Chapter 26 Holt #2
The farther I go, the fewer guests I encounter.
The heads of the ones I do see move on a swivel as they follow me, gossiping as if seeing me here is a shock to them.
But I don’t give a shit. I only want to find Selene.
I know for certain she isn’t inside, so this is the last logical place she could be.
I follow the rose-covered terrace wall but stop in my tracks when I see the two men standing at the opposite end.
With black hair, a black mask, an unmistakable bird tattoo on his neck peeking out from the top of his black suit, Rome Montgomery stands at the opening to the labyrinth maze.
I take a step forward, white-hot anger boiling in my veins. My hands immediately curl into tight fists, and all I can think about is what it would feel like to drive it straight into his face.
I would say I’m surprised to see him here, but I’m not. Rome Montgomery doesn’t shy away from taking the chance to make himself the center of attention, even if he does have a lawsuit against me. The fucker.
But it’s the man he’s talking to that distracts me from my anger at Rome.
I don’t recognize him, mostly because half of his face is hidden by the intricately gold and green mask he’s wearing.
A small, X-shaped scar stretches across his chin, then I see the tattoo on the back of his hand.
Even among the shadows of the night, I recognize it.
A clover with two piercing daggers.
He and Rome are caught up in conversation, but I don’t give a shit. My vision turns red, and I’m quick to march forward.
Both men snap their heads in my direction on hearing my footsteps.
“Hey, motherfucker!” I shout.
“Capuleti.” Rome’s voice drips with venom on a sneer, thinking I’m talking to him.
The man snaps his head toward Rome, his eyes wide. Then he looks at me. I’m still at least twenty feet away, somehow resisting the urge to sprint toward him. Instead, I walk slowly, not to raise alarm. I tread carefully and stick my arm out, pointing to the man.
“Who are you?” I dart my eyes to Rome. “Who the fuck is that, Rome? Tell me.”
Neither of them answer me. I imagine driving my fist into this fucker’s face, standing over him, demanding answers as to who he is.
I don’t think I’ve ever been this close to discovering my mother’s true killer before.
For all I know, this could be the man who pulled the trigger.
Adrenaline pumps through my veins. I feel like I’m going to explode.
Spontaneously combust into a million little pieces on this perfectly manicured lawn.
The sound of my mother’s last gasping breath echoes in my ears, drowning out the orchestra playing closer to the estate building. Pressure builds behind my eyes, my anger fueling me to keep going.
I’ve nearly reached the stranger when I hear someone vomiting into the bushes between the two men and me. I abruptly turn to find Julianna running up to Selene, who is bent over in front of the bushes.
My anger dissolves immediately.
“Selene,” my sister says, jogging to catch up to her. She places her hand gently on her back. “Are you okay?”
“Jules!” I announce, catching her attention.
Julianna looks up, her eyes meeting mine before they drift to my left, where they narrow in obvious anger, even from behind her mask.
Selene is still bent over, hurling into the bushes.
“Wallflower?” I call out, my feet already carrying me in her direction, until I fall into a jog.
My only focus shifts to Selene and taking care of her.
Once I’ve reached her, I start gathering her hair, pulling it away from her face.
“I’ve got her, Jules,” I tell my sister.
She takes a step back, nods once, then looks over her shoulder to where Rome is still standing. I follow her gaze, looking over my own shoulder. The man he was standing with has quickly disappeared.
“Holt?” Selene’s voice quivers, pulling my attention back to her. A string of spit dangles from her mouth, and she sniffs as her back racks with a sob.
“I’m here, Wallflower. What happened?” I continue to gather any loose strands of hair and tuck a few behind her ear, away from her face.
“I don’t know.” She spits on the ground before turning her head to look up at me. Tears line her eyes. “I grabbed a glass of champagne, came out here to look for you, and I started to feel sick again. I couldn’t hold it down.”
She turns back to face the ground. One hand is perched on her knee, her other wrapped around her middle. An empty champagne glass rests at her feet.
“How many glasses have you had?” I ask her.
She slowly turns her head again. Her worried eyes search mine. “That was my first glass.”
I draw my eyebrows together.
“Oh, no. It’s happening again.” Her cheeks swell, and her body roils, then she’s vomiting again.
Some of her hair falls from my grip but I’m quick to gather it back up. I rub my hand over her back, hating that she’s feeling like this.
“I’m certain being an asshole is the only thing you’re capable of.” My sister’s raised voice in the distance cuts through Selene’s vomiting. “Seriously, you should add that title to all of your company letterheads.”
With one hand wrapped around Selene’s hair, I use the other to rub circles over her back while I listen to what’s going on between Rome and Julianna.
“Oh, God.” Selene groans, lifting her hand to wipe the back of it across her mouth.
“Tell me, Lark,” Rome announces raising his arms in the air. “Lay it on me. Release me from this torture.”
“Oh.” Julianna snorts. “Now, you want to listen to me?”
“If it’ll get you to stop chasing me like a sad, pathetic, lost little kitten, then yes. Anything to get you to stop talking.”
A pause, then, “Now I remember why I hate you.”
“Feeling’s mutual, Lark.”
“Stop calling me that!” she shouts.
Rome exhales sharply and stuffs his hands into his pockets as he looks away dismissively. “What have you been chasing me all night to tell me? Let’s get this over with so I can go home in peace.”
“You’re the one who slithered your way in here like the serpent I’ve always known you to be,” Julianna lashes out. “I take that back. You aren’t a serpent, you’re a coward. Sneaking into the one place no one will be able to recognize you under that mask. You have no reason to be here.”
“Very original, Lark.” Rome scoffs, unamused. “Why don’t you try coming up with new insults to hurl at me? It would make our interactions a little more worthwhile.”
“What’s happening?” Selene asks with a shaky voice, still bent over.
“I don’t know,” I mutter, not tearing my eyes away from my sister and Rome.
Selene vomits again.
“I’ve been trying to reach you for weeks,” Julianna seethes angrily.
“I’m aware,” Rome replies dryly.
“Great.” Julianna plants her hands on her hips. “Well, since you’ve asked so kindly as to why I’ve been trying to talk to you, I’ll tell you. I was hoping I could convince you to drop this lawsuit against Holt.”
“Why should I? He knowingly published an article that was clearly defamatory. Do you understand the damage this has caused? Although, I do have to give him credit where credit is due. Took balls for Holt to do it, considering our family history.”
“Holt wasn’t aware of the article.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I just do,” Julianna clips.
“So, what are you saying?” Rome takes a small, measured step closer to Julianna. “You were aware of it?”
A long, torturous pause.
Selene sniffs and pulls herself to stand upright.
I reach inside my front pocket and grip the bottom of her chin, using my pocket square to clean up her face.
I stare into her eyes, worried she hasn’t been feeling well lately.
First, the day of the interview with Cory, then earlier, after dinner. Now, the champagne.
“Yes,” Julianna states loudly.
Selene’s and my attention to each other breaks, shifting to Rome and Julianna.
“And how would you know that if your brother didn’t?” Rome asks.
“Because it was me!” Julianna’s cries are clear. “I wrote the article.”
Rome’s amused expression falls, completely disappearing under the moonlight.
“Of course you did.” He lifts his chin in defiance, curling his lip. His eyes darken beneath his mask.
I’m several dozen feet from Julianna and Rome, but distance doesn’t matter when it comes to recognizing my sister’s expression. Her chin wobbles, and her entire upper body stiffens.
“Drop the lawsuit against Holt,” she grinds out. “This war ends now.”
Rome’s silence is deafening. He simply stands a few feet away from her, unmoving. Julianna doesn’t waste another second before she’s spinning on her heel. She gathers the length of her dress in her hands and marches back toward the party with her head hanging low.
By the time I look back to see Rome, he’s gone, disappearing like a ghost.
“What the hell was that?” Selene asks.
I shake my head, too stunned with what just unfolded.
Then I look at my girl.
“Are you okay?” I cradle Selene’s face in my hands, massaging my fingers into her hair. “Do you need to go to the hospital?”
“No,” she answers weakly with a small smile, her masked eyes searching my face. “Must have been the champagne. I just want to go home. Please take me home.”
“I’ll take you wherever you want to go, Wallflower.” I bend to scoop her into my arms. “Where you go, I go.”
She drapes her arms around my neck, and I’m pulled back to the night I took her home when she was drunk. But this time, she isn’t looking at me with alcohol-soaked eyes.
Instead, she’s looking at me with love.