Page 1 of Tangled in Tinsel

Chapter One

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Tempi

I turn and snag another flute of champagne from a passing waiter. It’s my second. I’ve been powering through them because of what me and my best friend have to do tonight. I’m either going to save a man’s life or end up in jail before the sun comes up. But I’m doing it for a friend and that’s good enough for me.

Still, doing what me and my bestie have planned is going to take some liquid courage and this champagne is really good. I turn and almost bump into a huge tank of a man. He’s got to be six-six and built like a…well, I don’t have a good word for what he’s built like but it’s thick and solid and maybe I shouldn’t be throwing these champagnes back so quickly because damn…he is hot as fuck.

He doesn’t look like he belongs here though. He looks like he would be more comfortable fighting a bear or conquering a nation or something. It takes me a full minute before recognition hits me. This is Evander Stone. The man who guards the Governor we are here to see tonight.

Well, I’m not here to see him. My best friend, Lyric, is here to see him. It’s her father we are trying to save. It’s her virginity on the line if we can’t talk this man into helping us. Governor Cyrus Strong is our last hope - not to sound too Star Wars-y about it. Although thinking about it, Lyric would make a good Leia. Me…I would want to be Han Solo navigating the universe with my bestfriend and trusted companion while having one adventure after another.

The man standing in front of me kind of looks like Chewbacca minus the hair. “Hi.”

I look up at him with big round eyes and wait for him to say something back. I wonder if his voice is deep and rumbly like one of the alpha heroes that I always read about in the books that burn up my e-reader. But before he can say a word to me, Lyric is pulling me away.

“Don’t fraternize with the enemy! Remember, until he says yes, they’re not our friends.”

I giggle behind my hand and try to think of something sobering. The little flute glasses have really gone to my head it would seem. “Do you have a plan on how you’re going to do it?”

She shakes her head and starts biting on her lip. “Okay well, let's, um…find out where the bedroom is. Someone around here must know.”

“We can’t just go up to someone and say, ‘hey, where does the governor sleep?’ Then everyone will realize what we have planned!”

“Fine. Let’s split up and see what we can find out.”

Both of us go our separate ways. Like that doesn’t look suspicious as hell. I try to keep my eyes open for anything that might help us but they are always drawn back to that big bear of a man standing by his friend. The two men are about the same size but Evander Stone is just…bigger somehow. Maybe it’s not the size but the attitude he has that he drapes over him like a cloak. He looks like he wouldn’t mind killing someone. Noteveryone looks like that - hell, Ted Bundy didn’t look like he was a killer but he was while this guy looks…dangerous.

I nearly bump into a tall blonde who is talking to another equally tall blonde. Both women are dressed to the nines with jewels dripping off their wrists and necks and hanging from their ears. They look like they should be on the tree they sparkle so much.

“So, did you get close to the Governor or did the Beast stop you before you could give him your number?”

The Beast? Are they talking about MY man?! Or, um, rather…Mr. Stone? He’s not a beast. Far from it. Sure he looks like he could murder someone but there is a hidden spark there, buried in those deep gray depths that calls to me. It makes me want to do something stupid like trip one of these bitches for even saying my…er, Evander is a beast.

“I hear when he closes the house down it’s just him and the Neanderthal. Maybe the Governor’s gay?”

That’s it! I walk closer and then faux trip so that I knock into one of the women who in turn trips over her stupid nose-bleed heels and champagne and wine go all over both of them. Try getting that red wine out of your stupid velvet green sack, bitch! Before anyone can do a thing, I have moved on and both women who have lost their balance - and their dignity - have drawn all the eyes in the room to them. All eyes except one pair.

Oh crap! I wonder if Evander realized I did that and now, he’s going to kick me and Lyric out of the gala? Did I just ruin everything? I hold my breath and make my way back over to Lyric who is looking just as disconcerted as I feel.

“Any luck?”

“What did you do?”

“Nothing.” I know she’s not buying it when it comes out high and fast like a little kid trying to hide something…which is kind of what I am.

Lyric ignores me instead of pushing for more information which isn’t like her at all. Usually, I’m the one getting us into all the trouble and she is the good girl trying to find a way to get us out. But all that changed when her father was wrongfully convicted and the entire town seems to want to barter her pussy back and forth with the Sheriff and the warden of the prison vying for top spots.

It was my idea to do this crazy thing so I could save her but will it work or have I only made it worse for my best friend? How am I going to find a way out for the two of us if it all blows up in our faces?

“The Governor’s bedroom is at the top of the stairs on the left side.”

“How do you know that?” Amazing that my sweet little Lyric found out before me. I’m both proud and oddly disappointed. Proud of Lyric and disappointed that I didn’t find the information for her sooner and she had to find it herself.

“Some women were talking about almost making it to his room last year before a big beast of a man stopped them. I think they called him the Stone Wall or something like that.”

My brows go up at the nickname and my eyes track the room for the big beefcake that carries the moniker so well. He does remind me of a wall; solid, thick, and unmovable. But I bet I could find something to make him move. And if not, what a challenge anyway.

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