Chapter 47 Zander
Something isn’t right.
The night started out fine, if not a little slow.
I know we were all excited to have this over with, but we can’t rush it.
Until we see Ivan or Dom and Leo get Jade’s parents here, our only real choice is to mingle and try to blend in.
It’s easier than it should be, honestly.
We might not have been raised in mafia life, but it’s not too crazy far off from Vengeance. At least the party isn’t.
You drink, mingle, and make connections.
It’s eating Jade alive, though. She might be the head of Vengeance, but this part isn’t something she’s used to.
She did all her work from the shadows. She was invisible, and now she’s front and center.
As far as I know, Jake’s party was the first she ever attended that wasn’t a part of ring business, and I can’t imagine those had the same feeling.
Those were jobs, something she knew exactly how to handle.
Just a stepping stone in the path to what she wanted, but this is more like the buildup in an action movie.
This party is the beginning of the end, and the script is still being written.
None of us knows how it will end, and the possibilities are damn near endless.
“Shouldn’t she be back by now?” I call out to Rick over the hum of music pumped into each room. It’s not as loud as the parties we usually go to, but it’s enough that it can drown out lesser conversations. I’m pretty sure that’s the point, though.
“She hasn’t been gone that long. She probably just needs a minute.
This is a lot for her, Zan,” Rick says back, and he’s right, but I can also see the hint of worry in his eyes as he says it.
He can give whatever reason he wants to soothe himself, but I don’t have the same need to appear like I’ve got my shit together.
I have no problem looking like the crazy fucker I am.
“I’m going to go check on her,” I tell him, standing and making my way through the people who mill around the couches we’ve been sitting on for the last twenty minutes, waiting on Jade. He doesn’t even try to argue with me; instead, giving me a nod of understanding as I pass him.
I head back toward our rooms. I’m not sure what it is; let's call it a hunch, but I don’t feel like Jade would have used just any bathroom.
I don’t think Rick’s wrong either. She probably does need a second, and the best place to get that would be in our rooms. I just don’t want her to feel like she’s alone.
Thank God we came out early. If we hadn’t, I probably would have ended up lost, trying to find my way, well, anywhere. This house is too damn big.
I start at the end of the hall closest to Elio’s office. It’s the room we slept in last night, so it feels like a good place to start. Pushing the door open, I don’t even need to walk in to know she isn’t here.
Jade has a presence; her scent fills the room, and my heart kicks up a notch when she’s around. But this room is dark and empty, and I don’t feel the need to waste time when I have six other rooms to check.
I work my way down the left side first; the third one is empty, and I'm starting to second-guess whether she would have come back here.
Movement catches my attention on the other side of the hall, and I look up just in time to see the door to the room Rick has been in most of the week click closed.
That’s strange.
I give up my search and head toward that one. Something about that feels too weird to ignore. If that had been Jade, I don’t think she would be sneaking around, and I'd hope she wouldn’t hide from me, even if she needed a minute away from the party.
The second I push open the door, I know Jade’s been here.
Her scent lingers in the air like a drug that was pumped through the vents.
It mixes with the other scents in the room, and something throws it off.
A floral scent mixes with it, the kind women drench themselves in, hoping to smell appealing.
It’s not, at least not to me. I’m not sure why girls buy that expensive shit.
It’s always too strong, and I feel like I’m eating it.
The bathroom door is closed, though, so either Jade’s here or someone else is. Either way, I’m going to figure it out. I push the door shut behind me, and the second it clicks closed, the sound all but disappears.
Even before I reach the bathroom door, I hear sniffling from inside.
It only takes me a moment to know it’s not Jade.
Crying under pressure like this isn’t really her thing.
No, she’s more likely to be screaming or beating someone's ass.
She tends to save her tears for others rather than for herself.
I try the knob, uncaring who’s in there. This is our room, and whoever it might be might have seen where Jade went.
“Who’s there?” A female voice calls out with a sniffle, and I feel a bit guilty about interrupting. I’ve always hated it when women cry.
“This is my room,” I lie easily enough. I mean, it’s not actually my room, but it’s Rick’s, and that’s close enough.
The knob turns a second later, and I take a step back as the door swings open and a woman I’ve never seen before walks out. I’m pretty good with faces, but I don’t remember seeing her around the party all night.
Her skin is a warm golden brown with a splatter of soft freckles across her nose.
Her dark hair is loose and curly, falling just below her slender shoulders.
She’s maybe an inch shorter than I am, but even at my height, she’s probably half my size.
She’s built like a model and just as stunning.
When she looks at me, I can hardly make out the hazel color of her eyes with the bathroom light, the only one filling the room behind her.
It’s impossible to miss the red puff around them, though, and I know she must have been crying for a while.
“Hey.” I take a step forward, looking to comfort her, but she flinches, and I pause, watching as her hand drops to her stomach. I didn’t realize it before. Her dress is black, and the bump isn’t very big, but I see it now even in the low light.
She’s pregnant.
Damn, her crying is even worse now.
Her eyes widen as she watches me before she sobs all over again. “I’m sorry,” she says, shaking her head as she moves back another step.
I take a step back as well, holding my hands up in hopes of pacifying her. I’m not sure why she’s crying, but I didn’t mean to make it worse.
“It’s fine. You can use the bathroom. I’m not mad,” I tell her, trying to ease her concern about being where she isn’t supposed to be.
“I was just looking for someone. You didn’t happen to see a girl with green hair and a little black dress, about this tall?
” I ask, holding my hand up just below my chin for reference, even though she isn’t looking.
“She’s got legs for days and the brightest green eyes,” I say, before snapping my mouth shut.
I doubt anyone was looking into her eyes, but it’s easy to get carried away when I talk about Jade.
She’s just so perfect.
The woman in front of me still has yet to meet my gaze again. She continues to sob as she shakes her head.
“Are you shaking your head because you didn’t see her or…” I trail off, unsure because she’s been shaking her head since she looked at me, so it’s not really an answer.
“Hey, hey, just take a breath. Okay, really, no harm done,” I tell her, reaching out again, and this time she doesn’t move away. Instead, her head snaps up, and when our eyes meet, I get the feeling she’s upset about a lot more than being caught in my room.
“What’s your name?” I ask, trying to distract her.
I really don’t want to stand here all night, not when we have so much going on, and I still haven't found Jade, but damn it, I can’t leave her like this.
Besides, she might have seen Jade. I’m almost positive she was here.
Maybe she left because the bathroom was occupied?
Though I can’t picture her leaving a pregnant woman to cry.
“Ash—” Her chest heaves as she tries to force that single word out past her tears. “Ashlynn,” she finally whispers, her brows pulling together. “I’m sorry. So, so sorry,” she sobs as tears once again spill over, running down her face, but she makes no move to wipe them away.
The way she looks at me bugs me, though; it’s almost as if she’s afraid of me. Which might make sense if we were still in Chicago, but we’re not. We’re halfway around the world, and I'm nobody here, especially to someone I’ve never met before.
Her name bugs me, too. It’s unique enough to know I’ve heard it before, but where?
Understanding hits me so hard that I stumble forward as I move toward her. She’s quick to back up, but all that does is trap her in the bathroom with me.
Bad idea.
I kick the door closed behind us, and now when she sobs, I don’t feel anything at all.
“Where is she!?” I demand.
I remember that name. Jade told us about her. She was the girl who saved her when she was still a child, but judging by her tears and repeated apology, I don’t think she saved her this time. No, I have a feeling whatever she’s about to say won't be good for her.
“I... I don’t… don’t know.” She stammers, retreating until her back hits the glass shower enclosure.
“Wrong answer.” I can feel the need for blood rising with every second that ticks by.
I want nothing more than to make her pay, make her bleed until she gives me the answers I need.
But even I have my limits; women can be just as evil as men, given the right motivation, but children.
They all start out innocent. I don’t know that I’d ever be so far gone that I could harm a child, and in this case, hurting her would hurt them.
She doesn’t need to know that, though.
Reaching for my blade is comforting, something as easy as breathing, and while I don’t intend to gut her, I still feel the same calming effect as I pull it from my pocket.