Chapter 33
CADE
The Black and Burgundy
“That’s their big plan?” Ellie gripes in my ear, her voice drowning out the roar of the coffee grinder over in the corner. “That is the stupidest fucking plan I’ve ever heard in my life, Cade. And this is Lex we’re talking about, the guy’s had a lot.”
“Hold on El,” I say, setting the phone on the icy, black marble countertop so I can fish out my wallet from my back pocket.
“Thank you.” I glance down at her name tag. “June.” I reach for our cups, heat seeping into my palms.
“Have a good day,” June says, a wide and cheerful smile curving her pale face.
Nodding back, I flash a quick grin at her and shove my phone to my ear in time to catch the end of Ellie’s rant.
“…because there is no way in H-E-double hockey sticks that Luca will—”
“I said hold on, El,” I cut her off with a quiet laugh as I start down the stairs outside of The Black and Burgundy. The cool, spring breeze hitting my cheeks as I get closer to my car. “I had to pay the girl, so I have no clue what you just said.”
“Ugh!” she shrieks.
Ellie and Briggs are stranded in Paris, victims of the violent electrical storms currently clawing its way across Europe.
I tried to tell her that the delay was a mercy.
That no one wants to be trapped in a pressurized tin can while Sky Daddy throws a temper tantrum over turbulence at thirty thousand feet.
But my humor fell flat against the weight of her frustration over the last few days.
When Briggs FaceTimed us, we were huddled back at the lakehouse, waiting in silence for Luca to pop back up.
It’s a strange thing, watching history be made in pixels.
My little sister is the first dancer in Wexley’s history to win a World Championship, but her triumph reached us in glitchy, low-resolution bursts.
Even though we were stuck watching her dance on a four inch screen, she was radiant.
Ellie was glowing and smiling like nothing else in the world existed.
Her turns were graceful, fluid, and each step that Rez added to her choreography was pure perfection.
The judges ate it up from the first note to the last spin.
For a second it almost felt normal. Like we weren’t all slowly losing our minds thousands of miles away from each other.
She did incredible. Shattered that competition without even breaking a sweat. I’m so proud of her.
But everyone has been so distracted with Bella being gone, the trials, the Lotus Market, and now Lex and Roman’s new plan to draw out Luca, it’s like Ellie’s win is already fading into the background.
So Haley and I have a surprise planned for her when she gets back.
Something big enough to make her eyes roll and pretend she hates it.
But even that feels off. Almost as if celebrating anything right now is the wrong color on this canvas of our life.
“This stupid storm is ruining everything,” Ellie continues, her voice pitched with irritation. “I should be there.”
“Darlin’,” Briggs says on the other end of the line. “We’ll get back.”
“When?” she snaps. “Look outside, babe. It’s still dark as shit out there and these chucklenuts are about to blow it with Lex’s idiotic—”
“Hey,” I cut in, opening the door to my car carefully to avoid spilling our drinks all over the leather. “It’s not that stupid.”
“Oh, please.” I can practically hear the friction of Ellie’s eye-roll through the speaker. “This will never work, Cade. We need something bigger, flashier. Something high-class. Another gritty fight night isn’t going to bait him this time, not when he already has what he wants.”
“You have a better idea?” I ask, the skepticism heavy in my voice.
“Plenty!” she shouts. “Look just, wait…” she trails off. In the background, I can hear the rhythmic chirp of a phone. “Babe, answer it.”
There’s a rustle of movement on the line. “Hey Eric,” Briggs’s calm baritone sounds in my ear.
“Ellie, what’s happening?” I press, twisting the key into the ignition. The car engine roars to life, a low growl that fills the cabin.
“Yeah,” Briggs continues, his voice tight. “Understood. We’ll be right there.”
“What is it?” she asks.
“Darlin’,” Briggs answers. “Looks like it’s time to go.”
“Thank God!” The relief in her voice nearly echoes in my ear.
“Cade, look it’s like an eight-ish-hour flight.
I’ll be on the ground before you know it.
Just please don’t let Roman or Lex do anything psychotic until I get there.
I promise that I can come up with something that’ll actually draw Luca out that doesn’t involve Lex bleeding all over The Pit. Again.”
I grip the steering wheel tighter as I back out of the parking spot. “I’ll try, but you know Lex. He’s all excited to—”
“Just do it, Cade!” she huffs, the line clicking into silence before I can finish.
The morning rush of Manhattan traffic is so bad today that by the time I finally make it back to NOX, our coffees are pretty much cold. I grab the cups, hand the keys to the valet, and head inside to take the elevators down to The Obsidian.
I spot Haley immediately as I stride down the velvet stairs. She’s perched on Khoza’s broad shoulders near the corner, one hand braced on his bald head for leverage while the other stretches toward the ceiling. She’s wrestling a glittering pink and yellow banner that screams Happy Birthday Champ!
“Higher,” she commands.
“I’m not a ladder, Hales,” Khoza mutters, but he’s steady as a rock anyway.
“You are right now, babe. Higher.”
He lets out a heavy huff but doesn’t argue. His massive hands lock around her calves, anchoring her as he steps up onto the seat of the booth.
“Haley Rosethorne,” Sabine purrs from the bar, slowly stirring honey into a steaming hot mug of what I hope is tea. Her dark brown, amber-flecked eyes track Haley’s dangerous lean. “If you tumble off of him and crack your head wide open, don’t expect me to stitch you closed, chérie.”
“I won’t fall,” Haley shoots back, blowing a stray red wave out of her face before slapping the final piece of tape against the wall. “And if I do, at least the banner will be straight.”
“Where do you want this?” O’Malley says as he rounds the corner with a gigantic bouquet of hot-pink and sunshine-yellow tulips. Ellie’s favorite.
“Ahh!” Haley sequels, hands clasped over her mouth. “Those are gorgeous, Mac! Put them on the table over there,” she adds with a wave of her hand.
I hold up her coffee. “What about this?”
“Thank God!” she squeals again.
She taps Khoza on the shoulder. He gently lowers her to the ground. His hands steady her by the waist until her feet hit the tile. Haley smooths her burgundy Wexley tank-top and makes her way over to me.
“Traffic was a mess,” I say, handing it over. “It’s probably cold by now.”
She takes a sip and instantly grimaces. “Ugh. Yeah, that’s tragic. Good thing I love an iced coffee. Spiced.” She hands it back with a wink. “Think you can fix it?”
“On it, boss.” I salute, drawing a laugh out of her. “It looks great in here.”
“You think?” she asks, biting her bottom lip. “Ellie is usually the one planning this shit.”
“She’s gonna love it,” I say before stepping behind the bar.
I grab a glass from the top shelf, fill it with ice, and pour her coffee over it. Then add in a splash of milk, a little more vanilla, and top it off with an ounce of coffee liquor for good measure. I stir it and slide it back across to her.
She takes a sip, moaning as the coffee hits her lips. “Oh my God, Cade! This is amazing. Seriously, if this whole art thing doesn’t work out you should think about opening up a coffee bar.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Did you get the presents?” she asks, taking another sip.
“Lex is supposed to bring them down,” I add. “And before you ask, Mom said the cake will be here in a little over an hour.”
“Good,” she says with a shaky exhale while glancing around the room. “I just want her birthday, slash welcome home, slash congrats on winning a world championship party to be a big success.”
I reach over the bar and grab her hand, drawing her focus away from the chaos behind her.
“It will be.”