4. Sebastian #2
“I heard you say that.” River’s eyebrows furrow. “What’s that all about?”
“No idea. I didn’t get to ask before he ended the call.”
River sighs. “Well. I guess you’re going to need a fake serial killer girlfriend, aren’t you?”
“Why would he think I have a girlfriend?” Confusion bowls over me.
“No clue. But you’re going to have to find one.”
“What the actual fuck?” I quickly rise from my chair, sending it rolling back to hit the glass window behind me. “Is he expecting someone else?”
My cousin shrugs his shoulders, bewilderment expressed on his face. “I don’t know. But the only way to find out is to go to that ball.”
“I have to figure something out before Friday.” I pace behind my desk, grabbing my phone to call Christian.
River’s finger flies into the air in front, as if he’s forming an idea. “What about Stevie?”
“Lux’s sister?” I ask.
Before I can protest any further, Christian answers right away. As always.
“Hey, Sebastian.”
“River is here, too. You’re on speaker,” I say, foregoing pleasantries. “I called the number on the back of the card.”
“Okay, and?”
“Well, apparently, they’re expecting me to bring my girlfriend.”
“Expecting?” he clarifies, sounding as taken aback as River and me. “How would he know who found the card? And why would they think you had a girlfriend?”
I circle my temples with the tips of my fingers, trying to search my brain for an answer I don’t have. “I don’t know. Maybe he’s assuming since the last time he spoke with Andrew, he was looking for a couple?”
“They both need to be at a masquerade ball this Friday,” River tells him.
“Huh?”
“I know it’s weird, but if I want to find out what they know, I need to go, which means I need a fake serial killer girlfriend,” I say, repeating River’s words.
Christian pauses for a beat. “How about Lux’s sister? Do you think she’d do it?”
“That’s what I said!” River exclaims with a grin.
“That’s not an option,” I spit out. The last person I want to spend more time with is Stevie. “Can’t we hire someone?”
“Stevie might be the best choice. She already knows everything. And is familiar with how we work since she helped on the Andrew project,” Christian points out. “And she helped us find Lux.”
“Absolutely not. She’ll blow our cover.”
“What other options do we have?”
An idea crosses my mind that seems more appealing than pretending to date Stevie. “I can simply say that I broke up with my girlfriend.”
“So, you and your serial killer girlfriend broke up, and that’s it? Assuming she’d know about their little murder group, you think they’re just going to be okay with that, and let you in anyway?” River argues.
I run a frustrated hand down my face. “Dammit.”
They’re right. Lux’s sister is the only choice with the short time we have until the masquerade ball.
“Do you think she’d be up for it?” Christian asks.
“Probably, but we could check with Lux first,” River suggests, sliding his phone from his pocket to text her.
“Fine,” I groan, giving in.
Only a few minutes later, Lux is sitting next to River on the leather in my office and briefed on what’s going on.
“So, what do you think?” I ask her.
“If you think my sense of justice is intense, my sister’s a force to be reckoned with.” She smiles, but there’s weariness behind it. “She’ll probably be open to it, but I think you should speak with her yourself, Sebastian.”
I blow out a puff of air and slump back into the chair behind my desk. “Yeah, I need to have this conversation with her.”
“You can probably catch her at the mortuary in a few hours,” Lux tells me. “She’s usually alone.”
My eyebrows snap together. “Is it safe for her to be there by herself this late at night?”
“Probably not, but Stevie does what Stevie wants. And she prefers to work late at night or in the early morning hours,” Lux explains. “Plus, there are cameras and an alarm system.”
River and I exchange a brief glance as Christian stifles a laugh on the other end of the line. “That means nothing.”
She chuckles uncomfortably, placing a hand on River’s arm. “To you guys, but most people can’t pick locks or hack into security systems.”
“She’s not wrong,” River says.
River smiles lovingly at Lux for not trying to make the decision for her sister, which makes my upper lip arch with irritation.
Lux straightens and walks to the side of my desk. “I would speak to her about it, but then she’d only do it because she thinks she’s helping me. And now that I’ve been inside this world with you guys, it has to be a choice she makes completely on her own.”
“I won’t lie and say it won’t be dangerous, but hopefully she doesn’t have to be too involved, and I’ll do the heavy lifting,” I say.
“Stevie’s not that easy to control, Sebastian, so good luck.” Lux smiles, pitying me.
After a quick recap of the plan with Christian, we end the call, and then River and Lux leave my office.
Now, in the dead of night, I sit here in silence, staring into the black, lush forest that surrounds Thompson Manor with a million thoughts about Stevie and the entire project running through my mind.
When Lux was staying at the manor, Stevie was here often, but as soon as our last project finished, Stevie moved back to her apartment downtown. It’s been only a couple of days since I’ve seen her. But her attitude and large, intoxicating brown eyes have haunted my dreams since then.
I replay the conversation with the man from the society as well as the encouragement from River and Lux before ultimately grabbing my backpack to head to the mortuary. After packing everything I need, including my laptop, I’m on my way.
I can’t simply knock on the business door at this hour, so I’m going to have to jam the security system to get in.