Page 91 of Underground Prince

“Follow is a bit of a strong word…”

“Scarlet. I mean it.” He glanced to the side, noting the guys who were drifting back in, and said to me in a low voice, “Sax may not seem threatening to you, and while he is one of the better men of that family, it doesn’t mean he’s sweet. And Trace is worse. Much worse. You’ve got a head. You know how to make smart decisions.”

The scrape of chairs drew his attention away as his friends sat down, and I took that moment to think. Warnings or not, this was my new place. The game, the intrigue, the light it ignited in me…it was mine.

When Kai turned his attention back to me, he must’ve seen the resolve on my face. “Jesus. Fine. Continue on.”

“Why shouldn’t I? You do.”

He exhaled toward the ceiling. “I’ve been at this longer than you have. Seen more.”

“So that’s it. I’ll stick to the poker side, the part of this I want, and stay away from the shady end.”

Kai’s lids lowered in a knowing, age-old shrewdness. “If you can’t stay away from Sax, then you’ll never distance yourself from the risk.”

My sharp intake of air was marked by him before I’d realized it happened. I tried to recover, saying, “You said I had a head on my shoulders. Let me use it.”

Kai’s expression had me thinking he was ready to argue the point, but he said instead, “Fair enough, but come to me if you see any of this stuff again. Text me, bat signal me, I don’t know.” He massaged the back of his neck. “Be safe.”

I nodded. “Anything else I witness, I’ll come to you first.”

Kai went to resume the game, and I figured that was the end of it. But he stopped at the door, flipped around, and pressed both hands against the frame as he leaned back in to say to me, “There’s a Saxon charity event tomorrow night. Come as my date.”

“Excuse me?” I pointed to the spot he’d been standing in. “Didn’t you just finish warning me to stay away from the family and get out of this now if I know what’s good for me, etcetera?”

“Yep. And you said no. Question asked and answered.” His voice dipped down a register. “I’d rather you be by my side more often than not.” He lifted off the doorframe, dropping his hands. “So, dear Scarlet, allow me to be your gateway.”

20

NIGHT OWLS IN LIPSTICK

The game with Kai’s group of guys was still going strong when I left around midnight and would probably continue well into the morning, as this sport tended to do.

Exhausted, I pushed open my front door. Verily was on the couch, her laptop illuminating her books and notes in front of her.

“You’re still awake?” I said, careful not to crunch against any of her loose papers as I found a spot next to her.

“Yeah,” she said, flipping a page on her lap. “Test tomorrow.”

“How was your shift tonight?”

“Pretty good,” she said. “Excellent tips considering I was only there for four hours. Where’ve you been? You go back to the Aug for a while?”

“Yes. And no.” I pretended focus in fluffing a throw pillow. “Kai offered to teach me poker, so I went to his place, played a few hands with his friends.”

“Teach you poker?”

“Why not, right?” I was still punching the pillow, less for comfort and more for avoidance. “Speaking of.”

“What?” she said, with the dry tone of accepting the inevitable.

“I’ve been invited to a Saxon charity event tomorrow night.”

To my surprise, Verily burst out laughing.

“What’d I say?” I asked.

“Total shocker, but you’ve actually just told me the safest thing you’ve planned to do since becoming involved in this.”

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