his Instagram, but nothing could’ve prepared me for the real thing. My pulse sped up. I felt slightly light-headed. I wanted to reach out and touch him to make sure he wasn’t a hallucination. People weren’t that handsome in real life. It just didn’t work that way.
It dawned on me that he was staring at me with a slightly bewildered expression.
My sister opened her mouth. Runa elbowed her.
Silence stretched.
I waited for him to speak, but he seemed content to just stare at me.
And this wasn’t awkward. Not at all.
Everyone’s phone chimed, announcing someone at our front door. The most beautiful assassin in the world blinked. It was enough to snap me out of my trance.
“That’s probably Linus. We should go.” I slid my phone into a small, glittering Edie Parker clutch.
Alessandro came back to life. “Yes, we should.”
Grandma Frida blocked the way. “Neither of you are going anywhere until I get a pic for my Insta.”
“Grandma, they’re not going to the prom,” Arabella protested.
“Shush. They’re going to a high society shindig and I’m getting at least one good picture of them together.”
If we didn’t do it, I’d never hear the end of it. “He’s supposed to be in Hawaii right now.”
“I won’t post it until next week.”
I turned to Alessandro. “She’s lying.”
Alessandro graced her with his brilliant smile. “I’d be delighted to pose for a picture.”
“Smile, Catalina,” Grandma commanded.
I arranged my face into a carefree smile.
Grandma took the pic and checked it.
“Good enough?” I asked.
“It will do.”
Alessandro offered me his arm, I put my hand on his wrist, and we walked down the hallway. He smelled of sandalwood, vanilla, and a hint of citrus. I felt completely ridiculous. I was Cinderella going with my prince to a ball. Where I would beguile and interrogate a woman who made monsters for an assassin consortium, and I had to do a very good job so the National Assembly wouldn’t murder the lot of us.
We reached the door to the office, he held it open for me, and we headed to the front door. Every step was an effort, like someone had put a rubber band around my legs.
“You look very beautiful,” Alessandro said.
When given a compliment, always respond, Arrosa’s voice murmured in my head. “Thank you. You look very handsome.”
He opened the door and I walked out into the street, where Linus’ armored Escalade waited under the light of the streetlamp.
“Weapons?” Linus asked.
“No,” I said. I had checked the security requirements for the gala. Ever since Baranovsky, one of the richest Primes in the country, was murdered at his own charity dinner, the safety measures for high society events had risen to ridiculous levels.
Alessandro shrugged. “No need. There will be plenty of security people around.”
And they would be carrying weapons he could copy.
“How wide is your range?” Linus asked.
Alessandro gave him his wolfish smile.
“I ask, because I brought a full trunk. How close does the vehicle need to be to the building?”
“How far away will the car be parked?”
Linus shook his head. “If it’s parked 0.14 miles away, would that be close enough?”
“Yes.”
The car turned onto Texas Avenue and pulled up in front of the Wortham Theater Center, joining the line of other luxury vehicles dropping off their passengers, as if we all were elementary school kids. Night had fallen, but the entire street was bathed in bright electric light.
“All right, children,” Linus said. “We’re going to walk inside, mingle briefly, and be seated at our table. The ball will consist of five acts with twenty-minute intermissions. Dinner will be served in courses during the intermissions. It is customary to dance and socialize between the acts. Catalina, you’re going to find Cristal, and when an opportunity presents itself, become her best friend in the whole world. We need definitive proof of her involvement, the location of the facility, and an admission of guilt, if you can get it. Record everything she tells you. Alessandro, under no circumstances is Catalina to be harmed. Avoid violence, but if you have no choice, try to take care of it quietly. Do you understand?”
“Yes,” I said.
Count Sagredo didn’t dignify the question with an answer.
The Escalade slid to a stop. The usher opened my door and offered me his hand. I leaned on it and stepped out of the vehicle into the night.
A hundred and fifty feet of red carpet stretched across the narrow plaza, bordered by lush oaks and lit by globe streetlights. At the end of it, the glass entry archway glowed with golden light.