Page 60 of Bourbon and Secrets

Ace follows with a nod to the small crowd of people. I won’t look at her again. I can’t. When we reach the bar, I fix the cufflinks that peek out from my black jacket, my mind runningthrough some of the inconsistencies I’ve noticed with Faye back in town.

I glance at the bartender. “Foxx Bourbon, the Prohibition bottle, neat.”

“Make that two,” Ace says as he turns to look back at the group we just rushed away from. “She’s not just here in Fiasco to dance at Midnight Proof, is she?”

“I had a feeling that something was...I don’t know, the timing of her being here felt off. Then she was out with Cortez.”

“A date?” Ace asks, brow furrowed as he looks at me.

I smile knowingly, thinking about how that “date” ended with my fingers making her unravel outside of that bar. “It wasn’t a date.”

“Grant said he was surprised that she hadn’t ended up in some part of law enforcement,” Ace says as he sips the bourbon just placed in front of him and watches. He nudges my arm to look as she slinks away from the crowd and moves down the hallway, out of sight. “Graduated best in her class, had a job practically lined up at Fiasco PD, and then leaves town and pivots to dancing?”

“If I told you I knew exactly why that happened, but I wasn’t sure of the details, would you trust me and cut your losses with this business regarding Blackstone?” I say to Ace while I watch as Blackstone follows the same path she just went. “This doesn’t feel right.”

My brother studies me for a moment before he finishes his glass. He claps my shoulder. “Then it’s done.” He looks in the direction I just was, but Wheeler Finch cuts in.

“Interesting seeing you here, Atticus. I wasn’t expecting another businessman like myself attending this event.”

Ace lets out a small sniff, a laugh I know is more annoyance than anything else. “We both know I’m nothing like you.”

“Be nice, Foxxy. Let’s not forget how much you both enjoy things that belong to me,” he says as he smiles at the bartender. I swear I hear my brother practically growl at that comment.

But I answer because my best friend deserves more respect than that. “If you’re speaking of your daughter, then I’ll kindly ask that you remember Hadley doesn’t belong to you.”

He ignores me and kicks back his bourbon.Pretentious asshole.He looks around toward the group we had just come from. “You recognize the Calloway girl, I assume? Interesting coincidence, her ending up in bed with Blackstone. He’s given me quite lurid details about his littleRosie Gold.”

My chest tightens at the thought. As much as I want to get out of here—I scan the room for her again—there’s no way I’m leaving without her.

Chapter 21

Faye

Waz watchesme like he can’t figure out if he should call me by my real name or try to play this in his favor. The moment I spotted Wheeler Finch strolling in here, I knew I’d have to think on my feet. I feel like I’ve been thrown into the deep end of something that has far wider reach than I had anticipated. As prepared as I was for tonight, I didn’t expect to see Lincoln walking toward me, fully dressed in a black tux. And I was even less prepared for the way my body responded instantly. He barely blinked during the introductions, looking just as shocked to see me. His eyes only left Blackstone’s hands on me when I was introduced as“my Rosie Gold.”

Fuck, this just got far messier.I grip onto my clutch handbag and lean into Blackstone, knowing now’s the best time to make my next move. “I’m going to use the ladies’ and then I’ll get myself a drink. Would you like anything?”

“Rosie,” he exhales, and then leans into me, his nose running along my neck. I hate hearing my stage name out of this man’smouth. Somehow, he makes it sound like a threat. I want only one person close to me like this, craving me in this way, and he hasn’t turned to look at me since he moved to the bar. Chills and disgust run down my back, and it takes effort not to pull away from Blackstone’s touch. “Go ahead, before the auction begins.”

He taps my ass, but instead of flinching or telling him to go fuck himself, I smile and walk calmly toward the long hallway that leads to a bathroom. It also happens to be the same hallway that leads to the master suite and office. If I’m lucky, I have ten, maybe fifteen, minutes at most before he starts wondering where I went. The room is mostly men in tuxes, so the woman in the short pink sequin dress will be noticeably missing if anyone’s looking.

There’s no door to the office, since the architecture of this place has open archways instead of closed doors. I look over my shoulder and make sure security isn’t walking past this corridor before I move inside, pulse pounding in my ears. Having already been monitoring Blackstone’s digital footprint, I’m hoping to find something,anythingelse that might tell me more than just who of his associates are in attendance. The disorganized desk has an array of handwritten to-do lists that are barely legible. I scan the legal pads without disrupting the way the papers are laid out. But there’s nothing more than details I’ve already noticed from the shipment documents. Huffing to myself, I pull out my hidden knife and try opening the top locked drawer, but it doesn’t budge. As I put my knife down, that’s when I notice a small sticky note with the word: MONTANA scribbled across it.

“Have you seen anyone come down this hallway?” I hear in the distance.

Shit, shit, shit. I move to the center of the room and type away on my phone. I don’t have time to get out of here, so I’ll have to sell the fact that I’ve wandered in here by accident.

“Ah, there you are, Rosie,” Blackstone draws out from the archway.

I hold my hand over my chest and smile as I turn. “Oh my goodness, you scared me.”

He strides toward me with the kind of look in his eyes that I’ve tried hard to avoid seeing—the satisfaction of being alone with something he desires.

“Who are you texting?” he asks, just as his phone buzzes in his pocket. And when he pulls it out, he gives me a nausea-inducing Cheshire Cat smile. I texted him:

ROSIE GOLD

Come and find me . . .

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