Chapter 15 #2
“Yeah,” he says, matching my smile, but it fades quickly as he looks in the direction of the billiards room. “You’re close with Prince Hendrik.” It isn’t a question, and he doesn’t wait for my response. “I recommend you tell him to be careful around Mr. Crowell.”
I stand up straighter. “What do you know?”
Shaking his head, Rourke slowly pulls his hands from his pockets and flexes his fingers.
“Nothing definitive, but I was surprised when he got the invite. Fennor hasn’t been fond of Crowell lately, though I don’t know why.
I trust Fennor’s opinion, especially when it comes to people.
He, er, told Lord Northam not to trust Crowell a while back, but Northam didn’t listen.
And it seems like Northam’s situation has only gone from bad to worse.
He’s another one of my clients, you know. ”
“I know,” I say before I can think better of it.
Wincing, I smile and keep the conversation moving before he thinks too hard about what I might know about his clientele.
“I was surprised when I saw Lord Northam at an art auction earlier in the week. I’ve heard his finances aren’t in the best place. ”
Rourke chuckles, shaking his head. “Supposedly Crowell had some creative solution for him to earn some money. I don’t know the details, but I hope it wasn’t art trading; Northam doesn’t have the capital for something like that.”
I doubt that was the solution. Not when the painting he was bidding on was far from valuable. Even I could see that.
“Thank you for talking with me, Miss Storme,” Rourke says, taking a step toward the stairs. “Good luck with…” His eyes jump to the billiards room again. “…everything.”
I watch him leave, tempted to ask him more questions, but I get the feeling he’s told me everything he knows.
And what he told me might turn out to be far more useful than I could have predicted.
There’s a good chance Fennor knows more than he lets on, and with his influence and networking, he might know exactly who I need to investigate.
Slipping my phone from my pocket, I start typing a text to Callum to see if he’s been listening to any of that through my phone, but I only get a few words into it before a familiar voice calls my name.
“Storme.”
I turn to grin at the prince, eager to fill him in on this new development, but trepidation fills my belly when I see the look on his face as he approaches.
He looks like he’s running away from something deadly.
“What’s wrong?” I ask, reaching for my gun despite the lack of obvious threat.
He shutters every emotion behind a blank mask as he reaches me. “N-nothing.”
I don’t believe that for a second. “Are Blackmere and Crowell still back there?” I already know they are, unless they managed to sneak out of the room while my back was to the doorway.
“Yes,” Hex says on a breath.
“What are they doing?”
“Talking.”
“And you left?” I groan. “We need them to talk, Hex. To you. That’s the whole reason you’re here, remember?”
“You left, Astrid,” he hisses back, a wild look in his eyes again. “You left me alone. I can’t…”
He can’t what?
A door shuts down the corridor behind me, pulling my attention that way, so when Hex grabs my hand and tugs, I almost trip over my own feet onto the floor. But he keeps moving, forcing me to stumble after him. He doesn’t stop until he yanks open a door and slips inside, bringing me with him.
I barely get a chance to take in the rather small linen closet before he closes the door behind us and throws us into darkness.
“Er, Hex?” I’m way too aware of the way our bodies are pressed together in the tiny space.
“Hmm?” The sound rumbles through his chest and into mine.
“What are we doing in here?”
He audibly swallows. “I, er, panicked.”
“Brilliant.” Hex never panics, and I wish I could see his face right now so I could get a better idea of what might be going through his head. “Why?”
Squeezing the hand he’s still holding, he adjusts his stance.
I would have thought he’d try to put more space between us, but instead he comes closer, pressing my back into the shelves behind me with the weight of his body.
Then his other hand finds my waist, eliciting a sharp exhale out of me when his fingers dig into my side.
As my eyes adjust to the tiny bit of light coming in from beneath the door, I take in the pained expression on his face and try to breathe without much success. “What are you doing?” I whisper.
“I don’t know,” he whispers back and shuts his eyes tight. “I don’t know what I’m doing and you left me alone.”
He’s losing it. The ever-confident prince is falling apart right before my eyes, and it’s so far from what I know about him that I can only stand here and stare at him, trying to understand.
“Hex, what—”
“Don’t,” he all but begs, then opens his eyes to look at me. His hold on my waist tightens, not quite painful but not comfortable either. “Don’t say…anything. I need…”
With my mouth dry and my heart pounding in my chest, I bring my hand up between us and press my palm to his face. His cheek is scratchy with stubble, and for a moment all I can think about is how he’s never let me touch him like this.
Instead of shying away like he would have before, he leans into my touch, closing his eyes again as he slowly brings his head down until his forehead touches mine.
And I stand frozen because I’m pretty sure Hex Alverra is about to kiss me.