A string of rubies and diamonds, in a beautiful choker, wrapped around my neck, and the matching earrings graced my ears. Initially I refused to wear them, not wanting to accept any kind of gift from Damien, but then the stylist told me Vance purchased them for me, so I let her help me put them on.
Everything complimented the red gown I picked out. The scooped neckline hung in loose folds as it curved up over my shoulders and plunged as far as propriety would dictate in the back. The rest of the dress hugged my body tightly until it reached my knees and then it flared slightly, falling the rest of the way to my feet and the diamond encrusted heels I wore.
When I left the room it was to find Vance staring out the window, looking into the glittering night. He was dressed to the hilt in his all black tuxedo, with his hands shoved into his pockets.
He would’ve looked completely relaxed, but I could see the tightness in his jaw again while he ground his teeth together. Waves of anxiety poured off him, and I realized he was nervous about going into the unknown.
“Hey you,” I said quietly, and he turned to look at me.
His eyes widened in appreciation, traveling the length of me before he pulled a hand from his pocket and motioned for me to twirl around.
I did as he requested, and I heard him let out a groan as well as a bit of a rueful sounding chuckle.
“You like?” I asked him, and he came over to wrap his arms around me, sliding his palms up over the silky skin of my bare back.
“I like it too much,” he said with a bit of grin, and I noticed the red streaks creeping into his eyes. “Yep. Heads are definitely going to roll tonight,” he added.
“What do you mean?” I asked, stroking his face.
“I mean, I won’t be able to tolerate the looks you’re going to get from other men. I’ll simply have to kill them.”
“Whatever,” I said, shoving at him. “You don’t mean that.”
“On the contrary, I believe he means every word,” Damien’s voice interrupted, and Vance pulled me tighter to him, as if protecting me.
We both turned, finding him looking very handsome himself, though I wouldn’t dream of telling him such a thing.
“You look lovely, my dear,” he added with a slight bow toward me. “Just like I knew you would.”
“I’m not your dear. And don’t pretend this is all some wonderful evening we’re about to embark on, because I wouldn’t be anywhere near here if you weren’t threatening my family.”
Damien sighed and shook his head. “Can’t you just relax and have a little fun for one night?”
“Of course I can,” I replied smugly. “Just not with you.” I turned my head to place a quick kiss against Vance’s lips.
Damien laughed at me, and I resisted the urge to stick my tongue out at him like a school kid.
“Can we please get this thing over with?” Vance asked, irritation laced through his voice. “Or is your plan to kill us with boredom and mind games tonight?”
“After you,” Damien said, stepping to the side and gesturing toward the door.
Vance slid his hand into mine, entwining our fingers tightly together, before walking past Damien.
When we reached it, Vance paused to open it, and I felt Damien’s hand slide against my bare lower back as if to usher me out.
Vance moved faster than my eye could follow, and the next thing I knew he had hold of Damien’s wrist, moving it out from my body.
“Listen carefully,” he growled from between clenched teeth. “This is how it’s going to work. You don’t touch my wife—I do what you say. You touch my wife—I break your limbs, and all bets are off. Understand?”
“I could just kill you now,” Damien grinned back at him, not the slightest bit perturbed.
“But you won’t, because without me, you lose her.”
The two stared angrily at each other and I could feel the rage just waiting to explode from Vance.
“Fine. Shall we continue?” Damien said, ever cordial as before.
Vance pulled me in front of him this time, following as I lead the way to the elevator while he kept himself firmly in between us.
We rode in silence down to the ground floor, and the attendant didn’t even glance our way, the tension was so palpable.
Damien directed us to the main entrance, where we found a stretch limousine waiting. A finely tailored young man quickly jumped out and ran around to open the door.
I looked around while we waited, and I saw a figured staring at us from around the corner. There was no mistaking the tall girl with the long, blond, bouncy curls.
I had to bite my tongue to keep from calling her name, as she lifted her index finger to her lips to silence me before slipping back out of sight.
Shelly. What was Shelly doing in Washington, D.C.? And if she was here, who else was with her? How did she find us? Could they help us at all? The questions ran through my head faster than I could answer them.
“Portia?” Damien’s voice broke into my racing thoughts. “Are you going to get into the car, or do you need a little help?”
I snapped instantly back to reality and looked up to see the driver staring at me quizzically, as well as both Vance and Damien.
“Umm, sorry,” I muttered, grasping for straws to latch onto. “I thought I left my clutch up in the room, but then I remembered I don’t have one with me this time.”
I hurriedly moved forward to slide inside the car, hoping my little fib was enough to cover things up.
Vance got in after me, taking my hand once again, but keeping his gaze straight forward instead of looking at me.
“What was that all about?” he asked, his eyes never betraying he was speaking to me mentally while Damien entered the vehicle.
“I’ll tell you later,” I replied in the same fashion, turning to glance out the window.
He didn’t give up, and I felt him shuffling through my head. “Shelly?” he said in surprise through our connection, though his face and body language didn’t give away anything. Not that it mattered—Damien wasn’t paying any attention to us. “Are you positive?” he asked.
“I’m never positive of anything these days. But it certainly looked like her. What she could be doing here or how she might have found us is beyond me.” I looked at him briefly before turning away again. “But if it is her, then that means help is near, and we aren’t as alone as we thought.” That, at least, made me feel better.
But Vance shocked me with his next words. “If you see her again, and it is her, tell her to get lost.”
“What? Why?” I said, more than a little bewildered by his vehement comment, and I had to strain to keep myself from looking at him.
“Because it’s too dangerous for her,” Vance replied, as if this statement should’ve been perfectly obvious to me. “We can’t afford for her, or anyone else, to be dragged in as added ammunition for Damien.”
I realized I’d misjudged him. “But what if the others can help us?” I asked, wanting to hang onto this thread of hope.
“It’s too risky. You wouldn’t be able to live with yourself if someone else got hurt.”
He was right on this point, and I couldn’t argue. I chose not to reply at all, instead keeping my eyes focused out the window, watching the city lights pass by.
Still, the thought of my mother, my grandmother, and perhaps even Hex, along with Brad and Shelly, being out there looking for us made my heart yearn with a longing I almost couldn’t stand. Their presence spoke of family, home, and support, something I’d gone without for a lengthy amount of time, and I desired to have it in my life once again.
Vance squeezed my hand tighter, tracing his thumb across the back of it. “I’m sorry my choices have made things so difficult for you,” he said softly into my head.
“You were only doing what you felt was right,” I replied. “And regardless of everything that has happened between us, I will never stop loving you.”
He surprised me then, when he turned in his seat toward me. He gently cradled my face, and he kissed me long and hard, and I melted into him.
“Thank you for that, Portia,” he said into my mind, not caring Damien was now watching us with avid interest. “I love you too, more than you will ever know.” He leaned his forehead against mine, letting out a soft sigh as his hand trailed down past my neck and over my arm. He sat back against his seat after he laced his fingers through mine, turning to give me another small smile before looking away.
He met Damien’s look with smug self-assurance head on.
“Did I miss something?” Damien questioned, his eyes flitting between the two of us.
“Obviously,” Vance said shortly.
“Care to enlighten me?” Damien asked.
“Nothing to enlighten,” Vance replied. “Sometimes a man just feels the need to really kiss his wife.” He shrugged as if it were no big deal.
Damien squinted for a moment, before he suddenly shifted to an entirely different subject.
“When we arrive at the party in a few minutes I want you to come in and mingle with the guests for a little while. There will be several people who know me and will be anxious to meet you as well. Do try to appear charming please. This is a heist after all. We don’t want to draw undo attention to ourselves.”
He gave us both a disapproving look.
“Once we acquire the artifact, it’s to be given to you, Portia. You’ll evaporate the object back to hotel and place it in the safe. Then you will immediately pop back here before you can be missed. The alarm will be sounded while we are still in attendance. Everyone will be detained, and searched in proper order, as well as the grounds and the vehicles. There’ll be no trace of the torches, and thus it’ll exonerate all of us from being suspects when we’re found clean, and it’ll not look suspicious that we left the party early.”
“Okay,” Vance said seriously. “We’ve covered the before and after. What about the in between? It would help if we actually knew how we were getting the artifact.”
“I’ll handle the exterior guards and the cameras, while you and Portia are still above at the party. When I return then the two of you will slip into the vault. You’ll go down a long narrow hallway and turn right at the end. There will be a small storage closet to your right. It’ll be locked. Use your magic to open it and go inside. Be sure to secure it behind you.
“A guard will come down this route. He’ll check all the door handles to make sure they are locked. Stay in there because he’ll come back and double check it again. Wait ten minutes beyond that and you’ll be free to move.”
Damien reached inside his jacket and brought out two small items that looked like ear plugs.
“After that time has passed, you can activate these, and I’ll give you the rest of your directions. Don’t use them before then, because the guard has a sensor that will alert him to a foreign signature.”
“Why not just use magic?” Vance asked, looking somewhat irritated. “That would make all of this a lot easier.”
“Because the guards are demons as well, and we don’t need a fight before we’re ready. Better to disable them the old fashioned way … which is a way they would never suspect,” Damien replied matter-of-factly, while he handed each of us one of the devices.
“We’re here now,” Damien added, glancing up as we turned into a private drive.
We passed through the open gates, stopping briefly for a guard to check out invitation before we were given the go ahead to continue on. We rounded the bend to reveal a massive colonial style home of red brick. It had large white pillars supporting a grandly carved portico, which was brightly awash in the glow of accent lighting from throughout the grounds.
We waited our turn in line, until the vehicle rolled up to the grand entrance, and a footman made his way off the curb to open the door for us.
“Remember, best behavior,” Damien instructed again, before turning to step out of the vehicle, then offering a hand back to me.
I clenched my jaw, pasting what I hoped was an accommodating smile to my lips, as I slipped mine into his, allowing him to help me out. Vance made quick work of joining me, carefully extracting my hand from Damien’s with a nod and placing it firmly in the crook of his own arm, resting his hand on top of it.
A slight scowl passed over Damien’s features, to which Vance responded to with something akin to a snarl, and I cleared my throat slightly to remind both men of the task ahead.
Damien led the way into the foyer, pausing to give his card to the doorman, who promptly shuttled us to where a rotund, slightly balding man and a beautiful, graceful looking woman, who I assumed were the host and hostess, were standing.
“Cummings! My man!” the host called when he spied Damien, and though his voice sounded jovial, I was positive there was something guarded in his expression.
“Wellington,” Damien smiled with a nod, reaching out to grasp the man in a firm grip. “Thanks for the invite.”
“But of course!” Wellington replied. “Wouldn’t have it any other way! You know that. It’s been a long time since our digging adventures together.”
“Indeed it has. Sometimes I miss those days,” Damien replied, before turning to the hostess. “And how are you, Clara? It’s been a long time,” Damien added, lifting the woman’s hand briefly to his lips, and I thought I saw her flush.
“Too long, Damien,” she said in a high, breathless voice, and I saw her husband fidget restlessly. Clara eyed him nervously before settling her gaze upon Vance and me. “And who are these lovely young people you’ve brought this evening?” she inquired.
Damien turned to us with a proud smile. “This is my son, Vance, and his lovely new bride, Portia,” he replied, clapping Vance’s shoulder and giving him what appeared to be a paternal squeeze.
“Welcome to our home,” Wellington said, extending a hand to Vance and then to me as well. “Congratulations on your nuptials.”
“Thank you,” Vance replied with a smile.
“Go mix and mingle.” Wellington gestured to the house beyond. “We’ll try to catch up with you later after all the guests have arrived.”
“Sounds wonderful,” Damien replied, and we followed him further into the grand house, stepping into a large, opulent room with soaring ceilings that ran the length of the structure, showing both the upper floor balcony and the ground floor.