Quill
The first two hours after Black left, Snow seemed to think he had to give me a grand tour, play two board games, and excitedly tell me that the Hallmark Channel was showing marathon Christmas movies and that was what we were going to be doing all night. I didn’t mind, really. It did make me miss Mel though. She was my best friend and we often vegged on the couch while I played video games or we watched cheesy romance movies.
I was able to text her, letting her know I was okay, and she told me she missed me and was eager to have this over with. Ronnie hadn’t come back into Quirks and Perks and she hadn’t bumped into Dylan anywhere. I was happy about that.
“I don’t know, that guy’s arrogance is kind of sexy. I mean, the farm boy is totally hot, but I’m having issues with her choices,” Snow said as he chomped on popcorn. We were on movie two and I was half watching it.
“Maybe she’s tired of rich assholes?” I asked, garnering a shrug from him.
“Sometimes those assholes are worth it.” He nudged my arm and there was no question he was talking about his husband. My own mind went to Black. He was nothing like I thought he’d be.
Sure, Black was an asshole. He had confidence, but he was also vulnerable in a lot of ways. That night he told me about Sunshine and sobbed without shame told me more about the man than years with him could. Christopher Manos, to an outsider, seemed sturdy, rich, unstoppable, and unaffected. But I was sure Snow saw a side of him nobody else was privy to. I wanted that with someone. And in that moment, while watching silly Christmas romances, I vowed to make Black mine. I wouldn’t let him push me away when this was over. I knew he was wishy-washy over it all, but I’d show him I was his person.
“Not buying it, Susan,” Snow shouted at the TV, making me laugh.
With Lady Whiskers curled in my lap, I spent the rest of my evening with Snow, who did an amazing job of keeping my mind occupied. I could see it in his eyes, he knew I wasn’t all here, but he never forced me to talk about it and for that, I was grateful.
Christopher came in and talked with us for a while until Snow shushed him and told him to go away so he could hear the cheesy dialog.
At eleven, my eyes were starting to droop. I couldn’t watch anymore and I took Lady Whiskers upstairs to the bedroom. I must have crashed, because the next thing I knew, the sun was streaming through the windows. I reached over for Black only to hit cold emptiness. I didn’t know if he was up or what was going on. When I opened the door, the cat ran out, likely looking for her food. Lisa, one of Christopher’s staff, adored Lady and probably had her food waiting for her.
I quickly washed, dressed, and went downstairs. I gravitated toward the voices coming from the kitchen. Inside, Snow, Christopher, Maggie, and a few others were sitting down, eating.
“Morning,” I mumbled as I took the hot mug offered to me. “Thank you, Maggie.”
“Have a seat, I made a breakfast casserole. I’ll plate you some.”
At the table, no one looked bothered with the fact that Black wasn’t here.
“Has anyone seen or heard from Black?” I asked.
That was when I noticed none of Black’s people were here and the room was thick with suspicious behavior. The silence was very telling.
“What?” I searched their faces, but no one was talking. Not even Snow. “Fine, then I’ll just be heading back to my place. Clearly, all is well with the world and I can return home?”
Christopher let out a long, frustrated breath. “No, you can’t leave. Black didn’t return last night, but he contacted me. He’s dealing with this situation, you need to let him. He said when it was all over, he’d come get you and you’d be free to do or go wherever you want.”
“He went to take care of everything?” Christopher nodded and went back to reading his paper. Who reads the newspaper anymore? “What happened at the ball? I thought there was a plan in place?”
“There was and it’s being executed.” Christopher shrugged like he didn’t have a care in the world.
“You promised to help us!” I slammed my hands on the table, Christopher’s dark eyes snapped to mine and the glare sent a scary shiver through my body. It wasn’t like when Black looked at me. I knew Black would never harm me, but Christopher had zero attachment to me.
“Sit,” he snapped. “I am helping, just because in this exact moment I’m eating breakfast doesn’t mean I’m not, or have not, been keeping up with my promise.”
“Why am I not in the know?” I sat down as asked and everyone in the kitchen seemed to relax.
“Maybe because you were sleeping and just got in here exactly two minutes ago?” Christopher said as he folded the paper. “What do you want to know?”
“Everything.”
After breakfast, all of Christopher’s people, Snow, and myself went into his study. I wasn’t nervous exactly, but I was curious as to why, after Black said he wanted me in the know, I did not understand what was going on. If Black was in danger, I was sure someone would have awakened me and let me know.
“Black called me at around midnight. I had been in contact with him periodically, but things were very uneventful. Bartholomew Sterling did, in fact, show up, but was a beacon for people and therefore, getting to him proved to be difficult.” Christopher held up his pointer. “But not impossible.”
Christopher sat at his desk while Snow sat in a wingback chair beside it, engrossed in listening to his husband, and I wondered if he was hearing it for the first time.
“There were over five hundred people at the ball and…”
“Five hundred and twenty-two,” Snow interrupted.
“Okay, five hundred and twenty-two,” Christopher said, amusement in his tone. “But when Bartholomew saw Black, it seemed to be all the man could see. And when Black went into the bathroom, Bartholomew followed.”
“Is this going to get pervy?” Snow asked, but Christopher waved him off.
“This was where Bartholomew made his first mistake. It was part of Black’s plan the entire time. The bathrooms were near the back exits of the facility the ball was being held at, so when Bartholomew entered, so did Black’s men. Lee was able to force a brown out of sorts and, when that happened, Black’s men took Bartholomew out the back after sedating him.”
“Wait, Lee’s back?” I didn’t know this, but was glad. Lee was wicked smart and with the Sterlings having so much help in the technology department, we needed him.
“He is. Then Black went back out and enjoyed the rest of the ball. Black said there was some buzz about his disappearing from the ball, but his wife seemed to get a little too drunk and wasn’t worried about it much.”
“So, Black is with Bartholomew right now?”
Christopher nodded. “Yes.”
All of that made sense. I was glad Black had his men with him and he was safe.
“Black is going to end this, Quill. Be sure the man that comes through those doors when it’s over is a man you’re going to be able to accept.” Christopher’s gaze was intense.
“I’m sure,” I answered without any hesitation.