The bullets Shuuhei dug out of his guy were special. So special that they were favored by the Cheng’s men to use while they guarded their portion of the city’s ports.
That brought the running total up to three families implicated in the ambush, and now four because Liam was trying far too hard to convince me to drop Jifein Cheng’s partnership for something that would inevitably cost me more in the end.
Now all I needed was something that tied the ambush to Vladimir Volkov and I’d have a royal flush of fuckery and no clue who was doing it.
“There is a balance in this city that is kept up because we all use each other. It’s a symbiotic relationship and you know it,” I told Liam off-handedly, my mind far away from the blustering of a man far past his prime.
The only reason the five families were able to coexist in the city was because they all had a role to play. To mess up the balance would allow for another war to break out and there was nothing I’d like to do less.
“Now, if you’ll excuse me.” Liam looked as if he wanted to continue to argue, but I was already stepping away from him and making my way towards the door Perrie had disappeared through.
The hallway was much quieter than the ballroom, the lights dimmed to create an almost secretive ambiance for the couples that were tucking themselves into alcoves to have a chat, or judging by the drunk couple sitting on a bench by the window, something far touchier than a chat.
I ignored them, trying to find Perrie’s strawberry scent on the air that was already laden with hundreds of others.
As I stood alone in the hallway, I felt one brief moment of panic that I didn’t know where my wife was.
This would be the perfect place to snatch someone if you had half a mind to do so. There were lots of people everywhere, workers going in and out, and far too many entrances and exits to monitor them all efficiently.
Anxiety began to crawl up my spine as I strode in the direction of the restrooms which were a few turns down the long hallway from the ballroom. The further I walked, the quieter it got until the sounds coming from the Gala were just a whisper in the distance.
It was quiet enough that I could hear Perrie’s raised voice and felt a flash of anger ripple down the bond strong enough to make my steps stutter.
Turning my feet in the direction of it, I found an overhead light with a bathroom symbol leading down a long hallway. Then, right in front of the doors, I saw Perrie standing with Rhodes at her back and Yulia in front of her.
Yulia said something I couldn’t hear, but it must have offended Perrie because my omega’s shoulders stiffened and I watched with shock, and maybe the tiniest bit of awe, as Perrie drew her hand back and slapped the woman hard enough to make her head snap to the side.
Perrie said something low that I couldn’t hear, but it must have been venomous because Yulia turned to glare at her, holding her face.
I was already moving to join them before the other woman even had a moment to recover, trying to gauge the situation as I approached.
Perrie’s cheeks were flushed and her chest rising and falling with anger as she glared at the woman.
“Pet,” I greeted her, trying to keep my tone even and soothing. “I’m not against you slapping whoever you want, but maybe doing it in public isn’t such a good idea.”
I expected her to melt under my touch, just like she always did, but instead she turned her glare to me as Rhodes was silently and vehemently shaking his head behind her.
“She earned every bit of that slap and unless you explain to me how exactly you know this woman in the next thirty seconds you’re about to get one too.”
I gaped at her, my eyes moving to Rhodes who shrugged, his eyes telling me that I was on my own with this one.
Wonderful.
Twenty Six
“Bathroom, bathroom, bathroom,” I muttered to myself as I stepped through the doors and into the hallway, trying to remember where they were. The last time I’d been at this hotel had been over five years ago.
As I walked down the hall, I did my best to ignore the couple in one of the alcoves who were already getting hot and heavy for the entire world to see. I was afraid if I looked too closely I would definitely need to wash my eyeballs out later and I really liked the golden smokey eye Oona had done on me.
The woman never wore a lick of makeup but I was pretty sure she’d put the girls with a full beat at Mac to shame if given half the chance.
Turning the corner, I finally saw the lit sign that proclaimed it was the women’s restroom and sighed with relief.
Now came the daunting task of trying to figure out how to pee in this dress. I was pretty sure once the zipper came down it was going to be a chore to get back up and I couldn’t see myself shimmying it up over my waist either.
“Perrie?” Rhodes’ voice came from behind me and I turned to find him turning the corner. He looked handsome in his suit, his dark hair combed to the side as he approached, one hand tucked into his pocket. A hand that was about to come in, well, handy.
“Can I just say that you have impeccable timing, Mr. McCreary?” I grinned, reaching for the lapels of his jacket and tugged him towards the door of the restroom.
“Perrie, I don’t think it’s a good idea to hook up in the bathroom…” Rhodes began, but still followed behind me with little protest.
I snorted. “I’m not trying to hook up with you in the bathroom, Rhodes.”
Though, in retrospect, maybe that wasn’t such a bad idea after all. I’d barely been able to touch either of the alphas that I now claimed as mine because of midterms and how jam packed their schedules were. Sometimes it felt a bit like ships passing in the night. Ships that I desperately wanted to strip down and let have their way with me. But the two were exhausted even when they were with me after spending their days out of the house running around like chickens with their heads cut off.
Who knew running an illegal empire took up so much of one’s free time?
Turning my back to him, I pointed at the zipper that rested on my lower back. “Can you unzip me so I don’t shred this dress like the hulk in order to go pee?”
Rhodes’ huff of laughter bounced off of the tiled walls of the bathroom as his hands moved to tug the zipper down, the tops of his knuckles brushing the skin of my lower spine.
“Aren’t you just supposed to hold it when you wear dresses like this?” he asked as I shot him a grateful smile and hurried into the stall, stepping completely out of the dress and hanging it on the door.
“That’s the general rule, yes,” I called, holding onto my bare breasts as I sat down. “But when a girls gotta go, she’s gotta go.”
Did I like practically stripping naked to do so? No. Not at all. But even I had to admit the dress was worth all of the hassle just for the look in both alphas’
