Page 41 of Eye Candy

God, I wanted to feel those lips of hers against mine again. I literally couldn’t shake the thought.

“Kieran, during the speech, I want you standing behind Laina,” Tessa was busy giving orders, something she’d always done best. “Vance will be on her right, and I’ll be on his. I want everyone to see her left hand, to see what she lost.”

I let out an annoyed sigh, but I nodded all the same. I didn’t like thinking about what Laina had lost. It made me furious in the way only something involving Laina could. But this was my sister’s thing. I didn’t do politics. I was a man of action, the one who got his hands dirty when shit needed done.

Laina spoke from the back, suddenly interested in the conversation, “What about Mike?”

I prickled when she brought him up, waves of jealousy rising inside me, choking and dominating. She wanted me to get along with the guy, made threats, and I’d try my best—for her, not because I actually liked the guy. I did wonder, however, if she’d started to like him.

It wasn’t so out of the question. She obviously responded to me a certain way, and even though I was nearly ten years older than her, Mike had just a few on me. As much as I didn’twant to think about her with him, I could see it in the realm of possibilities. Hence the jealousy.

“Mike can stand either in the audience or in the hall,” Tessa spoke off-handedly, like she didn’t really care about Mike or where he’d stand. I wasn’t the only one Mike’s constant presence annoyed—but when it came to my sister, it was for a different reason entirely.

Tessa was always planning something. Always. She’d always planned shit growing up, and now that she was a married woman, things were no different. To call her ambitious would be a disservice to the word. She wanted to stand on top of everything and everyone, and she didn’t care what she had to do, whose backs she had to break, to get there.

“In the audience, then,” Laina said, meeting my eyes in the rearview mirror, as if waiting to see if I’d react. Or maybe she was thinking about other things, things she definitely shouldn’t be thinking about while in front of Tessa.

Tessa let out a harrumphing noise, but she didn’t argue with Laina about it.

The car ride grew quiet after that, save for the radio. Vance was already at city hall, obviously. His team would be working to get everyone to their stations, to invite the press into the main hall, where the press conference would be. I was supposed to drive around the back, to the back entrance, so we could get in without having to go past any of the reporters that were already there.

When we arrived, we had to stop so security could check us. Tessa leaned over me, talking directly to the guard, who must know her by her face, “That car’s with us, too.” Talking about Mike’s vehicle, though she didn’t sound too happy about it.

The guard nodded and hit a button in his little guard tower, and the gate surrounding the parking lot opened for us. I drove us in, pulling into an empty spot, and Mike pulled into the spot beside us.

We got out of the car. Tessa was quick to adjust her long skirt, smoothing out any wrinkles that might’ve formed on the fabric during the drive. She was more made-up for this than Laina was; she looked like she should be going to the country club and not city hall for a press conference.

But what did I know? This was all new to me, too.

Tessa led the way. We headed to the back door. She had a key fob, which she held before the lock. The door clicked open, and we were good to enter.

This wasn’t the first time I’d been in city hall. No, as much as I hated to admit, I’d come here an awful lot with my sister. Now I was here for Laina. I could never tell my sister this out loud, but… my alliance had shifted a while ago. I wasn’t here for Tessa; I was here for Laina, to keep her safe from the world and all it would throw at her.

We passed a few offices as we walked through the hall. The lighting in this place was an ugly yellow, and it made everything look dirty. You’d think, for city hall, the entire place would look shiny and new—but then again, the mayor wasn’t really the one who ran the city. The mobsters did. When you think about it, Vance was nothing more than a human-shaped puppet for his chosen backer: the Luciano family.

We turned a corner, and we spotted Vance further down, talking to an older gentleman wearing an all-black police uniform, a badge on his chest. Of course the police would be here. With Laina’s kidnapper still out there, you never knew when he’d strike again. Or so was the thought.

“Vance,” Tessa called out to him, and Vance turned away from the office, giving her a smile. His brown hair was slicked back, his face freshly-shaven. He wore a dark blue suit with a black tie, exactly what you’d imagine a figurehead to be wearing.

“There you are,” Vance spoke, giving Tessa a peck on the cheek once we reached him. “The press is ready, whenever we are.” His blue gaze shifted to Laina, and he took in her blond hair. He must’ve been briefed by my sister, because he commented, “Very nice. You’d never know that’s a wig.”

You’d think he’d be, oh, I don’t know, a bit more loving toward the daughter that had been missing for a solid two years, right? You’d be wrong. Vance was… even after all this time, I didn’t know how to peg him.

Laina gave him a smile, but she said nothing.

Honestly, I felt bad for her. From what I understood, she’d been stuck with her father all these years, playing nice because he’d forced her to. She’d never really gotten to live, never known what it was like to have a family that loved her.

We went to Vance’s office after that, although Mike and I weren’t allowed in. Vance shut the door behind Laina, tossing me and Mike a look. I assumed they were in there, running through what Laina was supposed to say one last time. All I could hear were muffled voices.

Mike frowned, glancing around us. The hall was empty, save for us, I assumed because everyone was in position, ready for the Hawkins family to stroll in. Laina would speak first, acting like the scared, scarred girl they all thought she’d be, and then Vance would talk, boldly proclaiming that the police force had some leads and they were following up on them, that the kidnapper would be caught.

Yeah, it was all a little ridiculous, if you asked me. All a show.

“Something feels off here,” Mike grumbled, causing me to look at him. The frown was deep on his face; he appeared thoughtful and suspicious. He wore dark jeans, a black t-shirt covering his torso. He was like a giant, well over six feet tall. As much as I hated to admit it, he held an intimidating figure. It was good to have him by Laina’s side, even if my jealousy sometimes tried to get the better of me.

“What do you mean?” I asked quietly, not wanting to talk too loudly, because you never knew when they’d come out of that office. We stood on either side of the door, Mike on the right and me on the left.

He shook his head once. “I don’t know. It just feels… off. I’ve seen enough to know when to trust my gut, and my gut is telling me something’s going to happen here.” He ran a hand through his hair, his chest rumbling with a sigh.

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