28. Wyatt
TWENTY-EIGHT
WYATT
Leading up to Halloween night, the hours were filled with meetings, samba parties, and workouts, though the meetings were the only thing I attended. The house felt abandoned without Harper, even though it was full of distant relatives shouting at each other in Portuguese.
I couldn’t bring myself to do anything except pore over the plans for the gala. Everything had to go perfectly. Harper and I weren’t together anymore, but that didn’t stop me from wanting to make everything in her world right again. Well, as right as it could be considering that she’d somehow been born into a family with a father who had disappeared, then turned up as a science experiment – as a sasquatch hybrid no less, while falling in love with the full version of the not-so mythical creature.
What were the odds?
Something told me that there was no way it could be a coincidence. But I couldn’t make it make sense. We had come into each other’s lives by accident. Nothing and no one had orchestrated our meeting. When we’d met, her father had been a distant memory for her. Now, Harper was alone in that little apartment, with a missing mutant father and an ex-boyfriend who should’ve known better than to get involved with her.
The two family members I’d called in from the village had spent all day posted outside of Savannah’s apartment to make sure no one from Genocorp swooped in and hurt her – and also to report back if there were any sightings of Joe Davis.
It was as though Harper’s father had disappeared into thin air. We’d had a lot of rain, and the rivers in Stirling County had been running deeper and faster than usual, so his thoroughfare through the county was efficient, and the high water had completely masked his scent.
Lightning flashed and the power flickered as I stepped into my tuxedo pants, carefully zipping them up over my cock. Maybe I had to wear the penguin suit, but I wasn’t cramming my junk into boxers for the occasion.
A hard knock on the door interrupted my thoughts. Before I could respond, the heavy door creaked open. “Can I help you with your cufflinks?” Valentina’s eyes glowed golden in the crack of the doorway.
“I can manage.” I shoved the bottom of my shirt into my pants and buckled my belt.
Valentina ignored me and stepped into the room. To anyone else she would’ve looked stunning, her tall frame elongated in the blood-red silk gown, her tanned leg flitting in and out of view through the thigh-high slit as she walked. Her long dark hair cascaded down her bare back, and her full lips were painted the same color as her dress. While I’d never met a vampire, I didn’t doubt that they’d once walked the earth, and it wouldn’t have surprised me if one of them lurked deep in Valentina’s family tree.
I shoved a cufflink through the hole and it clattered to the ground.
“I see you’re managing quite well.” She bent to pick it up, her dress slipping low, almost revealing her nipples.
There wasn’t even a stir in my tuxedo pants. Valentina wasn’t beautiful to me. She’d never been, and if I hadn’t given in to my horniness all those years ago, Harper might still be living under my roof.
I shook my head. That wasn’t true. Harper and I weren’t meant to be together. Even if I hadn’t fucked Valentina and lied about it, I still wouldn’t be able to give Harper the life, and child, that she deserved.
The chill of Valentina’s fingertips on my skin only reminded me of the warmth of Harper’s. That was another mystery. Why had she warmed to me, something that only one of us could do? Was there more to her story?
The answers to all the questions lay deep in Stirling County, inside the brain of a man who might never be able to form complete sentences again. Joe Davis.
“Are you ready to get some answers?” Valentina asked. She finished with the cufflinks, then proceeded to do up the buttons on my shirt, then tied my bow tie in a perfect knot. “There.” She rested her hand on my chest. “You clean up quite nicely, Mr. Westwood.”
“We just have to stick with the plan,” I replied, shrugging into the jacket with the tails.
Valentina disappeared into my walk-in closet and returned with a top hat.
I shook my head. “That’s too much.”
“It’s a masquerade ball. It’s the perfect time to wear this.” She handed me the hat and took a black mask from her red clutch. “Turn around.”
I turned to allow her to tie the ribbons of the mask at the back of my head, then finished the look with the top hat.
“Now, mine.” She handed me a black lace Venetian mask.
When I was done, she stepped to my side and smoothed her dress over her hips. “We look perfect.”
“We look like we’re about to attend a high-end orgy.” I sat on the bed and put on my shiny black shoes, feeling jealous of the crew that were busy putting on their hiking boots, getting ready to break into the Genocorp lab.
“We’ll see where the night takes us.” Her voice was practically a purr.
I stood, and she dragged her fingertip down the lapels of my coat. “I have missed that perfect cock of yours. Now that you’re free from that vanilla Girl Scout, maybe you’re ready for a real woman again.” She stepped in close, her breath mingling with mine.
“Your pussy is the last thing on my mind right now, Valentina.” I shoved her aside. “What kind of game are you playing?”
She shrugged. “Just keeping my options open.”
“You and I,” I pointed at her and then at my chest, “will never be an option again. It shouldn’t have happened in the first place.”
“Can’t blame a girl for trying.” She sashayed to the door. “I’m sure you’ll be back for more someday. You Northerners can’t resist me.”
Her confidence was bringing out my rage. I’d been microdosing the white moss all day, knowing that I’d need to keep my wits about me, but her immature pestering had me feeling like I’d just had a cup of red moss tea. “I will never be with you again, Valentina. Because your pussy isn’t that good.”
The look on her face surprised me. I’d never seen her appear stunned. I doubted that anyone had ever rebuffed her, and clearly no one had ever critiqued her bedroom skills.
“I’ve had ordinary women who were better in bed than you, so you’ll have to excuse me if I’m not jumping through waterfalls to stick my dick back inside you.”
The shocked look on her face was fleeting and her Cruella de Vil grin came back. “Come on, Prince Charming. You don’t want to be late for the ball.”
For a second, I felt guilty about speaking to Valentina in such a crude and ungentlemanly manner, but it passed. She didn’t deserve my respect, and once we had all the bullshit with Genocorp sorted out, I was going to figure out a way to distance our community from hers, once and for all.
Valentina and I didn’t speak as we made our way to the car. My mind was racing, running through the potential scenarios of the evening. Tank sat in the driver’s seat, wearing a tuxedo similar to mine, only he had a forty-five holstered under his jacket. As a member of my security team, the weapon had been cleared. The other piece, strapped to the inside of his ankle, was not, and I hoped to hell the night wasn’t going to require it to make an appearance.
Trick-or-treaters scampered along the sidewalks, their costumes obscured by raincoats and umbrellas. The thunder and lightning had ceased, but the rainfall hadn’t let up. “Atticus and the guys are going to be soaked.” Valentina seemed entertained by the thought.
“I’d rather be out there than walking into this nightmare,” I said.
The valet took the keys from Tank and he opened the door and helped Valentina out of the car. “Thank you, Tank.” She held onto his hand for longer than necessary. My colleague’s face reddened, and I made a note to order him to stay away from Valentina.
Tank’s sex drive was his weak link, and Valentina knew that she could use it to her advantage. She had done that exact thing in the past.
My eyes adjusted to the dim lighting of the ballroom and I scanned the room, which looked like a goth kid’s wet dream. Black roses cascaded down extravagant centrepieces, and pillar candles burned on wrought iron holders, dripping on silk linens the same shade of red as Valentina’s dress.
“It looks like you’re wearing a tablecloth.” I couldn’t stop myself from getting in a little dig at her expense.
“I’ll blend in better.” She shrugged, although I knew it had to be bothering her that it really did look like she’d draped herself in one of the table linens.
The masked orchestra played “Toccata and Fugue in D Minor”, one of my favorite Bach pieces, as the room filled with mask-wearing guests. Even at a runway party, Valentina wouldn’t fit in, but I wasn’t going to tell her that.
Scanning the room, I spotted Savannah. She was wearing a headpiece and had a clipboard in her hand. Over her left shoulder stood a hulking figure wearing a Phantom of the Opera mask – Connor. As much as I shouldn’t, I admired the wolf. He wasn’t going to let Savannah out of his sight, and that fit in perfectly with our plan.
Savannah’s eyes met mine and she gave me a subtle nod, which I returned.
“Well, Valley Girl. Are you ready?” I crooked my arm and let Valentina wrap her long, bony fingers over my suit jacket. “It’s time to get some answers.”