Page 108 of Sinful Palace

20

Willow

“Ho, ho, ho!”

Santa rang his bell as he greeted party guests with a jovial smile at the foot of the stairs going up to the White House’s main floor. I nudged Logan as we headed past him and made our way upward. “Think he was talking to me?”

Logan chuckled at my bad joke, and a stiff-looking older couple turned their heads over their shoulders to shoot me withering looks. When they turned back around and stalked away, I let out a small giggle. It was the first time I’d been able to laugh or smile in a real way since my father’s death nine days ago, and it felt good.

Logan pressed his warm hand against my lower back as we made our way into the Lower Cross Hall. There was a table set up on one side with glasses of water, champagne and eggnog, all set on napkins with the Presidential seal embossed in gold. A few volunteers were hanging around a white Christmas tree on the other side, putting the finishing touches on the decorations.

Logan grabbed me a glass of sparkling water before guiding me out of the hall and into the Grand Foyer. The space had been transformed into a festive wonderland. Several tables draped with red linen stood in the center, and a band was playing a swing-style song on a small stage beyond them. Miniature fir trees lined the walls, their branches woven with sparkling lights that looked like snowflakes, and above them, decorated wreaths hung on gilded mirrors.

It was all so beautiful and magical that I almost forgot to be sad.

Near the wide doorway leading into the East Room, there was a towering Christmas tree topped with a silver star. I noticed several high-ranking Order members standing near it, toasting each other with champagne glasses. When they spotted Logan and me passing by, they smiled politely and nodded like we were old friends.

I wished I could grab them and shake them until their teeth rattled and all of their terrible secrets came tumbling out.

“Stay calm. Don’t let them suspect that we know anything,” Logan muttered. I hadn’t noticed how tightly I was gripping his arm until he spoke.

I took a deep breath and shot the Order members a dazzling smile as I swept past them into the East Room. Most of the magic happened in this space during each year’s White House Christmas party, and it was already packed with smiling, beautifully-dressed guests.

Four round tables in the center of the room held all sorts of delicious-smelling foods, and on the far-right side, there was another serving station for drinks. Jamie was standing by it, scooping eggnog into a tall glass. When he spotted me, he nodded and gave me a faint smile.

“Go and talk to him,” Logan murmured against my ear. His hot breath made my skin tingle, and goosebumps broke out all over my arms. “See what he knows about the Order.”

“I don’t know if he actually knows anything at all,” I whispered back to him.

“He said he wanted to talk to you about it, didn’t he?”

“Yes, but it seemed like he mostly wanted to tell me to stop looking into them.”

Logan’s brows furrowed. “There’s only one way to find out if that’s true,” he said. “Besides, isn’t that why we’re here? So you can talk to him?”

“Yes. Sorry. I’m just nervous.” I glanced at a group of Order council members sitting at a table a few yards away. “I feel like they’re watching my every move.”

“Don’t worry. They all look too drunk to notice anything. Besides, no one’s going to do anything to you at a party like this.” He turned and pointed at a window with golden silk drapes on the other side of the room. “I’ll stand over there where it’s quiet and listen to you and Jamie via the necklace.”

“Okay.”

He leaned down and planted a kiss on my forehead. “You’ll be fine, princess. You know I won’t let anything happen to you.”

I nodded and headed over to the drinks station. Jamie sidled up to me right away. “Hello, Willow. You look nice tonight,” he said loudly for the benefit of the other guests and Secret Service agents standing nearby. “Have you seen the decorations in the Green Room?”

“No, not yet.”

“There’s a Christmas tree made entirely of recycled paper. It’s spectacular,” he said. “Would you like to see it?”

“Yes, I’d love that.”

The Secret Service agents started following us, but Jamie waved them off. “We’re only going to the Green Room.”

The agents exchanged glances. Then one of them nodded and motioned for us to go.

Jamie escorted me out of the East Room and into the hall beyond. Instead of taking a left into the Green Room, he directed me into a bathroom farther down the hall and locked the door behind us.

Before I could say anything, he put a finger over his lips in a warning to stay silent. Then he pulled a small black device out of his pocket and flicked a red button on the side.

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