Chapter 9
Chapter
Nine
ARIANA
T he next morning, Obsidian acts as though nothing happened and is his usual non-charming self. As the day passes, I realize what a juxtaposition his attitude toward me is compared to the way he interacts with everyone else.
To me, he’s short and snippy, outright rude, and somewhat condescending. On the phone, he’s charming and irreverent, sounding like a different man completely.
By the end of the week, I’m still trying to figure out which version of him is the real one.
But I put all that aside because it’s Saturday, and tonight, I have to meet my brother at the local dive bar to pass off something for him to sell. I can’t chance selling anything myself. Besides, it’s not like a local pawn shop is going to give me a decent price. This way my brother can reach out to the many contacts we’ve made over the years and get a better price.
The only problem is that I haven’t snagged anything. At first, I told myself I didn’t want to do it too early because that would mean I had to hide it somewhere in my room and the longer it was missing, the better chance they’d suspect me and find wherever I stashed it.
But the truth is that I’ve seen a few items I can take, had the opportunity to do so, and I’ve chickened out. The Vosses may be able to afford to replace the items and may not even notice anything is gone, given how much they have, but it’s the principle of it all. There’s a reason I left the family business. My conscience is fighting me.
So the first time I went for the Fabergé egg, my hand just couldn’t wrap around it.
But I’m out of time. I’m about to leave to head to the bar and meet my brother, so I have no choice.
I find my way to the room in question, which is in the common area of the manor, and stop when I get inside, listening for anyone. The room is dim, as they all are—especially once the sun starts setting—and long shadows cast upon the wall courtesy of the flickering sconces on the walls. I make my way toward the table where the egg sits. I purposely wore my larger purse tonight so that I would have room for it without attracting notice.
Knowing that hesitation is what gets you caught, I walk past the table, swipe it, and slide it into my bag. My heart hammers, and I feel as though I’m lugging around a fifty-pound weight in my bag.
Marcel’s by the front door, and I panic a bit, my throat closing.
“Hello, Miss Clarke. I just wanted to see you off and to give you this.” He holds out a black business card. On it is a phone number printed in white. “When you’re ready to return to the manor, just text this number, and the driver will come and get you.”
My shoulders relax. “Thank you so much, I appreciate it.” I’d contacted Marcel earlier today to see if I could arrange a ride down the hill into the town of Magnolia Bend.
“My pleasure. Have a good evening.” He nods and walks away.
I sigh, walking out the door, and slip in the back seat of the car. The driver doesn’t say a word to me as he drives toward the gates.
It takes no time before we’re in front of Black Magic Bar.
“Thank you for the ride,” I say and get out of the car.
When I step inside the bar, I look around. It’s definitely a dive bar, yet…different. I suppose it’s on theme with the name because there are nods to magic throughout the place. But all of that falls to the wayside when I spot Bastion sitting at one of the tables with a hand raised and a smile on his face.
I rush over, only now realizing how much I’ve missed him. He might drive me a little crazy, but living at Midnight Manor and pretending to be there for reasons I’m not has left me feeling lonely.
He stands as I get closer to the table. “Hey, stranger. How are you?” I give him a big hug and he seems taken aback. “Hey, everything all right?”
“Yeah, just a little homesick.”
He frowns as we both sit at the table. “You sure you can handle this? It’s been less than a week.”
I hook my purse on the back of my chair, the contents within feeling like a homing beacon for everyone in this bar. “Of course I can. I have no choice. How’s Dad? Staying out of trouble?”
He sighs. “Mostly.”
My eyes narrow. “What’s that mean? You’re supposed to be keeping an eye on him.”
Bastion rolls his eyes. “You know what he’s like. He can’t help himself.”
“What kind of scam is he running now?” I lean back in my seat with my arms crossed, unimpressed.
He waves off my concern. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll keep him in check. You just do what you have to do.”
Though I don’t like it, he’s right. I have enough to deal with here. I have to trust that Bastion won’t let our dad get in any deeper than he already is.
A weary feeling sets in my bones. Will this be the rest of my existence? Forever trying to keep my father from doom of his own making?
“You want a drink?” Bastion asks, getting up out of his chair.
“Just a beer.”
He walks to the bar, and when I glance over, I see that it’s taken him about fifteen seconds to flirt with the bartender. No surprise there. Bastion is a charmer. It’s part of what makes him so successful in running scams.
He returns a couple of minutes later and slides a bottle of beer in front of me before taking his seat. He lifts his beer to his lips. “So, what’s your new boss like?”
I shrug, picking at the label on the beer bottle. “A bit of a dick. It’s clear he doesn’t want me there, but I can handle him.”
“What the hell does a billionaire have to be a dick about?” Bastion shakes his head and takes another swig of his drink.
“Who knows, and who cares. I just need to stick it out long enough to pay off Dad’s debt.” I don’t want to talk about Obsidian Voss anymore. He’s on my mind enough as it is. “How’s it going with your lady love?”
Bastion sets his beer on the table and grins. “Good. She got me an expensive watch for our three-month anniversary.”
“How come you’re not wearing it?” I bring the beer to my lips.
“Sold it. Can’t let you take all the glory, you know.” He winks.
The warmth that hits my heart because he’s helping me says how fucked up a childhood we had. But Bastion has my back, and he always will.
“What are you going to say when she asks where it is?”
He lifts his beer off the table. “Gonna say it’s too nice to wear, makes me nervous I’m going to lose it. Then I’m going to tell her the house was broken into, and someone stole it.”
“You think she’ll buy it?” I’m doubtful, but who knows? Bastion is really that good.
“She will when I distract her with my face between her legs.” He laughs while I wrinkle my nose in disgust.
“Gross.” I take a large draw from my beer. The last thing I want to think about is the reason why Bastion is so successful in siphoning off rich women’s money.
We chat for a while about other stuff, and I notice Bastion’s gaze flicking over my shoulder a few times during our conversation.
“What are you looking at?” I look over my shoulder.
“A bunch of SUVs keep rolling through town. They all look the same—black, blacked-out windows, expensive. What’s with that?”
I turn to face him again and shrug. “No idea.”
The bartender comes over—probably because there aren’t a lot of people here tonight, and she wants more attention from Bastion. “Did you two want another round?”
“Hey, sweetheart, what’s with all those SUVs driving through town?”
The easy-going expression on her face dies and tension fills her frame. Her gaze darts around the bar. “They’re all coming from the private airport. Headed up to Midnight Manor for the night.”
Bastion frowns. “What’s Midnight Manor?”
“Where the Voss brothers live,” she whispers as though if she says their name too loudly, they might appear out of thin air with pickaxes.
Bastion’s gaze flicks over to me for a second. “What happens up there?”
She shrugs. “No one knows. But it happens on the last Saturday of every month.” She glances around again, then straightens to her full height. “Did you want another round?”
“Sure thing, sweetheart. Thanks,” Bastion says as casually as if they were talking about the weather. He really is impressive with his ability to be inconspicuous.
She nods and heads back behind the bar.
As soon as she’s gone, his gaze turns serious at me. “What’s the deal with the SUVs?”
I shrug. “I have no idea. First I’ve heard of it.”
“Is it a party or some shit?” His eyes bore into me as if I’m lying to him.
“I just told you I don’t know.”
He continues to look out the window as another tinted SUV goes by. “You need to figure it out.”
I want to argue with him, but I can’t. Even more valuable than what’s in my bag is information. And whatever goes on up at Midnight Manor, it’s clearly not common knowledge, which means it’s being kept a mystery on purpose. Information I could use to blackmail the brothers, but I have to find out what the mystery is first.
The bartender delivers our beers to the table, and Bastion pulls out a twenty, telling her to keep the change. She thanks him with a smile and returns to the bar.
“I’ll see what I can find out. Let’s finish these beers so I can get back to the manor and poke around.”
We finish in record time and make our way out of the bar. I follow Bastion to the rental car he parked in the side lot, and we go around to the far side of the car. He unlocks the door and pulls a bag out of the passenger seat, holding it open. After making sure no one is around, I carefully remove the Fabergé egg from my purse and set it inside the bag.
Bastion looks inside the bag. “What the fuck am I supposed to do with an egg?”
I narrow my eyes. “You know what to do with it. That thing is worth a small fortune.”
“Why didn’t you take jewelry? Something easier to get rid of?”
“Jewelry is too risky. Someone will notice right away that it’s missing.”
He begrudgingly nods.
Another blacked-out SUV passes by, headed toward Midnight Manor. I fish my phone out of my purse and text the driver to let him know I’m ready to be picked up. I was given a phone by Voss Enterprises for my job, but I message Bastion through my personal phone because I’m sure the one supplied by them is monitored.
“I’ll see you next Saturday. Keep Dad out of trouble.” I give Bastion a hug.
“I will. You stay out of trouble, too.” He looked to where the SUV was headed. “You know what Dad says—those people aren’t like us. They have no loyalty and can’t be trusted, so watch your back.”
I don’t bother arguing with Bastion that Dad could use his own lesson in loyalty and not screwing over his kin. It was a tenant of our upbringing—we are not like them.
“I’ll be careful.” I hike my purse higher on my shoulder and step away to wait on the porch of the bar for my ride.
I’d been looking forward to relaxing when I got back to the manor, maybe going for a late-night swim in the pool, but it seems I have a mystery to solve.
Exactly what are the Vosses hiding at Midnight Manor? I’ll find out.