Page 12 of Gilded Whispers

I make the mistake of glancing behind the owner to catch William narrowing his eyes on me. He pushes away security and fights to get back on his feet. Blood drips down his arm and he actually sets to fixing his sleeve and cufflinks like this is just a misunderstanding all the while glaring at me.

Old feelings come back. Fight or flight instincts take over. I didn’t beat him the last time I went toe to toe with him. And tonight simply proves it is easier to just walk away.

My hand falls back to my scar. I can call Detective Lafleur in the morning. She can do a follow up. She can handle all this.

“No,” I answer, proud of my even tone. No matter how much I want William to turn into a pile of ashes, I want out of here and away from every prying eye more. Embarrassment and bewilderment that this escalated to where everyone on the first floor of The Gilded Key Society has stopped to look at us has me glowing red. William will get his comeuppance another way. Losing access to the Society is a nice start. The second Luna hears about this she will figure a way to orchestrate his death in the most gruesome way possible. She said as much if he ever laid another hand on me.

I suck in a deep breath. “I was just leaving. No charges,” I confirm.

The security guard on my right lays his hand on my shoulder. I know he means well, but I don’t care to be touched right now. I shake it off, grab my clutch and turn. My fingers shake to the point I drop the small hand-held bag, spilling the contents.

“Shit!”

The guard holds a hand up. “It’s okay.” He stuffs everything back inside and hands the thing back.

The owner pulls a phone out similar to the one Lavender gave me. Someone on the other line says something and then he juts his chin toward the two guards at my sides. “Get her out of here. Use passage B.”

“Ma’am this way.” I expect them to take me to a back office so they can detain me while they call the authorities. Instead, Lavender comes out of a hidden door made to look like part of the mirrored wall. She holds a hand out and I take it, letting her usher me into an empty corridor.

Passage B. I hurriedly step through leaving behind the neon lights and nosy onlookers. After tonight, I’ll never be able to step another foot in this place. So much for living it up and getting experiences to write about.

“Follow me.” Lavender walks, the soft click of her heels urging me to keep up. I fall in behind her, my hands gripping my evening bag like it’s a lifeline keeping my nerves from falling apart all over the black marble flooring.

I look around. Two-way mirrors line either side of the hallway that extends through multiple rooms. This is how all the hostesses and security guards move from room to room so quickly.

Soft white light clicks on as we move deeper into the club. Unsuspecting members continue their night of lust unaware anything is going on around them. A curated experience I wish I could have tasted before reality took over.

“I’m sorry, I didn't mean to cause a scene.” Lavender pauses, takes out a set of keys and shows me through another door. This one opens up into a lobby of some sort where on one side is a black door withexclusive members onlyetched into a gold plate. On the other side is an elevator door and my way out of here.

“You’re not the only one who has to come to The Gilded Key Society and run into an ex. It happens often enough we have a protocol for it.”

“Passage B.”

“Mmm-hmm,” she hums softly.

That is a very light explanation of what just went down. But I can’t find the energy to tell her the full back story about my wanna-be-murderer ex-boyfriend. I just want to get home, take the hottest shower of my life and figure out how fast I can move out of Seattle. I have no idea where I will go, but the Pacific Northwest obviously wasn’t far enough to get away from William. Maybe I’ll try South Africa since the moon is not an option.

I step up to the elevator, but turn just as the doors open. I grab Lavender’s hand.

With the help from the elevator’s light, I can finally see why she has such a unique name. Her irises bounce between light blue and slate gray like my sister’s. If the light catches her just right it appears as if she has purple-colored eyes. I let my mind focus on that and what I’m going to say to help fight back the tears.

“Thank you. Tonight didn’t go as planned but I am still grateful for your help.”

“Don’t let this scare you away, okay. This elevator will take you to the ground level where a taxi is waiting for you already.”

With that I take a couple of steps back and watch her leave the lobby the same way we came through.

Silence surrounds me. There’s not another soul.

All the pent up air tightening my chest leaves on a heavy sigh. My vision blurs as the elevator door slides closed.

“I don’t want to be alone forever.” A burst of pain slides through my chest.

My shoulders droop. Nearly all the strength and sheer willpower holding my knees in place falter. I lean forward, pressing my forehead against the cool steel and just let the tears fall. It takes way too much energy to hold them in.

I’m cursed to stay a virgin forever.

“Don’t cry, beautiful.”

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