Page 68 of Devil's Riches

A pang of guilt bit at my guts. “Oh. I’m sorry,” I said, wishing I hadn’t opened my big mouth.

“It’s our anniversary tonight, and we had plans to come here for dinner on the rooftop,” my grandfather went on, obviously feeling the need to explain why he’d left his sick wife at home alone. “Of course, I wanted to cancel everything because she’s been feeling so unwell lately, but she insisted that at least one of us should have a nice time tonight, so she arranged for me to have some drinks with a few friends of mine instead.” He paused for a second and craned his neck, looking at something over my shoulder. “There they are now, by the bar. I should get over there.”

“Right. I’m sorry about Deborah,” I said. “I hope she feels better soon.”

“Me too,” Nate added.

Edward gave us a curt nod. “Thank you,” he said. “Nice to see you again, Nate. Please do consider making an appointment to see me about that situation of yours. I know a few surgeons who have tremendous skill in scar reduction techniques.”

“Sounds good,” Nate said, extending one hand.

Edward shook it before turning his attention back to me. “Alexis,” he said stiffly. “Next time we run into each other somewhere… let’s just pretend we didn’t.”

My upper lip curled. “Fine by me.”

He stalked away, heading toward a group of gray-haired men.

“He really doesn’t like you, does he?” Nate said, lifting a brow as he watched him go.

I pursed my lips. “Nope.”

“Because of your dad, I assume?”

“Yeah. He and his wife don’t want anyone to know they’re related to the Butcher, even though it’s through marriage.”

“I’m surprised people don’t know about it already.”

“It’s because my mom ran away from home and changed her last name when she was quite young, so no one associates her with the Paxtons,” I said. “Plus they’re rich enough to pay off any media people who come sniffing around.”

Nate frowned and stared at my grandfather’s retreating back. “I wonder if he’s one of the guys we’re looking for,” he mused, rubbing his jaw. “Did you check to see if he was wearing any of the symbols? I forgot to look.”

I shook my head. “He’s not one of them. For one, he thinks my dad was actually the Butcher, and he’d know better if he was in the Golden Circle,” I said. “Also, he was wearing the same pin on his jacket that he wore last time I saw him. It’s a snake twisting around a staff. Very common symbol in medicine.”

“Right,” Nate said with a slow nod. He turned his head to look at the crowd of people near us. “Did you see anyone else yet?”

“Nope. You?”

He shook his head. “Not yet. I’ll go back to my side.”

As he strode off, I returned to exploring the right side of the terrace, picking through the crowds of well-dressed members to no avail. Dammit.

My phone vibrated in my purse a few minutes later. Heart pounding with excitement, I grabbed it and switched the screen on, assuming I’d see a message from Nate telling me that he’d found the eleventh family.

It was my sister instead.

Sascha: Hey! A bunch of us are going to a club after my art show tonight. Can you come? I know you’re super busy with all your studying, but I haven’t seen you in ages!

It felt so good to hear from her that for a second, I could’ve sworn she was standing right in front of me, asking me to go clubbing with her in person. The image faded fast, and I was left with the sharp pang of missing her.

With a heavy sigh, I tapped out a reply. I hated lying to my sister, but I couldn’t tell her the truth about what I was up to with Nate. It was too risky, and I couldn’t stand the thought of putting her in any danger.

Me: Sorry, I totally would, but I’m stuck at a stupid Blackthorne networking event :(

Sascha: Damn. We need to do something soon. I miss you!

Me: Me too. We’ll definitely organize something soon. By the way, you’ll never guess who I ran into here tonight.

Sascha: Who?

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