30. - Jason -
Chapter thirty
- Jason -
I take back what I said before. I like seeing you in this more than our sweatshirts.” Kayden whispered into Corey’s ear as she linked her arm through his, loud enough that Jason could hear his brother.
Corey was in a silver satin gown. The dress was completely open in the back, the silky material pooling sensually just above her ass before rippling from her like a waterfall to the ground. She had a matching thick silver choker around her neck, a prissy sort of collar, and Kayden’s eyes kept wandering to it like a moth to a flame. He was probably wishing he could squeeze the metal tighter. Her shoulders had filled out with muscle from all the work she’d been putting in, and the dress showed off her defined back.
Her combat training had escalated to the point that both of them had sustained some pretty serious bruising from her. Neither were holding back in their sparring, and she could still successfully fend both of them off while landing some of her own hits. She attacked like a wild animal, moving on instinct. It was feral, but calculated. She was also terrifyingly good with the throwing knives. They had used the moving target, and she’d still never missed a death shot. She was so comfortable with the knives that she currently had two strapped to each leg under her dress, a safety precaution they’d both agreed was necessary.
This public affair would be risky after the last two attacks they’d faced, compounded by the fact that they would be deaf to any potential threat with Corey in their vicinity. Jason had argued for weeks against her attending. For him, the discomfort of thousands of voices infiltrating his head did not outweigh the risk of missing intel. Kayden didn’t believe there was any danger for them with big pharma, and that their conflict was solely with Kreig and Hanson, since they were black market.
Obviously, he’d lost the argument.
Corey held out her other arm, waiting for Jason to join them. He hesitated, considering the optics of the Haeven twins walking into this kind of formal gala on the arm of the same woman. Then Jason remembered he didn’t care about what people thought and that anyone with a problem could go fuck themselves. He linked his tuxedo-clad arm through hers, and the three of them stepped away from the black sedan that had driven them here and onto the awaiting red carpet.
The camera flashes were jarring as they strode towards the grand atrium of the chateau-style hotel. Jason liked to minimize his exposure to the public, but being the owner and operator of Alpha Moneta came with certain requirements, such as attending this gala to raise money for a new woman’s wing in the large hospital downtown. A plate cost $25,000, most of which actually went to the funding of the wing. It made the whole thing more palatable for him. There would be a silent auction as well, which he was sure would bring in millions for the expansion.
There was a stoic set to Corey’s lips as she walked between them, her eyes roaming the ostentatious display of wealth before her. There was enough money here in jewellery to fund a whole new hospital, let alone a new wing.
He could see her calculating just that as her painted red lips pursed disapprovingly. Her eyes, outlined in thick black eyeliner, were shining like two shards of cerulean gemstones. He wasn’t used to seeing her in so much makeup.
She looked fucking stunning. Stunning and deadly .
All the art for the auction was on display in the atrium, suits and gowns buzzing from one piece to the other, the cloying stench of too much cologne invading his senses. Everyone of importance was here. Jason could see council members, various board members, a select few members of Congress, top surgeons, representatives from other drug manufacturers and representatives from medical equipment companies. Kayden was discretely pointing everyone out, whispering names and positions into Corey’s ear.
Jason led them towards one of the high-top tables, a server popping out from nowhere to take their orders. Jason ordered four fingers of whiskey on the rocks for himself and Kayden and champagne for Corey.
The server was just disappearing back into the shadows when the president of Zantek Medical walked up to their table, his own drink in hand.
“The Haeven twins!” he said enthusiastically. Avery Wilkinson was a tall man who filled out his tuxedo well. He flashed his expensive veneers at them and looked Corey up and down appraisingly, an undeniable hunger in his eyes. “Only one girl tonight? And what’s your name?”
He reached his hand out, but Jason stepped around her, taking it instead. “Her name’s inconsequential,” Jason said and smiled in a fake show of congeniality. He saw Corey’s jaw clench from the corner of his eye, her face hardening.
Wilkinson laughed. “How are my favourite boys?”
Jason grit his teeth at his condescension. He had no ill will towards the billionaire and his business. Zantek was half the reason Alpha Moneta was functioning so well, but he had always hated how patronizing the man was.
“We’re good, Avery,” Kayden said civilly, adjusting the Rolex on his wrist. “Any piece catch your interest tonight? ”
“Oh, very much so. I could drop some big bucks tonight.” Jason didn’t like the way Wilkinson’s eyes lingered on Corey as he said it.
In fact, he didn’t like the way everyone’s eyes seemed to glance towards the gorgeous woman with them, like she was a shiny, new toy. They may have had a reputation as playboys, but they had never brought just one woman to a formal event before. This was a statement, which Jason had known it would be. The coveted spot on their arms filled by a woman no one knew would be gossip throughout the industry. Without being able to hear them wondering, he felt too vulnerable.
The server came back with their drinks, and Corey took the champagne flute from the tray, thanking the man politely.
Avery held up his glass. “Cheers.”
“Cheers,” Kayden echoed, clinking his glass against Avery’s before sipping. Corey forced a smile, but her eyes were burning.
Wilkinson tossed his drink back and placed the glass on the table, snapping his fingers. Another server appeared, taking another drink order for him. “Well, I’m going to go make my rounds. I’ll see you in there.”
“You want to look at some of the art?” Kayden asked Corey.
“Are you going to bid?”
Kayden shrugged. “Depends. All the funds are a direct donation, so maybe.”
“Okay, then.” Corey nodded at him.
Jason put a hand on her back to guide her forward, her skin warm under his palm, but she stepped away and cut him a look.
“Are you angry with me, sweetheart?” he asked, smirking.
“Inconsequential?” she spat, barely disguised hurt in her eyes.
“This may look like a pretty little gala, but it’s also a shark tank.” Kayden snaked his arm around her waist, pulling her into him. “It’s safer this way.”
Corey just lifted her chin, sipping from her champagne.
Jason downed his drink and left the empty glass. He wanted another one, but he wouldn’t snap his fingers like an entitled douchebag. A server would come to him eventually. One of the few good things about events like these was that they were open bar.
They trailed around the art, Corey and Kayden discussing each one as if they were art critics, while Jason couldn’t stop himself from scanning the crowds. As nice as the internal silence was when they are at the grocery store, he didn’t like it here. He felt off-kilter. There were too many important people with too many motives congregating in one space, and their only cloak of protection was missing. But he didn’t want to leave Corey’s side either, didn’t want to burst the image of the three of them united.
At some point, he’d gotten another drink in his hands, and he finished it quickly. He was on his third double before Kayden had even finished his first.
“Which one did you like best?” Corey asked.
Jason waited for Kayden to respond before he realized she had actually been asking him. None of the art mounted throughout the atrium had caught his attention for even a second. He shrugged, focused on Wilkinson across the room, deep in discussion with the CEO of another prominent manufacturing company. He wanted to hear their conversation. Mergers weren’t uncommon, and a merger like that could definitely affect Alpha Moneta’s business. He was just about to step towards them when he felt a poke to his side and turned to see Corey staring at him.
“You’re just going to ignore your hot date all night? Are you into men?”
Jason sputtered. “What?”
“You’ve been staring at that guy over there all night. I mean, I get it, he’s hot in a silver fox kind of way. But you’re being a little obvious.”
“You think he’s hot?” Kayden asked her with knitted brows.
She laughed, the sound deep in her throat. “Jealous?”
“Of him? No, Little Fox. I happen to know that his wife finds him unsatisfying. She’s fucking the pool boy.”
She laughed again. “You’re making that up. ”
“Nope, I heard it. I’ll point her out. She’s very beautiful too. Shame he can’t hold on to her.”
“Back to my question. Which painting?”
“Whichever one you want,” Jason said, finally taking a step towards Wilkinson, who was still chatting up his competitor.
“What a gentlemanly answer!” an older lady said, sliding up beside them and lacing an arm over Jason’s shoulder, fucking up his escape plan.
“Larissa.” Jason put a hand on her shoulder and kissed both cheeks. “A pleasure to see you again. This is a beautiful event you’ve organized here.”
“I’m glad you and your brother could make it.” She beamed at him, eyes moving to Corey. “And with such a lovely date, too. I’m Larissa Rottenburg, president of the National Women’s Health Network.”
She held out her hand to Corey, whose eyes widened slightly.
Corey shook her hand vigorously. “I’m such a big fan. You do such great work on reproductive rights! I saw your last petition to Congress, and honestly, it was excellent. You speak so well.” In typical Corey fashion, she was gushing her every thought. Jason was surprised that she knew who the woman was.
“That’s so kind. But yes, we need a woman in there, or all these men in here will forget all about us.” She flicked her platinum hair over her shoulder, her diamond rings flashing with the movement.
“I didn’t even know this was your event. The guys didn’t really tell me many details.”
“Isn’t that usually how it goes?” Larissa chuckled, waving her perfectly manicured hand. “Beautiful dress, by the way. I heard that Chopard was impossible to get a hold of.”
“Oh, this old thing?” Corey said nervously, looking down at her dress and then up at Kayden, oblivious that it had cost as much as her plate had.
“Such a darling! So humble,” Larissa said, elbowing Kayden suggestively. “So, which one of these two are you here with tonight? ”
“Umm… both of them?” Corey answered, her words sounding much more like a question.
Larissa cackled, and Corey smiled sheepishly. “This is the kind of progressive thinking we need to mainstream. Why have one boyfriend when you can have two? I tell my husband this all the time. Such a prude, though, wants to spoil all my fun.” She took a sip from her glass, the beverage as pink as her three-tiered dress. “But what he doesn’t know doesn’t hurt him.” She winked at them. “Anyway, I need to go mingle with the crowd some more before we’re called in for dinner. Round up the sheep!” She twirled a finger through the air again and gave another snicker. “It was fabulous to meet you. Jason, Kayden, a wonderful choice with this one.”
Larissa took another big gulp of her drink before strutting away, the train of her dress swishing behind her.
“Wow, she was not what I was expecting,” Corey said, still watching after her with confusion. Jason was just happy that Corey hadn’t given out her name.
“She’s probably drunk. That woman is work or play. There’s no in between with her,” Kayden answered.
“You know her well?”
“Jason gives a lot of funding and support to her organization. She’s quite sharp, and she’s excellent at these types of events. No one takes her too seriously because she presents as a drunk, ditzy blond, but then boom, her health reform bill has somehow been accepted.”
Corey turned her focus back to Jason. “What do you get out of it?”
“Out of what?” Jason asked.
“Out of supporting the National Women’s Health Network.”
“Nothing. I’m not a woman.” He was already trying to spot Wilkinson again.
“Obviously,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Why are you in such a mood tonight? ”
He couldn’t find him lost in the crowd, and it was stressing him out. He only vaguely registered Corey’s question and just shrugged, hoping that would suffice.
Based on her huff of breath, it probably didn’t.
“Is everyone just cheating on their partners here? Is that, like, a rich people thing?”
“I think it’s an unhappy relationship thing. I don’t cheat, and I’m rich,” he heard his brother respond.
Another server passed by with a bottle of whiskey and glasses, and Jason stopped him, exchanging his empty for a fresh glass. The grand doors opened, and a man with a megaphone requested everyone to enter the dining area and take their seats.
The crowd moved slowly, a loud hum of chatter and laughter mingling with clinking glasses and the patter of heels on marble. Jason was still looking for anyone of interest. He was so on edge that he actually jumped when his brother put a hand on his arm.
“Dude, chill. You look strung out. No more drinks tonight.” Kayden discretely took the crystal from Jason’s hand, only a few more sips left in it, and put it on a nearby table while they walked towards the dining room.
Was that his fifth drink or sixth drink? He couldn’t remember. It was nothing compared to how much he’d been drinking lately, but maybe Kayden was right. It wasn’t making him feel better, just spiking his anxiety further.
The dinning room was vast, with tables positioned in an arch around a dance floor and podium. To Jason’s chagrin, Wilkinson was already seated at their assigned table. He nodded his head at the man and forced a smile while they took their seats down the table.
Dinner passed by quickly, with speeches and announcements on recent public health reform and medical care law in between each course—all given by men—and then it was the auction. He still wasn’t paying attention, scanning the room, pushing on his brain to try to access others around the block that Corey posed. The auction numbers crawled up in $50,000 increments, the first piece going for $450,000. The prices just grew more obscene as they went.
This city was a plutocracy like any in the world, but it was obvious here more than anywhere. Corey’s eyes were blazing with hatred as she watched arm after arm raise their number to place a bid, each one clad in jewels and watches worth as much as the art they were bidding on. Her sapphire eyes were glaring daggers at everyone with a number, like each and every one of these people had failed her personally. He doubted Corey had ever been to an event like this, where wealth inequality was not only on display, but paraded around in an echo chamber of privilege.
Wilkinson was talking to three suits that he didn’t recognize.
“Do you know them?” Jason asked Kayden, jutting his chin towards the men.
Kayden shook his head. “Never seen them before.”
That was unusual. They usually knew everyone important in the room, and Wilkinson had been talking to them for most of the auction. The men hadn’t been seated at their table, so at some point in the auction, they must have deliberately sought him out. Worse was they seemed to keep glancing over at Jason as they spoke, although Jason couldn’t be sure if that was his paranoia.
He tried to get a handle on the conversation through his mind, pushing at the seams of his brain, trying to access the autonomic part of him that could read minds. He’d never actively tried using his gift like this before. It had always just been there, something he couldn’t control or turn off. He’d never needed to turn it on before.
He could feel a vein in his head throb as he kept trying.
“Jason,” Corey hissed from beside him, grabbing his arm. Again, his focus had been interrupted.
“What?” he bit out, agitated .
“Your nose is bleeding,” she whispered, bringing one of the cloth napkins up towards his face. He pushed her arm away and touched his nose, feeling the wetness on his upper lip. His hand came away bloody.
“Shit.” She handed the napkin to him and he took it, holding it to his nose. Luckily, the auction kept everyone at the table distracted, so nobody noticed him blotting the blood away. But it was still dripping.
Corey stood up and tugged at his arm. “You need to get to a bathroom.”
He acquiesced, following behind her as she led him to the back of the dark room, napkin still pressed to his face.
“Excuse me,” she asked a server, “where are the washrooms?” Corey listened to the directions and pulled Jason along.
The bathroom was gendered, but Corey locked the door behind them. He walked up to the sink, looking in the mirror. Fortunately, he hadn't gotten any blood on his white shirt. He dumped the sullied napkin in the sink and tilted his head back, pulling off his suit jacket and unbuttoning his shirt. Halfway down, he needed to grab the napkin again and put it back to his face to stop the blood from running.
“May I?” Corey asked, reaching out for the last few buttons.
“Go ahead,” he said, sounding squeaky with his nose plugged. She giggled and undid the rest of his shirt, pulling it from his shoulders. He was forced to put the cloth back in the sink in order to slide off the other sleeve. She folded his shirt up and put it on the counter.
He ran water from the sink and washed his bloodied face. More blood came out of one nostril when he righted his head, so he grabbed a paper towel, catching Corey ogling his cut torso in the mirror.
“Like what you see?” he smirked. She blushed and averted her eyes.
He leaned against the counter, tipping his head back, trying to get the blood flow back to his brain.
“When was the last time you had a nosebleed?”
He moved the paper from his face this time before speaking. “Not for a long time. ”
It was still bleeding. He could feel the thick trail leaving his nostril and he tipped his head back again, taking more paper towels. The familiar scent of blood was almost soothing.
Corey looked away from him, searching for something in the bathroom. “Oh, good! They have tampons.”
She made her way over to a metal dispenser mounted on the wall.
“Don’t be ridiculous, I’m not putting a tampon in my nose.”
She ignored him. “I saw it in a movie. It really works. The first time my ex hit me in the face, I had a terrible nosebleed, so I tried the tampon trick and voila, sopped up all the blood. Brilliant, really.”
She fidgeted with the machine, completely oblivious to the impact that her causal mention of domestic abuse had on Jason. He felt a surge of rage towards the man coward enough to hit his girlfriend. “See, this is why we need women’s health reform. Why the fuck should I have to carry change around to access a tampon? Who even has change anymore, anyway? It’s so fucked that companies can make millions on periods.”
She pulled a bobby pin from her hair, exasperated, and started picking the lock on the metal compartment. She bit her lip, brows creased in concentration and ear pressed up against the thing. When the lock clicked, she grinned, pulling it open and getting a tampon out.
“Super plus?” she laughed.
“I’d hate to see nostrils as big as a vagina that needs super plus.”
“Hey! I use super plus on heavy days, and your brother says I have a perfect pussy. Would you disagree?” she asked with mock sweetness.
Jason raked his gaze over her silver-clad body, all toned muscle and tanned skin, and she shivered under his attention. Then he looked up into her luminous eyes, freckles almost hidden under her makeup. He knew the game she wanted to play. They’d been going back and forth for a while now, but he wasn’t in the mood. He was stressed and already feeling too exposed. Maybe he was as bad as her ex.
“Can’t remember,” he shrugged .
“Fine. Lucky for you, they have small ones. Here.” She lobbed the paper-wrapped tampon at his head, and he caught it out of the air, ripping the package open. He went to push the cotton out of the applicator, but she stopped him.
“You do that once it's up to your nose, idiot.” He pulled his hand away from her as she made to take it from him.
“Stop fussing. That’s Kay’s job.” He lifted the tampon back to his nose and did what she’d said.
“He is kind of a mother hen, isn’t he?” she grinned.
“He’s the only reason I’m still alive.”
She gathered the bloody napkin and paper towels and threw them in the trash bin. “He says the same thing about you.”
Jason didn’t have a response for her. He hadn’t kept anyone alive. Kayden had kept himself alive, and Jason had killed their sister. He turned and looked at himself in the mirror. He did look like an idiot, the tampon hanging half out of his nose with the string dangling.
She crept up behind him in his reflection.
“I feel like a clown,” Corey said, looking at herself.
Jason caught her eye in the mirror. “Why?”
“All this makeup, I feel ridiculous. I never wear this much.”
“You look fine.” She looked more than fine.
She narrowed her eyes at him. “You’re being an asshole tonight.”
For some reason, it was easier to hold her gaze with the mirror between them. “I’m not being an asshole, sweetheart. I am an asshole.”
“No, as much as you like to pretend, that’s not actually who you are. Assholes don’t donate hundreds of thousands of dollars to women’s health organizations with zero self-interest.”
“Don’t delude yourself by adding morality to actions that have none.”
“I’ve seen enough of you to know you aren’t a villain, Jase. ”
A dark laugh escaped him at her words. She was looking at him earnestly, still holding his eyes, cheeks heated in anger or from alcohol, he didn’t know. But she was wrong.
He closed his eyes and shook his head, breaking their connection. He poked at the cotton in his nose. It felt heavier, more saturated.
“What’s wrong?” she tried, voice softer.
“Nothing.” He needed her to stop prodding him or he was going to really bite back.
“You’ve been tweaking all night like a junkie. If I didn’t know better, I’d think you’d snuck off to snort down some coke. It would explain the nosebleed. But I know you haven’t because you’ve been beside me the whole night. Can you just tell me what’s going on? Kayden won’t say it, but I know he’s worried. We can leave if you want. The auction should be done soon, since there are only a few more paintings. This has been a fucking circus, anyway.”
He could feel her, steadily trying to navigate the barbed wire he’d wrapped himself in, trying to figure out a way inside, under his skin even more than she already was. He needed to get her out. “I’m not ready to go yet.”
He pulled the tampon out from his nose and threw it in the trash, then blew his nose a few times. No more blood came out.
Without another word to her, he redressed and turned to the door, unlocking it and letting himself out. She trailed behind him, all but growling in frustration at his attitude.
The auction had finished by the time they got back to the table, and trashy pop music was playing through the speakers from a DJ set up almost mockingly on the podium. It was loud, and the thin veil of propriety had lifted. The dance floor was a sight to behold, old rich men trying to dance with younger rich women and vice versa. If he wasn’t in such a sour mood, he would have laughed .
“Did you hear anything while we were gone?” Jason asked Kayden immediately.
His brother shook his head. “Wilkinson got up and left right after you did.”
“Fuck.” He poured himself another drink, ignoring the judgmental little tsk that left Kayden’s mouth.
“Let’s go dance!” Corey pulled Kayden onto the dance floor, his brother grinning like an idiot as he watched the movement of her ass under the silk.
They danced together, laughing. They looked straight from a movie, the two of them. Again, that sour taste of longing crept up his throat, and he washed it back down with more whiskey.
The song changed to something a little more sultry, and Corey was grinding on Kayden in a way that was completely inappropriate for the occasion. But the lights were low, and everyone was too drunk to notice. She was watching him, though, her gaze never leaving his, while her eyes burned with mirth and poorly concealed desire.