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CHAPTER TWELVE

FALIN

His hand settles on the small of my back, warm and reassuring, and we weave through a few occupied tables to the dance floor in front of the band. There’s no time for me to take stock of how I feel or if I even want to dance with Jasper. He takes charge, pressing against me so close that the fresh scent of his cologne invades my senses, as he wraps both arms around my waist. We begin to sway to the music, and I close my eyes to try and ground myself back to reality. I can’t push him away, not here and not now, when we’re on display for all these vultures to gape at.

His lips brush the top of my head, sending a shiver down my spine. “Don’t hide those eyes from me.”

“I’m not hiding.”

Yes, I am.

I can’t look at him when his body is against mine, wrapped in his arms, tucked beneath his chin. He feels too safe, too right, when inside I know that’s bullshit.

His hand trails up the column of my throat until it reaches my chin. He rests the tips of his fingers beneath it, tipping my face up and lightly rubbing his thumb against my bottom lip. A ragged breath escapes me and my eyes drift open, meeting his intense gaze in the dim light. I hate that my knees weaken and I’m forced to clutch him tighter.

“There you are.” His voice is barely audible, but I hear it through the noise of the music, the clinking of glasses, the hum of conversation. I’d hear him anywhere and through anything.

There’s a dozen ways I could respond, but they all stay stuck in the back of my throat. Instead, I lean into him, letting him lead as our bodies sway to the soulful melody. This is a first for me. I’ve danced in clubs where sweat-soaked bodies ground against each other without any sense of intimacy. Those moments were nothing more than letting the music take me. A tangling of heat and hormones, chasing the rhythm in the dark.

This is different. His steady heartbeat against my cheek, the gentle dominance of his hands holding me in place like I’m precious to him. It’s more dangerous than anything we’ll encounter at this party.

When the last note trails off, his arms stay locked around my waist, like he’s reluctant to let me go. I clear my throat, breaking the spell, and quickly back away a step.

I glance around the room where most people have gone back to paying the dance floor no mind, except for that same man with the dark eyes—Fairfax. “We need to talk,” I whisper. “There’s something up with the earpieces.”

He takes a moment to snap back to reality. “What?”

I move off the dance floor and back to the side of the room, passing by a few wandering eyes. Jasper follows, close enough that I still smell him. “Try yours. Mine isn’t working.”

“Lee?” he says quietly. “You there?” When he gets no response, he curses under his breath. “What do you think it is?”

“I’m not sure. Some kind of signal jammer probably, but that’s not really my area of expertise.”

“Leon’s probably freaking the fuck out,” he says, grabbing a glass of champagne from a passing server.

“You think?”

“Yeah.” He lets out a long breath. “You haven’t seen that side of him yet, but he can lose it when shit goes sideways. Check your phone, see if it has any signal.”

I didn’t think of that. I open my clutch and pull out my phone at the same time that Jasper takes his out. “No signal.”

“Same,” he says.

His eyes wander over the guests as a muscle in his jaw ticks. “Stick close to me. We just got the confirmation we needed that this party is more than it seems.”

I follow his lead, making small talk with other guests and listening in on conversations. I notice right away that the only individual who introduced themself by name all night was Fairfax. Every other person we’ve had the displeasure of speaking with has stayed anonymous. Masks, no names. Can they be more obvious? On the plus side, no one has asked for our names since we checked in at the door.

After at least an hour and two more drinks, my patience is thinning. The jazz music settles at the base of my skull, and I’d love nothing more than to be back at our place, curled up in bed with the kittens on my chest.

I put my arms around Jasper’s neck and nuzzle him, pulling his attention from the stock market conversation he’s faking his way through. “We’re not getting anywhere,” I say against his ear.

He breathes out shakily and rubs the rough stubble on his cheek against mine. God, it feels good enough to be a major distraction. “I know. These old fucks aren’t taking any of my bait.”

I stretch onto my tiptoes and murmur against his lips, ignoring the way my blood rushes in my ears. “Maybe we should snoop around?”

The idea has my stomach twisting, but it may be the only way we find out what’s going on. His lips graze mine, and a rush of warm whiskey-scented breath fills my senses, making me dizzy. “Lead the way.”

“You two are making me feel ten years younger,” someone croaks from the other side of the table. I can almost feel his eyes lingering on my ass. “I’m enjoying the show.”

Jasper tenses, his eyes sharp as he puts a few inches between us. I take that as our cue to leave. “I need to use the powder room. Babe, will you help me find it?”

Jasper slides his mask back in place, a smile pulling his lips up. “Of course. Gentlemen, let’s catch up again later about that round of golf.”

The three men at the table chuckle and the same croaking voice speaks again. I now see it comes from a man with liver-spotted hands clutching a silver cane and combed over white hair. “Take your time with that one. If I were younger, I’d join you.”

I squeeze Jasper’s hand, knowing without looking at him that he’s about ten seconds from losing his shit. “Not worth it,” I say for only him to hear.

Once I pull him from earshot, we stop in the hallway near the restroom. He leans against the wall, clenching his hand into a tight fist, breathing heavily. “I wish I could kill that wrinkly old piece of shit.”

I pull on the lapels of his jacket, capturing his attention. “I know.”

My palm unfurls against his chest as his breathing starts to slow. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Pervy McPerverson just bought us some time, as creepy as he is. If anyone asks where we went…” I trail off.

“He’ll tell them we’re off fucking in a closet somewhere,” Jasper finishes.

I swallow hard. “Exactly.”

I have no idea where the hallway leads, but it’s quiet and dark enough that we have no problem sneaking away. Jasper checks several closed doors as we move down the dimly lit space. Finding only a closet and another bathroom, we continue until the hallway curves, returning us to the great hall where our evening began. We take in all the possible ways to go and he curses under his breath.

“Where to?”

“It’s too big.”

I feel his smirk before I see it. “I’ve heard that a lot. I promise you can take it though.”

With a scoff, I peek around the corner. “Doubtful.”

“We already have one bet going, should we make it two?”

“Only you would bring attention to your dick size when we’re in the middle of a dangerous situation.” I force myself to sound serious.

He shrugs. “You baited me and you know it.”

“Shut up, dummy. Let’s go upstairs. It looks deserted.”

He rests his palm on my lower back again. I sidestep to shove him loose. “Shouldn’t we be all over each other? You know in case we get spotted snooping around. We can say we were looking for a bedroom.”

I hate to admit it, but he kind of has a point. Sighing, I grab his arm, which is heavier than it looks, and put it over my shoulder. “There.”

Luck must be on our side, since we make it upstairs without encountering anyone. It’s actually pretty eerie to be in such a large place, knowing the other side of the house is packed with people, yet we’re alone. “Let’s hope they don’t have any cameras up here.”

“If they do, I’m sure Leon would have figured it out,” he says. We stay to the sides of the wall in the shadows. “Christ, I don’t know how Damon does this whole creeping around thing so well.”

“What do you mean?”

Jasper hesitates until I tug on his arm. “Nothing. He’s just normally our guy when it comes to stealth. Not sure if you noticed, but I tend to stand out in a crowd.”

“Wow, big ego much?”

He chuckles. “You could say that.”

We peek into a few open doors—all guest bedrooms from the look of them. It doesn’t seem like these Fairfax’s spend much time living here. The place is like a museum.

We finally reach a bedroom that looks somewhat lived in. A teenager’s room, by the looks of it. I close the door. No reason to invade their space unless we have to.

“Let’s go back downstairs. We must have missed something,” I say. The adrenaline I felt earlier is quickly wearing off.

At the bottom of the staircase, footsteps echo against the marble floors. Shit. Jasper quickly pulls me around a corner and into a coat closet, shutting the door all but an inch.

“I need you to go over last minute details. Everything is in my office.” The voice is cold and matter-of-fact. “We can’t let there be any mistakes like last year. Not with Whitaker here.”

“They’re talking about Brennan,” I whisper. It’s barely audible over my sharp breath.

Jasper puts a finger over my lips and I automatically want to bite it. How dare he shush me? I start to open my mouth when he spreads his fingers, covering my entire mouth with his hand.

“Whitaker? But I thought—” a second voice rings out, timid but just as cold.

“Do I pay you to think, Wayne? Don’t answer that. I’ve already been gone from the party long enough. Just do as I say.”

“I will.”

“You will, what?” the first man spits.

“I will, sir,” Wayne responds, like a dutiful student. What the fuck kind of power trip is that asshole on? I can’t say I have sympathy for Wayne. I’m sure he’s the worst kind of person.

“Move your hand,” I say, my voice muffled.

“Patience,” he croons in my ear. Damn him. I’m adding this to the list of things he’ll get punished for.

We wait for their footsteps to fade and finally Jasper moves his hand from my mouth, trailing it down the front of my neck. “You mother?—”

He interrupts me. “Motherfucker, I know. Kick my ass later. Right now we have to find our new friend Wayne.”

“But…” I trail off, trying to come up with a reason to argue his plan. Something other than it’s not safe. I knew none of this would be safe, yet I came anyway.

“Did you want to stay in the closet a little longer? I’ll admit it’s not my first choice, but at least it’s cozy.”

I can practically feel his self-satisfied grin behind me. “Don’t forget I have a knife and I know how to use it.”

He makes a suggestive sound. “Now we’re really not leaving this closet.”

“Jasper!” I say between gritted teeth. He chuckles and peeks through the cracked door.

“Come on, let’s have a little talk with Wayne. Then hopefully we can get the hell out of this place and you can show me how you use that switchblade.”

“You’re unbelievable.” I shake my head, hiding the laugh that wants to make its way out. If only he knew how much that idea intrigues me.