Page 20 of Wicked Royals
10:32– Look, my feet really hurt after all that walking, so I’ll give you fifteen minutes to come find us and apologize.Okay??
10: 34 –OMG. Willow. Something fucked up is happening at your mom’s party. Seriously. Get back herenow!
I rolled my eyes and put my phone away. Nothing was happening at the party. Marissa was just trying to guilt-trip me into going back there so she could get the apology she believed she deserved.It made my bloodboil.
While I understood that she thought I ditched her in the tunnel, that wasn’t actually the case, and the things I overheard her saying about me earlier made me feel as if someone had stabbed me in the back with a hotknife.
I always knew my friends could be bitchy, but until tonight, I had no idea that their nastiness was aimed at me when I wasn’t around. I suppose that was naïve of me. Stupid,even.
The waitress delivered my drink, and as I took my first sip, I glanced around the room. No one was leaving yet, and even more guests were filtering in. The lights had dimmed, and the music had become louder with a throbbing bass. The party seemed to be heatingup.
I hadn’t noticed earlier, but on one side of the large space, there were several dark doors with gold numbers on them. Scantily-clad women and shirtless men led a few of the guests into the rooms, and when I craned my neck and squinted into the dim light beyond, I saw all sorts of shocking contraptions and tools. Clearly, the rooms were supposed to be mini sexdungeons.
Just when I thought this place couldn’t get anyweirder…
I decided to amuse myself by checking out every guest on the main floor so I could figure out who they were, even the maskedones.
I spotted two identical blond men getting lap dances across the room, and I quickly recognized them as the Locke brothers. They owned the country’s third-largest privately-held company, and they made frequent and significant financial contributions to conservative political think tanks. While most members of the public wouldn’t have any clue who they were if they passed them in the street, they were incredibly influential, and they were very well-known in elitecircles.
I recognized another renowned member of the upper crust a few feet away from them—oil magnate Robert Grierson. He was being led around on a leash attached to a collar around his neck. A ball-gag had been stuffed in hismouth.
If I was the sort of person to take risqué photos and sell them to the press, I could make an absolute killingtonight.
A silver-haired man in a black mask took the seat next to me, and he gave me a brief smile and nod. “It looks like we have something in common,” he said. “We enjoy people-watching more thanparticipating.”
I nodded. “It’s reallysomething.”
“Yes. I rarely make it to the parties these days, now that I’m living all the way over in Santa Monica, but I try to make an appearance every sooften.”
“That’sgood.”
He smiled again. “I’ve been a member for three decades now, and it still tickles me to think of all these people right here under the White House, engaging in all kinds of debauchery, while no one up there has any fucking idea.” He raised his chinskyward.
“We’re under the White House?” I blurted out. I inwardly cringed as I realized I’d just given myself away as a cluelessintruder.
Luckily, the man thought I was joking, and he let out a booming laugh. “Goodone.”
“Thanks,” I murmured, smilingnervously.
“You know, these parties are actually quite frightening, if you think about it,” the man went on, gesturing toward the throngs of guests. “So much of the country’s true royalty is here tonight. Imagine what would happen if something happened to the structures down here and it all caved in. The whole world would probably fall apart at theseams.”
I frowned, wondering what he meant by ‘true royalty’. In that instant, I spotted a man with a familiar profile standing near the spot my new companion had just gesturedtoward.
“Is that Rutherford?” I asked, leaning forward. It would make sense if it was. POTUS was probably the closest thing we had to a king in theStates.
The silver-haired man chuckled. “You’re kidding again,right?”
“Um…” My legs began to tremble. What would he do to me if he figured out I didn’t belong here? Given the way things were going with my big mouth, it probably wouldn’t be long until thathappened.
He waved a hand. “You know how rare it is for a president or vice president to be a member. They’re justpuppets.”
I gulped. “Oh, yes, I know,” I said, forcing myself to adopt an airy, confident tone. “It’s just that the man over there looks a bit like him, so I was confused for asecond.”
I could see that it definitely wasn’t the president now, and I felt like a complete idiot for revealing my ignorance onceagain.
The man next to me grunted and tilted his head slightly to one side. “Hm. You’re right, they actually do look similar from a certain angle.” He turned back to me and motioned to my espresso martini. “Anyway, I see you’re planning on having a late night. Big plans with another member, or do you have someone on theoutside?”
I pressed my lips into an awkward smile. “No, I think the alcohol sort of cancels out the coffee. It’ll give me a buzz now, but when I get home, I’ll probably sleep like ababy.”
