Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 79253 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 396(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79253 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 396(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
I could simply tell her to go after him now, but—
She needs to find both of them. And it has to occur organically. If I tell her to look now, she will be suspicious of me. And I can’t lose my job.
I’ll make sure Miss Wonder doesn’t die. I will make arrangements for her to be held at the Caterpillar Hotel—perhaps even in my old room—and convince Her Majesty to keep Mr. Hathaway alive for his political influence. Miss Wonder will be kept alive as a bargaining chip.
They’ll have to be kept there until they break, of course. Likely a month or longer.
It will be a long time to be away from my angel, but it will be worth it.
I descend the mirrored staircase and clamber toward the Diamonds section. Indeed, I was right! Miss Wonder has tousled herself with another young woman—Miss Pia Linnet, a perennial guest of various clubgoers.
Mr. Hathaway is, predictably, nowhere to be seen. But Her Majesty hasn’t noticed. She’s far too entrenched in the scuffle occurring at her feet.
I peel my angel off Miss Linnet’s body. “Miss Wonder, perhaps you should take a moment to cool down.”
“Get off me, Chet!” she growls, trying to wriggle out of my grasp. But I’m stronger than she is, and I clamp down on her body hard. Finally she relents.
“Thank you, Chet,” Her Majesty says. “I was worried that this might get out of hand.” She looks around. “Where did Mr. Hathaway go?”
No. Not yet. I need to set the scene perfectly.
I raise an eyebrow. “I believe he was grabbing Miss Wonder’s coat. They’ll be heading out.” I let go of Miss Wonder and turn to Her Majesty. “But I do need to speak to you for a moment, Rouge. Somewhere private.”
She nods. “My office.”
No. Cannot be there. Not until Miss Wonder is in her position. “I’d rather not meet there. We’ll just go into a private area.” I offer a smile. “It won’t be a moment, I promise you.”
She narrows her eyes but then acquiesces—a rare victory for me. “Fine.” She turns to Miss Wonder. “Ms. Maravilla, I hope you know that we have a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to physical altercations at Aces Underground.”
She brushes herself off. “I didn’t see you stopping us.”
She chuckles. “In an outfit like mine? I don’t think I’d be very successful. That’s why I called Chet.”
“It took him several minutes to get here.” Miss Wonder stares her Queen down. “Admit it. You were enjoying the spectacle.”
She widens her eyes, making the wings framing them take flight. “Nonsense. I loathe violence. Nothing upsets my poor heart more.”
Miss Wonder smirks, but then she heads off.
She’ll thread herself through the eye of the needle, and I’ll only need to stall Her Majesty for a few moments.
I take her into the grand suite. “Rouge.”
She crosses her arms. “Chet.”
“How are you doing? I wanted to ask if there had been any development with regard to the Seven of Spades.”
She jerks her gaze toward the curtains’ opening. “Careful, Chet. These areas aren’t soundproofed, as you are well aware.”
“Of course.” I bow my head. “Apologies, my Queen.”
She curls her lips. “And there is no news. But the Kings are out and about trying to track down information. I have it on good authority that Mr. Hathaway may in fact be aware that his father’s death was not entirely natural.”
I raise an eyebrow. “Oh?”
Again, so much I don’t know.
Her Majesty’s lips twist into a grin. “It’s a story I’m quite proud of. Henry Hathaway was the last person who tried to expose what we do here at Aces. How we…help others. It started with his HOUSE Act, which was meant to make us more transparent. That of course was a complete flop, so he tried taking matters into his own hands. It was ten years ago, back when my father started getting sick and I began taking over. He was already washed up from his last term as mayor and was looking to discover something about me that might help shine up his tarnished legacy. When I caught whiff of his plans to reveal our inner workings, I had his food poisoned with a concoction that mimicked the effects of a heart attack.” She cackles. “It was divine.”
I cross my arms. I understood Henry Hathaway knew something about what was going on, because I’d found out about the riddle he’d left his son upon his death. But no one would have taken his rantings and ravings seriously after what happened to his political career.
I want to find out more, but it’s been five minutes or so. It’s time to take Rouge to her office.
I bow my head once more. “I suppose I should be returning to my atrium. Do you mind if I use the bathroom in your office before I return?”