Twisted Fate (Dark Heart Duet #2) - Ella James Page 0,2

for Mr. O’Hara and Roberto asked if anybody wanted to protect him. Sorta shadow him and carry some protection for him. I volunteered because of what he did that night before our graduation. And the night of what went down here.

Pretty sure Roberto told him I was one of his protectors, because I saw him a few months back, and he was extra friendly. He looks so much like her. Isn’t that just fucking weird—the way it turns my stomach.

There’s this guy, Bart, older than me. But we know each other. He’s one of the guys on the docks over in Red Hook. He’s dressed up for tonight, but he still looks like a fisherman. I like him okay, but he catches me by the crab cakes and talks for too long. I don’t want to be a dick, so I try to talk back. But there are roses here, white roses, and I think about the roses on that summer night before our senior year. I had no idea the other man in the room was Elise’s father. He gave mine a warning. Told him to stop ratting to the FBI.

It took me a little bit to put those pieces together. But after I saw Mr. O’Hara at Elise’s house, I knew. My old man had gotten more than one warning. I think he didn’t stop because the FBI kept telling him they’d move us out soon. Telling him that he was almost finished. Roberto sort of told me all that without telling me outright.

Thinking about my dad—even peripherally—makes me feel all weird and cold and spacy again. There’s some fruity liquor punch shit. The second I manage to get away from Bart, I grab a cup of it…but I think that goes against the rule. Wine then liquor, never sicker. Wine than beer, never fear? Shit—I should know this stuff.

Just to be safe, I dip back into the kitchen, pour a tall glass of Roberto’s wine, and step into a back hall with it.

Pathetic, I tell myself. And it doesn’t work. My hands are damp around the glass. My heart is racing like it might explode.

I’ve got a phone now. It’s this little one that flips open. I pull it out of my pocket and check the time, but it’s not late.

I drink the glass in a few swallows. Makes me warmer. Heavier. Sort of slower. I like slower. I look up and down the dark hall. It’s a worker hall—thin and narrow.

I close my eyes and let my head lean back against the wall, let my lungs fill up with air.

I’m okay.

Soren needs me. And my mother needs me. Things with her have only gotten worse.

The wine is like a blanket. Now I understand. Sometimes you need a blanket.

I know where they’re playing cards. I know why he asked me here; if I’m honest with myself, I know.

And I can do it. I’ll be twenty-one soon. Definitely not a kid now.

I feel warmer. Okay.

I go back out through the kitchen. Leo’s in there. I waggle my eyebrows at him, and he smiles with his brown eye and his blue eye. There’s a girl beside him, smiling at him as he smiles. Short girl, blonde braid, big tits. I make a note to tell him later.

I step into the hall. It’s not that night. Everything is different. Everything is okay. But it’s like a joke. It’s all a bad joke. Because that’s when I see her.

2

Elise

I look at myself in the floor-to-ceiling mirror. It’s got a thick, gold frame that makes me feel as if I’m in a portrait. Me, standing alone in this lush, dark parlor. Me, with my hair cascading down my back, feeling pretty in my red satin gown. It’s one with a mermaid bottom—delicate ruffles that flip up, so you can see my pretty heels. I bought it just for this party.

Mom had a marathon in Greenwich tomorrow morning early, so I’m Dad’s stand-in date. He likes working with the charity. Even if it is a braggy Manhattan wealthy people thing, I think it’s good for him to do something that fulfills him.

I blink, then reapply my lipstick.

Now that Dad is playing cards with his friends, it’s time for me to spruce up and find Jace. In just a little while, we’re going to waltz around the ballroom, taking care to waltz right by his grandfather. Jace is pretty sure his father’s father is gay, but he married Mrs. Margaret, had three kids, and