Page 17

CHAPTER 16

C assandra

A strange sense of excitement as well as a series of ominous sensations trickled down my spine.

He was here.

I was certain of it.

“Now, are we ready for bachelor number one?” The man was way too animated.

The ladies behind us were the most vocal. I tilted my head and gave them a dirty look. Next, I’d be screaming at them to sit the fuck down. I wasn’t in the right frame of mind for this at all.

But I was here.

“Drink your wine and don’t you dare make a scene,” Penny told me, giving me her best schoolteacher condescending look.

“When do I ever make a scene?” I asked both of them.

“Remember Nina’s wedding? Remember what you did to that jerk who wouldn’t leave you alone?” Penny was grinning.

“That was an exception and the creep deserved it. Besides, that was almost three years ago.” It was also the night I’d met David. Ugh. Not a good memory.

“If I seem to remember, you not only tossed your entire glass of wine in the man’s face, you also kicked him in the groin then pushed him into the buffet table. Security couldn’t get us out fast enough.” Josie was having way too good a time with this.

Her laughter was boisterous enough a few other women glanced at our table like we were the rowdy ones.

I snarled in response. “Fine. I’ll sit quietly and not say a damn thing.”

“Right,” both women said together.

“Okay. Just ply me with wine and I’ll be a good girl.” Instantly, the words I’d heard from two different men floated into the forefront of my mind. Good girl. Shit. I hadn’t put two and two together. Was it possible the werewolf and my mystery man Wilder were one and the same?

Whoa.

No, that was pushing it. Their voices had been different. Although…

Nope. I couldn’t buy it. That would mean the guy was stalking me. Or karma had managed to put us together again. Oh, brother. I was really shifting to becoming one of those women. The kind that grasped at straws.

I sat back, incapable of putting the idea out of my mind.

But when the first bachelor strutted out onto the stage in his nice tuxedo, I had to admit, even as jaded as I’d become, I looked.

Within thirty minutes, the entire room of women was in a frenzy.

“Would you look at that?” Penny said, her mouth dropped open as she glanced across the room. “They’re going to kill each other.”

When one jerked the drink from the other, threatening to toss it in the other woman’s face while screaming ‘I saw him first,’ I laughed for the first time that night.

“Do you know who that is?” Penny whispered.

“Not really.”

“She’s that big national anchor who I heard came into town just for the event. The other one is some big debutante.”

“They still exist?” I asked her.

“I guess they do.”

We all had a good laugh while security attempted to break it up. Finally, the two women went back to their seats, neither one winning the bid.

Another two men paraded in front of the women and I was starting to grow bored. With the dudes all behind a half face mask, I couldn’t tell if they were handsome or not. Not that it should matter since it was for charity, but the thought of spending an entire evening with a dud dude wasn’t on my bucket list.

I continued to glance at my watch, wishing I could go home and crawl into bed. That way I could finish my… shit. Werewolf romance. It was now a private joke that would remain that way. I had no intention of ever telling my besties how stupid I’d been.

After ordering another glass of wine, I was thankful I’d taken a cab. I wasn’t drunk but would be well on my way if I kept it up like I had.

“I think there’s one more. This is your guy, Cass,” Penny said. She was close to being intoxicated herself.

“I don’t think so. I told you.”

“Don’t you ever live dangerously?” Josie asked me. I could tell she wished she had the nerve to do so. Her last boyfriend had been no better than David, although she’d gotten to within two weeks of her wedding before realizing he’d been fucking a friend of hers.

I’d almost killed them both.

“Dangerously?” I repeated, another vision of the hunt popping into my mind. Why had I enjoyed it so much? “I have and I will again.”

“You mean like purchasing a new bottle of cabernet on a whim?” Penny teased as she’d been doing the entire night.

“I’m going to kick your butt.”

“Ladies and gentlemen, our last contestant. First, let’s have a look.”

As the announcer had done with the rest of the bachelors, he forced the last bachelor to come out onto the stage and show off his wares.

Only instead of strutting or swaggering like every other contestant had done, he simply walked out onto the stage, glanced at the audience, although I’d call it a glare and sat down on the stool provided for him.

“Wow. Now, that dude is arrogant as hell,” Penny whispered.

“But handsome. Would you look how he fills out that tuxedo?” Josie murmured. The girl was swooning.

I took a good look. Yes, he was very handsome, the dark suit complementing his dark wavy hair and… I stiffened and almost knocked my wine over.

“What is wrong?” Penny was staring at me the way I was staring at him.

I opened my mouth to say something. Anything. But nothing came out. I’d either need to admit I’d had a hot one-night fling or had been felt up by a werewolf. Or both.

“Ladies, allow me to introduce to you Wilder Blackwell, vice president of the Blackwell Group.”

“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.”

“What is wrong with you?” Josie pressed.

He was also only wearing a half mask, black in color, but from where I was seated and how the lights reflected off the stage, I could make out his eyes. His luminous green eyes. Just like Wilder’s. Just like… This couldn’t be a coincidence.

“Talk fast or I’m going to bid on that man until we claim him.” Penny was insistent.

I lowered my head and tried to keep my voice down so no one else could hear my admittance. “The night I found out about David’s infidelities and he tried to strangle me?—”

“What?” Josie interrupted.

“I will kill that motherfucker!” Penny was halfway out of her seat.

“Sit down. Not the point of the story,” I chastised. “Anyway, a stranger came out of the blue and broke David’s wrist. Then I jumped in his car because I really didn’t want to go home. We went to bar and had a couple drinks then he took me home then…” I was talking as fast as possible, but I knew the moment the light went on in their eyes they knew what I was saying.

“Holy shit,” Penny exclaimed, slapping her hand over her mouth immediately.

“Yeah, I know. I can’t bid on him,” I insisted.

“Why not? Was it any good?” Josie was almost choking with laughter.

“Um. Yes. Okay, the best I ever had, but that’s not the point.”

Penny tapped my arm. “Then what is? He’s hot. He’s rich and he’s…”

“Dangerous,” Josie finished for her. “That’s what I’ve heard.”

“What do you mean dangerous?” I pressed. Every inch of my skin was on fire, my core throbbing.

“Come on. The Blackwell Group? Dark Nights. Haven’t you ladies played that game before? It’s rough.” Josie was sweating.

“You’ve played that hot, hot, hot game?” Penny asked, learning over. “You naughty girl, you.”

A sweep of red swept up from Josie’s neck to her face. “Once or twice. Okay? Sue me. People talk. He’s supposedly into some kinky shit and if that game is any indication, wowzer.” Josie made the statement, but there was no look of fear in her eyes.

There was no logical reason or possible chance my two worlds had just collided.

Unless…

What if I’d been right about someone being in my house?

And the hunt. The werewolf. Oh, my God.

“A little slow tonight, girlie. Don’t you keep up with the times, girl? The dude is richer than sin. He’s the whole package. Handsome. Wealthy. Respected. The perfect persona of a bad boy gone wild. If you throw in a little kink, then I’d say he’s your kind of man.” Penny narrowed her eyes and craned her neck so she could catch a full glimpse of my face. “Well, holy shit. You like the guy. Admit it.”

The bidding had already started. I’d never felt more uncomfortable in my life.

Or more excited.

“Wow. You do!” Josie laughed.

“Fine. A little, but I don’t think this is a good idea.”

“He did save a woman’s life in a park not that long ago.” Penny made the statement like the act was no big deal.

Pieces of a very twisted puzzle were falling into place. There wasn’t a chance in hell there were this many coincidences.

“So I heard. Then Daddy managed to get the perpetrator out on bail, but Mr. Monahan was brought back into custody.” I’d yet to talk to Cash about his case, but from what little I’d caught in the news, the press was all over Drew Monahan, painting him as a serial killer. From what I’d heard in the way of gossip by the water cooler at the office, the evidence against him was damning.

She narrowed her eyes when she looked at me. “I should have remembered you know every criminal in the city. The guy is a serial rapist.”

“I think he’s worse than that,” I offered, which was about all I could say at this point.

“From what I read, Mr. Blackwell stopped the guy before he committed the act and almost killed him. That makes him a hero, Cass.” Josie was insistent, but I noticed doubt in her eyes. She’d dealt with enough psychopaths in her life; she would know better than most how easily they could fool anyone into believing they were decent people.

A hero.

I certainly knew every human being had two sides. I tried to keep from glancing at him every few seconds but found it difficult. The man was like an enigma, drawing you in without even trying.

“Yet you said you thought he was dangerous.” I looked her directly in the eyes. Since the start of our friendship, we’d always had a way of communicating without talking. It was uncanny, sometimes disturbing. Tonight was one of those nights.

“Men like Drew Monahan are usually nothing more than puppets, acting on behalf of someone pulling the strings. If the stories I read about him are true, the young man was always a bit odd. True sociopaths are entirely different. They can easily fit into any situation, any environment, fitting in and observing. That’s how they operate, discovering every detail about their victims and lying in wait for the perfect moment to strike. They are often friendly, even very likable, the kind of person no one would ever believe was capable of a heinous crime. And when they make their move, the victim never sees them coming.”

Josie’s statement was haunting.

“No shop talk tonight, remember?” Penny chided.

But Josie’s warning was received loud and clear.

Josie sighed. “I will say this. Very few sociopaths will place themselves in the spotlight if they are considering striking. They’re far too intelligent to be caught with their pants down.” When she winked, Penny lifted her glass in salute.

I remained uncertain. What if I got myself in the middle of something that I couldn’t get myself out of? What if Wilder Blackwell was the devil in disguise?

What if I could discover information I’d never be able to obtain otherwise?

“Stop worrying, bestie. Think of it this way. It’s only one night. It might be exactly what you need. Besides, fate obviously brought you together for a second time. Why not see where your time together leads?” Josie had drifted away from her psychoanalyzing, but I wasn’t certain I was capable of doing that.

“Plus, he’s fucking hot,” Penny added.

I sat back in my seat, staring at him. That’s the moment he chose to look directly at our table. And I’ll be damned if the man didn’t lock eyes with mine. The mask couldn’t hide the carnal expression suddenly popping on his face or the fact I leaned closer to the edge of the table.

Naturally, my besties noticed.

“Girl. He wants you. This is your moment. Raise that damn paddle or I will.” Penny was determined to push me hard.

This was crazy, but maybe she was right in that karma had pushed us together for a reason.

What if everyone was wrong about Wilder? I’d certainly experienced nothing but gentlemanly behavior. If he’d wanted me to be his next victim, he’d had the perfect opportunity and the crime could have been painted as if David had killed me. Was I considering this for personal reasons?

Was my consideration for my job or for something much more… seductive in nature? I swallowed hard, debated as another woman raised her paddle, very eager to gain his attention.

He didn’t bother looking in her direction.

He only had eyes for me.

The crackle of electricity was already wearing me down.

My mind was a blur, but something inside me said this would be my one chance to talk with him, to learn more about him and his company.

And to possibly learn the secrets within the Obsidian Society.

But he was dangerous.

The understanding rang loud and clear.

You like dangerous. You proved that to yourself.

I took a deep breath, my pulse racing as I watched his reaction, the way he was narrowing his eyes. We’d breached some unspoken protocol, tasting and touching the forbidden.

The single night was fully imbedded in my mind and I could almost hear the echo of my moan from when he’d been fucking me.

I licked my lips and lifted my head, offering him a knowing smile. If he was a dangerous man, then I’d enjoy exposing him for every single infraction. If Wilder thought he’d found a vulnerable woman to surrender to his every need, he was wrong.

But I could play the game for a little while longer.

While I gathered evidence.

I raised my paddle.