophia.
She’s like my buffer for letting things get too out of hand. I don’t want to end up in a crazy situation without her by my side.
I glance around the room again. There she is.
I stare from across the room. She’s breathtaking, and I couldn’t turn away even if I wanted to.
She’s standing next to Eddie Gallo, and my skin nearly crawls off my face. I didn’t hate that man before, but his hand on the small of her back makes me want to hurt someone. Preferably him.
Badly.
I have so many questions for Sophia, but I can’t very well ask her everything I want to know here, where people can overhear us. Then another question arises, will she even be coming home with me tonight?
I continue to stare until she glances in my direction. Our eyes crash into each other from across the room, and my heartbeat picks up.
Red should be her color, and only hers, because there’s no one in the world who can pull off the color the way she can. They should outlaw it. Make it illegal and only for her use. Because she’s a fucking knockout and I swear my body hardens instantly when she licks her ruby red lips.
Her long hair falls down her back in waves, and the slit up the side of her dress goes so high I swear it leaves no room to the imagination to where it leads. The thought that other men in this room are looking at her kind of pisses me off.
Especially Eddie.
The fact his hand is on her makes my blood boil, but I smile and give a little wave. She smiles like the ruse is something she’s been playing all along. Like she didn’t leave my fucking house last night. Like I haven’t been spending the entire day out searching for her fine little ass.
“Dean,” she calls out when I’ve crossed the room in her direction. “You remember Eddie Gallo.”
I shake his hand. “I sure do. How’s it going over here?” I’m staring right at her and her eyes bounce around as she tries to find a spot to focus on.
“Everything is fine. I ran into Eddie today at his bakery. Remember, I told you.”
I smile. “Of course.” Just hearing she went looking for this piece of shit slimeball makes me furious, but I keep playing the part. I keep playing the part that I get off on watching other men touch what’s mine.
Listen, I’m about to go postal on watching his hand slide up and down her back like they share some insider secret I’m not privy to.
“We were thinking about getting a room. Sophia here says you like to watch.” Eddie smiles and I have to slam my hands into my pockets so I don’t knock him the fuck out.
“Actually,” I pull Sophia into my arms, “Mr. Hollingsworth invited us to a special party.”
Sophia’s eyes widen. “Oh, in that case… Eddie, would you like to join us in there?”
I want to deny his invitation, say something about how it would be rude to bring him along, but there’s obviously a reason Sophia is holding close to this man. Maybe she found something out.
So, I keep my mouth shut, and smile like the invite is something she just thought of a second before me.
“Uh, fuck yeah.” He smiles like a man who is about to get lucky with a gorgeous woman. Little does he know I’d never allow that to fucking happen.
“Let’s get a drink and then go upstairs.” I wait for them both to agree and then head toward the bar with Sophia hanging off my arm instead of Eddie’s.
Eddie falls a bit behind us as we weave through the crowd.
“I didn’t plan on seeing you here tonight,” I say against the shell of Sophia’s ear.
She shivers. “I had to work on a lead.”
“A lead? Alone?” I stop walking, gripping her arm so she stands right in front of me.
“We can discuss it later.”
I lean close to her ear, bringing her body flush with mine. “Don’t think for a second this conversation is over.” I pull away, smiling at her big wide eyes.
We order a drink and stand at the bar for a minute or two, making small talk. When the time is close, we amble toward the staircase to head up to Humphrey’s private private party.
I’m not entirely sure what to expect when we walk into that room, but I know one thing’s for sure… it’ll be unlike anything I’ve ever seen before in my life.
And I’m not letting Sophia out of my sight for even a minute.