Chapter 32
THIRTY-TWO
Ten minutes.
Just ten more minutes.
My heart surged when I saw Kiernan entering the gala. Followed by a short plummet when my gaze latched onto Dani holding his arm. The two meld together perfectly. Model-like. They belong on a runway, not in a charity gala with dirty roots.
Something is off.
After our short conversation, he turned off my side of the comm unit, which means I can’t hear their side of the conversation. Kiernan isn’t telling me something. There is a cast of hidden shadows behind his features that tells me he is holding back.
I am missing something. It feels like I am sitting before a puzzle, but none of the pieces fit together. Drew, who spotted Kiernan when he walked through the door, stiffens, his arm tightening on my shoulder. He knows who he is.
Until the night I came home, I thought Drew was simply… Drew. I’ve known him since I was sixteen. He is ambitious and headstrong, but never once have I seen the type of proclivities that would have him taking part in sex trafficking. That is his father’s thing, not his.
Not that I have much to stand on. I’d been blind to his affair with my best friend, so it doesn’t come as much of a surprise that I ignored his other faults as well.
Speaking of my trashy ex-bestie, she isn’t looking too pleased that I am hanging off his right arm.
Her entire face is screwed up like she swallowed a lemon whole.
Hindsight is a bitch.
I have known Brittany since college. We were both freshmen at UW.
The one big difference was that I was seventeen, and she was two years older.
I am not sure how I missed it. When I look back on our friendship, there are things that don’t quite add up properly.
I was a loner at college, mostly because no one seemed to want to interact with me.
I chalked it up to being so young. Most people were a good year or two ahead of me.
That and the fact that I had a bodyguard assigned to me at all hours of the day.
In the wake of the loneliness, I clung to my relationships with Brittany and Drew more, becoming emotionally dependent on the two. Which is why it was such a low blow to see them in bed together.
It really shouldn’t have been.
Now I can see it for what it really is. Manipulation. I have a sneaking suspicion they have been together long before we met. Not that it matters now that I know the truth.
A truth that will soon come to light.
Once Kiernan gets me the hell out of here.
What I want to know is why Drew has a seller pin on his lapel.
I can’t see him putting Brittany up on the chopping block.
The backstabbing Judas may be dressed as if she is a prostitute, but honestly, that is just who she is.
She has always had the body of a stripper, and she has never been afraid to flaunt it.
I am a fan of oversized T-shirts and sweatpants myself.
Her bleach-blonde hair hangs in loose waves around her face, drawing attention to the layers of makeup she has drowned herself in. She wears a glitter bodycon dress that exposes her oversized plastic breasts and ass.
“I’ve got to run to the ladies’ room,” I whisper to Drew as demurely as I can. Drew glances down at me before nodding his head.
“Again?” He sneers, shaking his head. “Remember what happens if you run,” he reminds me before turning back to greet another one of the men he is acquainted with. I don’t bother to reply. Instead, I slowly make my way toward the corridor that leads to the bathroom.
The hall is nearly empty; only a few of the waitstaff remain, lingering around on their breaks. They pay me no attention as I duck into the blue room. I close the door softly behind me.
“Took you long enough.” I jump at the sudden disturbance of silence. Kiernan stands in the middle of the small room, his hand resting lazily in one pocket as he scrolls through his phone with the other.
The sight of him in a suit takes my breath away. His red hair is pulled neatly into a bun, making his face appear even sharper. The black suit ensemble cuts his body perfectly, making my mouth water and images of him fucking me with his suit on drift through my brain.
“I’m not exactly free to come and go,” I remind him. “I have to be sure no one is following me.”
Nodding, he still doesn’t look up from his phone.
“Do you have it?” He turns his attention to me, one brow raised expectantly. Something is off about him. Kiernan has always been somewhat standoffish, especially compared to his brother, but this is different. My stomach churns with unease, but I ignore it. This is Kiernan. I can trust him… right?
I pluck the drive from my bra and hold it out for him. He snatches it from my hand and shoves it in his jacket pocket.
“You did so well, mo fraochún beag.” He smiles down at me, but it is tight, his lips pursed, eyes hard.
“Look, there’s something you need to—” The door to the room bursts open, interrupting the secret I am about to spill. Turning, my eyes widen as my father strides through the door, a look of fury painted across his face. He is flanked by his guards on either side.
“I’m sorry about this, Bailey,” Kiernan whispers in my ear. “I really am.”
What is going on?