Page 16 of Spades

He looks amazing. He’s in a dark-blue suit, a crisp white button-down with sapphire cufflinks peeking out from his sleeves, and a matching bowtie and dark bowler hat pulling the whole ensemble together.

Funny. Normally I don’t go for the bowtie look on a guy. It makes me think of Bill Nye the Science Guy. But on Maddox, it just works.

He’s not wearing an overcoat, so he must be freezing.

If that’s the case, I have no time to swoon over how delicious he looks. I walk up to him, smiling.

“Hey, Maddox.”

He grins at me. “Hey there, Alissa. How was work?”

I shrug. “Pretty boring. How about your day at the shop?”

“About the same. Not many customers this time of year.” He rakes his gaze over me. “You look beautiful.”

Another rush of warmth floods my body. “Thank you. So do you…” I frown. “I mean… You look very handsome. That’s a gorgeous suit.”

“Thanks. One of my favorites.” He offers me his arm. “Shall we?”

I place my hand on his bicep—God, even through his suit jacket I can tell it’s huge—and smile again at him. “We shall.”

He escorts me into a snow-covered alleyway to an unassuming black door. On it are carved four symbols. A spade, a diamond, a club, and a heart—the four playing card suits. Interesting.

My pulse pounds. I’m kind of freaked out. Maddox just led me down an abandoned alley and is about to take me through this strangely marked door. Is he going to abduct me, sell me into a human trafficking ring?

No. Maddox is a genuine guy. I have a pretty good radar about these things, and as sketchy as this door is, I don’t think Maddox would do anything to hurt me.

I hope I’m right.

Worst case, I have a small can of pepper spray in my bag.

Maddox knocks three times on the door, and it opens automatically. He steps back to let me enter ahead of him, but I don’t move.

“You coming?” he asks.

I’m still standing in the alleyway. I want to go in, but this isn’t me. I don’t go into strange places with men I’ve just met. The place doesn’t seem dangerous, but I can’t shake the feeling that something lifechanging lies within its walls. I’ve never been to an exclusive club before, and I have no idea what to expect.

And that feeling of uncertainty, of chance, even a slight hint of menace, is something I would normally turn away from.

But tonight, I’m enticed by it. Drawn to it.

I walk inside.

We enter a small room with a green shag carpet and several couches upholstered in what looks like white fur. A single black door, matching the one from the alleyway, is on the opposite wall.

At the rear of the room is a man sitting behind a pink desk. He’s bald, with a dark handlebar mustache. He’s wearing a purple pinstripe suit with no shirt on underneath, and I can’t tell how old he is. He could be twenty or he could be sixty—he has one of those preserved-looking, almost artificial faces.

The man looks up at us and grins. It’s the kind of grin that pierces your soul, a knowing, toothy smile that makes you feel like he can read your mind.

The door already weirded me out, and now I’m starting to get a little more freaked.

Part of me is screaming to grab my pepper spray, discharge it directly into the eyes of both Maddox and this odd man, and turn tail and run.

But another part of me wants to see how far this rabbit hole goes.

And that part is in control tonight.

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