Page 51 of Caging Liberty
I down the rest of my whiskey and slam the glass on the third table I’ve migrated to tonight. I turn toward the exit and head that way before Desiree can reach me.
“Mr. A!” she yells over the music. I keep walking.
“Hey, wait!” I don’t wait.
I meet tonight’s guard’s eyes and lift my hand to gesture for the door. He opens it, and I exit the playroom, but not in time to stop Desiree from barreling through the doorway and crashing into me.
Whatever was holding my patience together snaps.
My shitty mood tonight isn’t her fault. I tell myself this in my mind, but it isn’t enough to stop me from spinning around and grabbing Desiree’s gaudy, thick chain necklace. I grasp it and yank her toward me, watching shock take over her expression.
“Enough,” I growl. The door slams shut, and silence engulfs us. “We've had fun, but learn to take a hint. I’m not interested in you anymore. Stop chasing after me, and stop pulling me to the side. Just fucking leave me alone, all right?”
I let go of the necklace, and she stumbles back, hurt replacing the shock on her face. It’s enough to sober me, and I consider apologizing, but I don’t. I swear to God, if I have to dodge this woman one more time, I’m going to lose it. Even more than I already have.
“I’m sorry,” she says, her voice uncharacteristically small.
I turn to leave before guilt has a chance to fully settle in, but she follows after me. She actuallyfollows. After. Me.
“I wasn’t pursuing you,” she tells my back, sounding surprisingly sincere. “I’m worried about Ivy.”
My steps halt, and I turn to her, folding my arms in front of me. “What about her?”
What looks to be even worse pain twists Desiree’s face. “I knew you cared about her,” she whispers, shaking her head.
“Why are you worried, Desiree?”
She blinks a few times and pulls back her shoulders. It looks like she’s preparing herself to speak again, and finally, I see the woman I know. Desiree isn’t one to show her vulnerability. She’s more the retaliate-with-over-the-top-cattiness type.
“She isn’t in the playroom.”
No shit.
“And today…”
I tap my thigh impatiently. “Yes?”
“If I tell you, you have to promise not to tell on me.”
I resist the urge to roll my eyes. “’Kay.”
“Promiseme.”
“I fucking promise. Could you please just spit it out?”
She takes a deep breath, and a flash of worry comes over her face. “Today, after you and Sawyer went inside the manor, Ivy went to go check out the gate. I followed to see what she was doing, and she started talking about trying to escape tonight.”
She inhales dramatically like she’s revealing this deep secret. I’m not the least bit surprised to hear this, but worry does start to nip at me.
“Did you tell her the fence is electric?”
Desiree nods. “Yeah, but she already knew, and somehow, she found out the passcode.”
“Shit,” I say, my eyes going wide.
“I know. She’s been pumping people for information nonstop all day, so she must’ve gotten it out of someone. I think it was Summer.”
Summer. I find that hard to believe, but it’s possible. She’s a trusted manor whore who cleans my house sometimes. It could be several people, though. Admittedly, I’m not that secretive about the way to access my house. I regret that now.