Page 85 of Devil's Riches

16

Alexis

“Be honest. How do I look?”

Sascha did a slow spin in front of me. My lips flattened as I took in her appearance. Truthfully, she looked like a nervous wreck. Her hair was slightly mussed at the back, her face was pale, her cardigan was creased, and there were a few spots of blood on the back of her left calf.

I cleared my throat. “Well, it looks like you cut yourself shaving your legs earlier, and your cardigan could use some ironing,” I said, trying to sound as kind and diplomatic as possible.

Sascha looked down at her leg and winced. “Oh my god. I didn’t even feel it,” she muttered. “I’m such a mess.”

She dashed down the hall of our Avalon City apartment and went into the bathroom. I heard water running for a few seconds, and then I heard padding footsteps and rummaging sounds as Sascha headed into her room and went through her closet.

She came back out to the living room in a different cardigan. “How’s this one?”

“Much better.” I reached out to smooth her hair at the back, and then I did a slow twirl of my own. “How about me?”

“You look fine, as always,” she said, rolling her eyes in a good-natured way. She turned to pick up her purse and let out a sigh. “God, I’m so nervous.”

“It’s just dinner,” I said, squeezing her arm. “And maybe a party, if we feel like staying afterwards.”

“I bet I’ll say all the wrong things.”

Now it was my turn to roll my eyes. “Everyone always loves you. I’m the one who opens my big mouth way too often.”

The corners of her lips turned up in a teasing smile. “Yeah, I guess that’s true.”

“Wow, thanks,” I said, arching a brow as laughter bubbled up my throat.

It felt amazing to be back in the apartment like this, hanging out with my sister and joking around as if nothing had ever happened. As if I hadn’t undergone two separate abductions, captivity, and torture over the last several weeks. As if I hadn’t discovered that my estranged family was more than likely responsible for a multigenerational organ trafficking scheme.

“Should we go?” Sascha asked, glancing at her watch.

I nodded and picked up my purse. As we headed out of the apartment, I checked my phone to see if Nate had contacted me. He had. He’d sent a message about ten minutes ago, letting me know that he was parked right outside the Paxton estate, near a thick patch of shrubbery. From his vantage point, he could see the gate, part of the driveway, and one side of the house.

So far, he hadn’t seen anything untoward—just catering staff arriving and household staff carrying balloons, flowers, and other decorations inside for tonight’s birthday party.

I slipped my phone back into my bag, straightened my shoulders, and took a deep breath. I had a feeling tonight was going to go off without a hitch.

Edward had no idea what I was up to, and it would be easy for me to slip away from the party at some point and poke around the mansion. Everyone would be too distracted by the celebration to notice that I was gone, and even if they did, I could just say that I was new to the house and simply got lost while looking for a bathroom. I could use the same excuse if anyone happened to see me wandering around upstairs.

“You’re driving, right?” Sascha asked when we reached the street outside the apartment. “I want to drink tonight. I think I’ll need it.”

I nodded and fished around in my purse, searching for my keys. “Yeah, I can drive.”

I needed to stay as sober as possible tonight, so the only drink I was going to have was whatever Edward and Deborah served at the pre-party dinner, just to be polite. It would probably be wine, and I could easily take a few sips of that without getting drunk.

I finally located my car keys and held them up. “Let’s go.”

The moon emerged from behind a cloud and shone silver on the water as Sascha and I headed down the coastal highway toward the Paxton estate, which was nestled on a parcel of land halfway between the city and Arcadia Bay. Sascha leaned back in the passenger seat, putting her long legs up on the dash. “Look at that view,” she said with a dreamy sigh. “It’s so pretty.”

I glanced over at her. “You’re not supposed to do that, you know,” I said, raising a brow. “If we crash, your legs will shatter.”

She looked at me with a wicked grin. “Don’t crash, then.”

I let out a short snort of annoyance crossed with amusement and turned back to face the road. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see my sister still looking at me with that same mischievous grin. “You know, a little birdie told me something recently,” she said in a smug tone.

“Yeah?”

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