20 Damien #2
I waved down a waiter and took back the glass to place on his tray before grabbing us fully filled ones.
Her eyes thanked me for getting her another one, so I held mine up between for us all to clink together.
A silent cheer shared like we always did because this was the event Mandy needed us to help her with.
Plus, I couldn’t deny the aspect of having my friend in power for my personal growth.
I’d never use her like these imbeciles, but I’d be able to protect my people better by having someone in the know.
“What do you need us to do?” I asked Mandy because I knew she brought us here for a reason.
“Maybe you guys could work the room and insert my name here and there?” Her eyes pleaded because this was a tricky situation.
“We got you covered,” Anika answered. Leaving our friend, we began working our way into a few conversations to name drop Mandy, adding something catching for them to remember her by. It would only take agreeing with a few things to get someone to have more faith in her.
Not much time went by, but Anika and I had done our duty to make sure people knew who Mandy was among them.
Drinking our champagne, we celebrated together as though it’d been easy enough.
Anika and Mandy were laughing about something that had come from one of the conversations, but I felt that weird sensation of eyes being on me again.
Finishing my flute of champagne, I managed to snag one off a tray right as a server moved by me.
He didn’t even stop his walk as I placed my empty one where the new one had been.
Trying to calm my nerves, I knew I couldn’t let my hand shake as I traveled it to my lips for another swig of alcohol.
Champagne wasn’t very strong, but I knew I needed some to dampen my nerves.
The goosebumps on the back of my neck were rigid and standing with the little hairs sensing something stalked among me.
My hand fell back on the table beside us to catch myself as I took several deep breaths quietly for my friends not to notice.
Feeling a little piece of paper below, I lifted my palm up to notice something that crippled me completely.
This time, my gasp was just loud enough for Anika to notice.
I hurried to crumple the paper up and hold it in my fist for them not to see because Mandy couldn’t be alerted about this part that my life had suffered.
“Is everything okay?” Anika met my stare to make sure.
“I was chugging my champagne too fast, and I had to get better air. It felt like a burp was coming up at the same time, so I made that ridiculous sound.” Casting my eyes nervously among the crowd, Anika picked up on what I secretly conveyed, but I knew I had to make it look like my lie was real. “Do you think anyone noticed?”
Mandy snorted and batted her hand into my arm. “I think you’re just fine, and you’re worrying about something that you shouldn’t be.”
“I hope you’re right,” I murmured to myself before taking another drink.
My eyes kept scanning the crowd for the one perpetrator who left behind this graffiti I once knew.
In the trailer that Saul kept me in, one of his men had spray painted this on my wall for shits and giggles.
One exclamation mark looked correct while the other drawn in reverse, but I knew it wasn’t something someone would typically draw and leave at a table where I stood.
This was a warning for me, so I had to keep my guard up from now on. Saul caught wind of where I was, and I could only suspect he knew I ransacked that cabin today. Someone now attempted to warn me about it, but I know who would.
Acting slightly dizzy, Anika knew I was faking, but Mandy believed it. She looked concerned for me because she always had been a sweet friend who never left my side. “Are you alright?”
“You know when the alcohol hits you all at once? I think mine just did.” We all laughed, and Mandy was fine with us saying goodbye because of it.
She knew better than anyone else to keep drunk me away from company because I stumbled into everyone.
If she wanted a name to be made for herself, it wasn’t with that version of me helping.
Before we could make it out the door, a man stopped us on our path. It was Mayor Goodwin wearing a green velvet suit to stand out from his guests. “Leaving so soon?”
“Just need some fresh air,” I returned, feeling the unease build even more inside of me.
“Kit Andrews, right?” His eyes narrowed after dropping my name. My hackles raised because I felt like he was involved with Saul somehow. He wouldn’t know my name otherwise.
“Yes, Mayor Goodwin. Pleasure to meet you in person.” Sticking out my hand, he took it and gave it an extra firm squeeze.
“You’re Amanda’s guests?” He waited for me to reply.
“She’s an old friend.” Keeping my smile small, I knew not to say anything else. I couldn’t call her a stranger because he saw us helping schmooze his guests against him for her. Hopefully, this wouldn’t be used against us later.
“Is everything alright?” Mandy came up behind us.
“Fine. Mayor Goodwin was just saying goodbye to us,” I clipped in a tone that warned him to not do anything else. He finally stepped to the side and let us pass.
Heading outside, I breathed in the cool air as Anika got the valet to get her car.
We waited patiently by the podium they were at with all the keys as she looked around, nearly begging me to spill what happened, and the mayor would also be another topic.
I shook my head to warn her it wasn’t safe to talk about quite yet.
Once we were in our car and on our way back, I unfurled the paper for her to see it.
She knew the symbol because I told her about my nightmares of it.
I told her about all the times I’d been taken by other men as my eyes stared vacantly at it.
On my white wall of shambles, this had been sprayed in red.
“He’s found me,” I whispered to her as she pulled us onto the highway.
“We’re going to need more help. The mayor all but told us he knows too.”
“Our people are great fighters already, so we’ll be just fine.”
Her eyes rolled as though she knew I’d reply with something in that manner. “You need to tell them our secret. They might very well be the ones who can help us get through this.”
“And what about after?” I turned my stare over the console to look at the side of her face as she drove us through the night. “Have you thought about what happens then? All the people who are relying on us in our home. What happens to them when they learn they aren’t in a pack?”
Anika gritted her teeth, but she knew better than to say anything else.
The threat against me wasn’t worth making a threat against our people, and she knew their safety would stay my first concern.
Though, we’d have to keep tabs on Mandy now.
I knew the mayor and Saul weren’t above using her against me.