Nico appraises her, his gaze warm. “I agree, although I’m sure we’re all on his radar already.” He looks over his shoulder as if afraid somebody is listening.
“What is it?” My instincts start to hum.
“I just want you to be careful. All right? We have two guys on you here in the bar, and I’m sure Sokolov will have protection as well.”
“I’m not in danger,” I say. Sure, I often get the odd fan from Aquarius Social who thinks they’re in love with me, but they’re normally dissuaded easily.
“That’s not what I mean.” Nico’s dark eyes flash. “Greg is already dead and you’re the heir.”
That might be true, but there’s always another heir. “If something happens to me, then you can be the heir. You’re probably next in line,” I say gently.
He shakes his head. “No, I’m not. I don’t have the power or the connection with the crystals that you do. If anything happens to you, your father would be left without an heir—I mean for now.”
Ella cocks her head. “What do you mean ‘for now’?”
Crimson spreads across Nico’s handsome face. “Nothing. Forget it.”
I set my martini glass down on the chipped table. “Forget it? What do you mean? Is my dad trying to make new heirs?” He is ancient. Would he really do that? My stomach sinks as I realize that he would.
Nico steps back from the table. “I’ve said too much, but be careful. I don’t want what happened to Greg to happen to you.” His shoulders go back. “There were cameras along the route he took that night before crashing off Vulture’s Perch, and they’re all burned out. Destroyed. It’s too suspicious.”
Rosalie looks at me and then looks over at Nico. “Greg was in a car accident.”
Nico visibly gulps. “Bullshit. He was an excellent driver, and he was sober that night. Just watch your back.” He glances again at Ella. “All of you. Be careful.” With that, he shoves his hands in his pockets and storms through the crowded bodies to the door.
FIVE
Alana
I watch my cousin go, unease rippling through me. What does he know about Greg’s death that I do not?
“That was weird,” Ella says.
“I think he has the hots for you, Alana,” Rosalie murmurs.
The idea turns my stomach. “Nico is just worried about the company and has turned all big brother on me.”
“He’s definitely big and is just a distant relative. Turn that overprotectiveness into something hot. Why don’t you take him for a spin?” Rosalie asks.
Ella leans back farther from us and drops her gaze to her drink.
I look at Rosalie. “You are the worst sometimes. How are we friends?”
“How are we not friends? You need me,” she says.
“Yeah, I need you like I do a fall down a black diamond ski hill,” I retort.
She snorts. “That wasn’t my fault.”
“Yes, it was. You ran into me because you were ogling that hot guy from Sweden.” Sometimes my left arm still aches—especially when the weather turns cold like it is right now.
“He had an ass I could bounce a quarter off,” Rosalie says defensively. “You were ogling him too.”
Actually, I had been trying not to fall on my face, which had turned out to be an unrealistic expectation. But every adventure we’ve had is worth it. The three of us met at boarding school. My father dropped me there because he couldn’t deal with a daughter and his grief; Ella’s stepmother sent her away because she couldn’t kill her as a kid; and Rosalie’s grandpa had worked as a janitor at the school. We somehow found each other and have been best friends ever since.
Rosalie checks out her bright pink nail polish. “All I’m saying is that you might as well have some fun if you do end up marrying Cal Sokolov. What kind of name is that anyway? Who names their kids Hendrix, Cal, and . . . what was the other one?”
“Alexei,” Ella supplies.
Rosalie grins. “Yeah, Alexei.”
“Alexei is half brother to the other two, and I wouldn’t mess with Cal’s mama, if I were you,” I drawl. Lillian Sokolov is a fierce woman with sharp nails.
Rosalie leans forward and I hope the pounding music will prevent anybody from hearing what she says. “Listen, Alana, we both know if it’s to save Aquarius Social, you’ll marry whichever of the Sokolov brothers your father puts in front of you at the altar. So don’t you think you should have some fun first? Take Nico for a spin. Heck, even take all three of the Sokolov brothers for a spin. Maybe the killer one gets conjugal visits. Once you’re married, I know you. You won’t break that vow, no matter what.”
No, I’m not a woman who breaks promises. As usual, Rosalie is right, but jumping on Cousin Nico isn’t how I want to spend my last days as a free woman—especially since Ella blushes every time his name is mentioned. I glance at my watch. “All right, I’m going in.”
“We’ll be here,” Ella says loyally. “If you need us, just yell. Loudly.”
I have no idea what she thinks she can do if Cal and I don’t hit it off, but I pat her shoulder anyway. “You’re a good friend.” I cut Rosalie a hard look. “You’re just okay.”
“I’m fabulous,” she says, winking.
I shake my head because she’s right, at least about our friendship. I stand and find my balance. For this meeting, I’m wearing my signature yellow in a low-cut halter top with an aquamarine skirt and fuck-me five-inch heels with encrusted diamonds decorating the top. My hair is teased wildly and my makeup is flirty.
I’m too nervous to post on Aquarius Social, and my emotions are too volatile for me to want to share the moment with our emotion-catching-and-dispersing interface as I wind through the crowd to the VIP area flanked by two bulging bouncers. I don’t know if they’ve been waiting for me, or if they recognize me, but they both step aside and allow me to pass. I make my way through private booths to reach a cordoned-off section. Someone smoothly releases the rope so I don’t even have to break stride.
Cal Sokolov sits on a red velvet sofa flanked by a blonde who has already fallen out of her top and a brunette who has one leg over his. Both women are giggling.
