Seducing Virtue (Wicked Trinity Book 3)

by Courtney Lane

  Instead, we looked at each other in awkward silence before they stated varied versions of the same phrase: “You’re so brave.”

  I felt like a coward for what I allowed to happen to me once I had real freedom. I should’ve told the truth about Noah from the beginning. I believed in him, was loyal to him, only to be left disappointed.

  When I had a moment alone on the second floor balcony, a man in a top hat, tipped low on his face, approached me. He didn’t slow his speed as he passed me by and shoved a silver box in my hand while whispering, “A gift from a good friend.”

  My regard followed his speedy trail in paranoia. There was very little of a trail to follow; the man seemed to have vanished into the crowd. I slid the top from the palm-size box, and found myself puzzled by the Taser nestled inside.

  “Hey there, young lady.” An older gentleman in a four-piece suit gave me a start as he stood before me while wearing a nervous smile. The familiarity in his tone left me confused.

  “We’ve met before?” I questioned with a smile and extended my hand to greet him. “I’m so sorry, I can’t place your name.”

  “Mr. Seres, I’m a good friend of your mother’s. Do you mind if I pester you for a moment? I’ve tried to track your mother down. She’s too busy. I have a big meeting with a few lobbyists, and I have to give them something to hold onto. I’ve heard your mother’s pitch, and I’m not sure if I want to endorse her yet.” He presented his arm to me. “Maybe you can convince me?”

  “I’d be glad to.” Tempering my grin, I reluctantly accepted his extended arm.

  As we moved through the crowd, I made the best of my media training and spoke about my mother’s talking points: Her plan to diminish the homeless problem; Her desire for education reform and stiffer penalties on crime.

  He nodded and refrained from posing any questions while we traveled to a less crowded area on the second floor balcony. I stopped my steps and removed my arm from his, causing him to look at me with question. I clutched the silver box tightly. There was a secretive spark in his eyes—an invisible warning sign indicating I might’ve known who he was, or encountered him before, and I needed to stay far away.

  “If you have any more questions, my mother’s campaign manager is always available. I’m not the best at politics.” I glanced behind me at the more densely packed areas. “I should get back to the party. It was nice to meet you.”

  As I turned to leave, a strong set of arms imprisoned me. A hand went over my mouth, keeping me quiet as I was forced into the shadows of a short hall and ushered into the men’s bathroom.

  The moment I began to kick up my leg and stomp on my assailant’s foot, the voice stopped me cold. “We really have to stop meeting this way. Keep your hands and feet to yourself and I won’t hurt you. I promise you, princess.”

  I spun on my heels and pushed Noah with more might than I thought I was capable of. I saw nothing but red before me. “You have a lot of nerve to come here like this after all you’ve done. I thought you’d give up. No, you have to take my friend away from me. Sonja? What did you think it would do? Make me run to you? She was pregnant with her first child and you ordered your followers to kill her in cold blood. I never thought I had it in me to have hate for anyone, Noah. You’ve proved me wrong.”

  For a moment, I could’ve sworn I witnessed an emotion outside of his current stalwart need to remain even. It was a flash of regret and sadness, quickly swept away for misplaced confidence. He lifted a scarred brow at me. “It’s not my style to order the murder of an innocent woman and her child. Nor should I be blamed for Nadine and Adam’s loose interpretations of my orders.”

  “Is it your style to punish me when I’ve done nothing wrong?” I questioned.

  His brow raised further, creasing his forehead, showing his contempt at the way I raised my voice and addressed him coldly.

  “I used to believe I committed a crime. Now I know better. My only crime was daring to care for you and giving you chances despite the horrible things you did to me.”

  “I’m being very kind to you right now, considering we’re in public.” He cast a short glance toward the door and pushed his broad back against it. “Trust me, it would be a very bad idea to make a scene right now. I’m sure losing Sonja hurt. How far would you fall if I took someone closer to you? Someone like your father? His drinking…” A sinister grin darkened his lips and deepened his dimples. “…makes it pretty easy to think of creative and untraceable ways to take him away from you.”

  A scream unfurled from my throat, urging him to lurch forward and cover my mouth with his massive hand. As I struggled, he pushed his brawny form against me, smothering me. With my unrestrained hand I clutched the Taser and pressed it to his side. A buzzing sound resounded and he stiffened. All of his muscles seemed to contract and his hold on me intensified. He released me when I pressed the electric current deeper into his flesh.

  As swift as my feet would carry me, I breezed past him and tried for the door. It was blocked from the other side by something or someone.

  Recovering quickly, Noah bear-hugged me from behind. He pressed his fingers into my palm in a way that made me extend all my fingers and squeezed my pinkie on my left hand and I dropped the Taser.

  His heavy and hot breaths pulsated against my ear. “The man you’ve been fucking has been deemed a Judas. When I find him, I’ll break him before your very eyes and gift him with a very slow and very brutal death. You won’t be able to spread your thighs for him ever again.” A chortle chilled me to the core. “In case you’re wondering about what I’ll do to you, here’s a hint: you’ll be punished, and then you’ll find out exactly what my preferred fucking style is.”

  With a jerk of my finger, pain pervaded up my arm as a pop screamed up my arm. I stifled my wails of pain, stalwart in my desire to not give him what he craved: pleasure from my pain.

  He turned my head and covered my mouth gently with his own. “Still trying to be so strong. It won’t last, princess. I will break you again. You know I will. Don’t make this worse on yourself. Give me what I want. I’ll give you about a second to think about it.” He ducked down, his breath at the nape of my neck, bristling the hairs that fell from my messy chignon, making me shake in pain and vexation. “Now that you’ve thought about things, do you have anything to say to me, Keaton?”

  “N-no.”

  “I love to think you’re enjoying this.”

  With another pop, worse than the first, he dislocated the joint.

  “Give me a reason to make this stop, Keaton.”

  “I’ll never give you any part of me again,” I stated through my clenched teeth.

  “I am your sustenance, your air, your shelter, and your goddamn protection. I’m everything you need to survive. You won't live without me, Keaton. You’ll die without me.” One by one, he popped each finger back into its socket.

  Feeling near to tears, I brushed it away, ignoring the pain by focusing on my memories of the good and how it felt to be with Braedan before I discovered his truth.

  Noah held my head in his hands and slammed my struggling body against the wall next to the door with such a brutal force I felt disoriented. “Don’t make this hard. I have something in my pocket that will knock you out cold, and I can easily get away with dragging you out of here in that state. A drunk, overly-privileged, and ungrateful bitch with mental problems, the whore of a wannabe senator, who pops pain pills like they are candy, won’t be anything new for these people. No one will care. No one will stop me from taking what exclusively belonged to me in the first place.”

  “I beg to differ,” spoke an unfamiliar voice in the background as he appeared out of a stall I hadn’t noticed was occupied.

  Noah and I turned to a man in a vested suit and silver tie, donning a fedora. With a grin, promising friendship and safety, he tipped his hat at me. “You’re a wanted man, aren’t you, Noah? Murder. Kidnapping. It would be a coup for the police chief who is standing ten feet away from that door to kno
w D.C.’s most wanted is right within his breathing space.”

  Puzzled, I examined the stranger for any semblance of familiarity. His glance toward me allowed me to clarify who he was: one of my bodyguards, hired specifically by Braedan. “Keaton.” He reached out his hand and winked at me.

  “And who the hell might you be?” Noah asked, squinting as though his world was out of focus.

  “Braedan. Braedan Michaels.” The bodyguard clung to my hand while casting a smile at the former source of my physical and mental torment. “I’m camera shy, so I can understand why you’ve never seen my image. It matters little. What does matter is that the woman who you dared to put your hands on is my girlfriend. I’d rather not make a scene and knock you out, or say, alert the police chief. We don’t want that, do we, Noah?”

  Noah glared down the bodyguard, pretending to be Braedan. I clung to his side as though he was my shelter and played along with the lie.

  Noah’s fists clenched tightly, the color drained from his hands. “You’re very lucky we have an audience outside the door.”

  “You have less than a minute to leave the party before I lose my patience, Mr. Oliver. I know who you are. I know all your dirty little secrets. Come to Keaton like this again, and you’ll be caught. If I were you, I’d take this chance to leave while I’m still feeling magnanimous.”

  Noah stalked toward the exit door. “The only reason you’re able to talk to me like this without me knocking out your teeth is because I know who’s here. No one tells me what to do…Mr. Michaels. I’ll be looking you up again, and the next time you see my face you’ll know exactly what I’m fucking capable of.”

  Noah’s darkened hazel-blue eyes grew piercing as they held me. “I guess your dick sucking skills have garnered you something good after all. He can’t protect you forever. When you’re alone, no one will stop me. I'll make you remember everything you’ve forgotten, Keaton. That is…if you can survive that long without me. I don’t think you can, especially when you find out who’s keeping me company while you’re away.” He brushed past the man impersonating Braedan, shouldering him hard on his way out. He knocked on the door, and whomever held the door from my escape on the other side either moved or unlocked it, allowing Noah to exit.

  When Noah was at a safe distance, the bodyguard released my hand and pointed his chin toward the doorway of the bathroom where Braedan now stood.

  “I apologize for the ordeal.” Braedan gave an appreciative nod to the man who impersonated him. He was dressed in the same manner as the imposter. His broader shoulders and taller frame fit the vested suit a little better than the man who had just left. His hair was sleeked back, revealing his attractively defined features. There was no doubt about the man’s presence and beauty, no matter how much I wished he wasn’t so gorgeous as much as he was the first man to receive my infatuation, the source of my new addiction, and my love.

  “Did you set me up?” I glanced at my swelling hand. “Why?”

  His face sank as he quickly took my hand. I blamed my shock for the reason I allowed him to touch me and moved through the crowd with him as though he was my plus one. “It was necessary. You had to show your strength to him in a way he hadn’t bared witness to. He’ll stay away from you for a much longer period this time.”

  I shook my head, doubting it was the truth. If Noah could get to me through all my protection here, was there any hope I’d ever be safe?

  “Don’t concern yourself with Noah,” Braedan reassured me, reading my thoughts like an open diary. “He reached you because I allowed him to, and now he’s aware of your protection. He’ll take time to prepare before he shows himself to you again. I know how hard it was not to alert the authorities, you were smart not to. He will get his recompense, and it won’t be at the hands of the local authorities.”

  “I know you’re right, but I feel like I betrayed Sonja by not doing what I should have.” I revealed my dejection through my fading voice. “Noah could’ve been stopped from hurting anyone else. I…can’t help thinking I made the same mistake twice.”

  Braedan halted his stride to stand before me. “Please, don’t think that. You didn’t. We both know what would happen if Noah was ever placed in police custody. His reach extends far. He will pay, and it won’t be a short punishment. I promise. For now, he should be a very distant memory.”

  He glanced over the balcony with a tame smile. “I have to admit, I’ve never danced before, and I couldn’t think of anyone more perfect to experience my first time with.” He slipped on his fedora, tilting it down until it cast a dark shadow over his face, hiding all but his broad jawline and ample pout.

  I wished I could’ve denied what he elicited from me when he’d touched me. Even now, with danger lurking at my heels, every time he touched me, it was as if he was touching me for the first time. No matter how hard I fought, I could feel him deep within my veins, keeping me addicted and cursed to chase a feeling I hadn’t experienced with anyone before him.

  Leading me, he descended the grand staircase, opening to the first level, and moved onto the dance floor on the cusp of a swing song winding down for a heavy horn solo with the soft support of the percussion instruments. With my hand in Braedan’s, he snaked an arm around my waist.

  I took a step back offering my other hand. When he applied any pressure to the sore area and witnessed my wince, he examined it carefully and shook his head with contempt. “We should take care of that now.”

  Conscious many eyes were on us, I continued to perform. With a shake of my head, I moved his arm around to fit across my back and draped my arm behind his neck.

  We slowly began to sway with the music in a near perfect sync. He continuously looked down, coercing me to lift his chin.

  “I’ll lead, if it helps,” I offered.

  “I can’t pretend as if I know what I’m doing that way, and I might step on your feet.”

  “You really have no idea how to dance?” Completely puzzled, I slowed my movement.

  “It was never allowed.”

  “It must’ve been a serious culture shock when you left the community.”

  “I was shut in and never ventured out. It took me two years before I was able to turn on the television. I watched one movie, and never saw another.”

  I stopped moving and we had a near miss with him stepping on my feet.

  “Is there something wrong?”

  I leveled my eyes at him.

  “Despite the obvious.” His sheepish grin tugged at me.

  “Everything’s wrong,” I whispered, unsure if he heard me over the intoning volume of the music filling the ballroom. Despite wishing away the feeling, it continued to build between us, and it was thickening.

  “Keaton.” Braedan slipped his arms around my waist, pulling me closer. “Why didn’t you say anything to him about me?”

  I examined my hand as it rested on his shoulder, reddening and throbbing with a dull ache. “I…thought you didn’t want him to know you were alive since you sent a decoy.”

  “While I understand, it doesn’t necessarily answer my question.”

  “If I had an answer I could understand, I don’t know if I’d tell you. I have so many questions that don’t have answers, or maybe they just don’t have answers I’m ready to face.”

  “Questions about me?”

  “Yes…and about me.”

  A cameraman came over and tried to take a picture of us. Braedan held me closer, obscuring a view of his face behind mine the moment the flash went off.

  His lips were only a breath away from my ear when he whispered, “What’s there to question?”

  “He’s never going to stop this, is he?” I blurted out the question, wanting to avoid the topic of my unwanted and uncontrollable feelings.

  “I wouldn’t worry about it. By the time he returns, he’ll know I’m alive and it will be me who deals with him, not you.”

  “This is about revenge?”

  “You…are not about my revenge. You’re some
one I want—have wanted. What I’m doing with you has nothing to do with him.”

  I dropped my arms and withdrew from him while clutching my throbbing hand. “I can’t do this anymore. I need to get home…”

  “Keaton!” my mother proclaimed, wading through the crowd with my father, appearing one drink shy of passing out on the floor. My father staggered, tripping on his own feet and began to tumble toward the floor. Braedan reacted quickly to steady my father, preventing him from collapsing.

  “I need a cover.” My mother shot a covert glance at the crowd while smoothing the large, curling wand-manipulated waves in my hair as she spoke through her smile. “Your father’s going to make a spectacle of himself if he doesn’t get home soon. Take him home and circle back for me in an hour.” She looked at Braedan and her smile became more strained. “Always nice to see you, Mr. Michaels. I apologize for you having to see this. It’s…quite embarrassing.”

  “There’s no need for embarrassment, Mrs. Mara. As I said at dinner, I’m not a saint. I’ve done AA. Let me take him home. You and Keaton can remain and enjoy the party.” Braedan put my father’s arm over his shoulder and steadied him. “It’s always a pleasure to see you, Keaton.” As he turned to leave, he shot a glance at my mother and gave her a stilted nod. “Mrs. Mara.”

  “Keaton, go with him.” My mother used my hips to shove me toward Braedan’s trail. “It’ll look better that way.”

  When I caught sight of the cameraman making a return, my hesitation dissipated. I gave my mother a hug and smiled for the picture.

  I made a beeline for the coat check, gathering my own and my father’s coats before catching up to Braedan at the valet station a little ways down from the entrance.

  After minutes of silence and furtive glances exchanged with one another, the valet pulled Braedan’s car up to the curb. He helped my father into the passenger side and opened the back door for me.

  When we were all settled in, Braedan began to drive away from the hotel. My father leaned to the right, resting his head on the passenger side window. Shortly after, he began to softly snore.