Cocktails & Chloroform by Kelley Armstrong

Author:Kelley Armstrong [Armstrong, Kelley]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781989046746
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Six

Stroke of genius? Or reckless idiocy? As I climb the stairs, I don’t dare guess which end of the spectrum this move will land on. The jury lies above, ready to rule.

It was impulsive. I’ll accept that. It also seemed to be the only way to help Mae once she was taken from the dance hall floor. And by helping Mae, I really mean helping Alice. Yes, I’m sure Mae doesn’t deserve her fate, and I’d certainly help her if I could do so easily enough, but offering myself up for a Victorian threesome wouldn’t have been my personal choice of “easily enough.”

I can be impulsive. I can be reckless. I can even be a wee bit too cocky for my own good. But I’m also a woman and a cop, and I do not go up those stairs confident that I can just say no, or if “no” isn’t accepted, fight my way out. I have interviewed survivors much smarter and much more physically adept than me.

I’m in danger. I think I can handle it, but I fully acknowledge that I may have bitten off more than I can chew. I just need to set that aside and convince myself otherwise.

Like I told Alice, I’ve got this.

Or at least I can pretend I do.

When we reach the top of the steps, I don’t look for Gray. There’s no way he could have missed the upheaval downstairs, and while he’ll be shaking his head, he’ll be watching, too.

My resolve not to look for him lasts for three steps. Then I start to worry that he might think I’m in grave danger and come to my rescue. I’d never say I don’t want him coming to my rescue if I need it. I’m a feminist, not an idiot. I’m more than happy to accept help from any quarter, and I trust his help above most others. I just don’t want him thinking I’m in serious and immediate danger and swooping in before I have a chance to escape with Mae.

So I look. I pretend that my boot has twisted, and I pause to give it a shake while I glance over to where I last saw Gray.

He isn’t there.

From this vantage point, I can see right into our hiding spot, and there’s no sign of him.

He must have moved then. He needed a better line of sight, so he changed position.

Except I see no sign of him anywhere around the balcony.

Because he’s hiding.

But if he saw me looking for him, he’d peek out to reassure me.

I go to scan again, but my escort has a hand on my elbow and he’s steering me toward the box. When we reach it, he pauses as a man in his forties comes out. He’s as tall as Gray, with silvering hair and a squint that suggests he should be wearing glasses. While I might be able to use that to my advantage in a fight, when his gaze lights on me, his expression suggests his eyesight isn’t that bad.

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