Page 179 of Indulge
I hang up. “We gotta get to Inferno.”
Rowan’s eyes widen. “Lyla?”
“No idea. Don’t ask questions over an unsecure line.”
He nods, already on my heels. “Let me text Bella, tell her we’re heading to work—so she knows why we’re not here if she gets home from shopping early.”
“Good idea.”
Five minutes later, we’re pushing through Inferno’s doors. My pulse is a drumbeat against my ribs. No gunfire, no alarms. Just… normal. Too normal.
“Where’s Conan?” I ask the guard.
“By the bar.”
We exchange a look—half relief, half suspicion—and head upstairs.
The bar is calm, just the usual crowd, but Conan’s leaning against the counter with that too-innocent grin that never means good news.
“What’s the emergency?” I demand.
He laughs. “Did I say there was one?”
I stare at him. “You said,now.”
He shrugs, then pulls two envelopes from his jacket, handing one to each of us. My name’s written in Bella’s pretty handwriting.
“Before this goes ahead,” Conan says, holding up his hands, “I’d just like to clarify that I was an unwilling participant. My wife can be… persuasive.”
I frown. “Conan, what is this?”
He taps my bicep, trying and failing to look sympathetic.
“Well, I’m sworn to secrecy. But let’s just say, you’re both about to have some fun.”
I glance at Rowan. He looks as lost as I feel.
“Welcome to the Decadence Proposal,” Conan continues, like it’s the punchline to a joke. “Your games await behind the doors.Should one of you forfeit, the other becomes Bella’s groom. Should you both choose to play, the first trial is waiting for you.”
My grip tightens on the bar. My heart misses a beat. Games. Decadence. Bella.
“G-games?” Rowan stammers.
“Fuck,” I mutter. It clicks—too perfectly. She found out. And she’s flipped it.
“Bella knows?” I turn to Rowan.
“I didn’t tell her,” he says quickly.
“Neither did I.”
But, I also haven’t been careful with the paperwork in my office either.
Conan grimaces. “Yeah, it’s safe to say she knows. But on the plus side… she’s taking it well?”
I stare. “We’re screwed, aren’t we?”
He grins. “Absolutely. So, are you playing? I gotta lock the doors behind you.”
