Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 77292 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77292 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
“May?”
I roll my eyes. “The Seven of Spades. But stop playing dumb. You knew that once we found out what happened to May, it would light a fire under us. Finally get us to finish the work my father started right before he was poisoned.”
“It was my impression that your father died of a heart attack.”
“Once again, shut the fuck up. He was poisoned by Rouge, or one of her minions. He knew his days were numbered, so he set up a trail of breadcrumbs for me to follow.”
Chet wrinkles his nose. “Those breadcrumbs must be pretty stale after a decade of being strewn about.”
“Save your quips, Chet.”
He stands with a start, his bald head nearly hitting the ceiling of the room. “Let us just assume that there is even a modicum of truth to your story, Mr. Hathaway. That key in your hand clearly opens something.”
“Yeah, and you know what it is, don’t you?”
“Am I meant to keep a record of every door and key in the world?”
“For God’s sake.” Alissa approaches Chet’s desk. “You knew what my bloody drink order was the other night.”
“Mr. Hathaway orders a gin and tonic every night he’s here. Has for several years now. And you clearly favor your dirty martinis, Miss Wonder. It was not illogical to assume—”
I grab him by his blazer, once again revealing his purple nipples. “We’re done here, Chet. Tell me what this key opens, or I swear to God I’ll choke you to death.”
“I’ve never been to Rouge’s private quarters.” Chet’s grin widens. “But you have.”
“What the fuck does that have to do with—”
But then I put Chet down.
That night, with Rouge.
The chalice of blood.
She pulled it out of a refrigerator.
And next to that refrigerator—I can still see it as clear as day—was a safe.
Inside that safe? Who knows? But if Rouge keeps blood in the refrigerator next to it, I can only imagine what kind of horrors she keeps locked away.
“The safe in Rouge’s private area behind her office.” I hold the key in my hand, catch the fluorescent lights of the foyer off it. “That’s what this unlocks.”
Chet sits back down, dusting off his pinstriped jacket. “A key can unlock all sorts of things, Mr. Hathaway.” He leans forward, pierces me with his dark eyes. “But some mysteries, once unlocked, can never be relocked. One should tread carefully.” He pulls out his big book of member names. “ID’s, please.”
This is all we’re going to get out of him. But I’ve got a pretty good idea of what I need to do tonight.
I guess it makes sense. He needs plausible deniability in case something goes south.
Alissa and I hand Chet our licenses. He, as always, asks Alissa if she is here as my guest, and then he unlocks the door leading to the mirrored staircase.
Like always, he locks the door behind us as we go down.
And my chest tightens as the deadbolt slides into place.
I know that if we need to get out, all we need to do is knock three times.
But I can’t shake the feeling that it might not be so easy to leave Aces Underground tonight.
I lean toward Alissa’s ear, my voice lowered. “We need to find a way to distract Rouge. Long enough for me to get into her office and see what the hell she has locked up inside that safe.”
She nods. “Could we spill something in the Spades section? Order a big flight of drinks and then throw them all on the floor? That would create a bit of a commotion.”
I scratch my chin. “The idea has merit, but Rouge would never busy herself with something as demeaning as cleaning. She’d have the servers attend to it and continue flitting about the club like she normally does.”
“Then what can we do?”
I close my eyes, take a deep breath in. “We have to hit her where it hurts. Her pocketbook.”
“How do you mean?”
I place my hand on the knob of the Green Door, turn it slightly. “We need to gamble. Back in the Diamonds section.” He offers me his arm. “A game, my Queen?”
34
ALISSA
So that’s the plan. We’ll play Blackjack, hope to God that we end up on a hot streak, enough to get Rouge’s attention on us. Then Maddox will slip away into her office unnoticed and figure out what lies in Rouge’s safe.
Only about a million things could go wrong with this strategy, but it’s the best we have.
We stop at the Spades section, where DeeDee is manning the bar.
“One gin and tonic, please, DeeDee,” Maddox orders, “but hold the gin this time.”
DeeDee raises an eyebrow.
“I’m on a cleanse,” Maddox explains. “Trying to stay dry between Valentine’s Day and St. Patrick’s.”
DeeDee grabs a glass, places three ice cubes in it, and pours some tonic water in it, garnishing it with a lime. She turns to me.