With few other available options, I leaned on my backstabbing employee. “Can you do me a favor?”
“Depends,” she mumbled around food. “What did you have in mind?”
“Can you buy me an outfit to get me out of the infirmary without me flashing everyone between here and Target?”
“A Target run?” She took a swig of my water. “Why didn’t you say so?”
“Buy to my tastes,” I warned her. “Not yours.”
“Sure thing.” She pocketed my shiny new card and sashayed out humming Madonna’s “Like a Virgin.”
Well, that sounded promising. I’m sure nothing bad would come of letting her choose my wardrobe.
With that ball rolling, I cuddled Midas, pretended I had nothing better to do, and wished that were true.
Thirteen
Remy provided me with clothes, shoes, and basic hygiene products. If the lone outfit I had to my name included an eighties hairband tee and ripped jeans, I didn’t give her the satisfaction of showing my annoyance. The fact my sneakers lit up when I walked meant I could never wear them on patrol without advertising my movements to predators, but again, I smiled and thanked her.
I wished I hadn’t after I saw the jumbo spray can of Aqua Net in the plastic bag but c'est la vie. Or was that que será, será? Whatever. I was terrible with languages.
While I dressed like the groupie that time forgot, Midas dozed, and I was grateful to spare him from my ensemble. The man had suffered enough. Plus, he might be in reach of his phone, and I did not want this outfit captured for posterity.
Before slipping out the door, I wrote him a brief note and kissed his forehead. I hated leaving him alone, but the drugs kept him resting peacefully, and I didn’t have time to hover with so many other lives at stake.
As the elevator chimed its arrival, Abbott noticed me attempting a prison break and broke into a sprint. The doors closed before he reached me, and I said a mental apology for the chaos I brought into his life as I dialed Lisbeth.
Since I still had to escape the Faraday lobby before I got intercepted, I walked and talked with purpose. “Do you think you can arrange a rush delivery on a few things for me?”
“Please give me a job. I beg of you.” She pitched her voice low. “Ford has me propped up on the couch watching soaps. I’m bored out of my mind. I get enough drama at work, you know?”
Ignoring how her comment applied to me, I asked, “Have you maybe told him you don’t enjoy soaps?”
“He was so proud to know what women want, Hadley. I couldn’t break his heart on the first day.”
“Okay, fine. Break the news to him tomorrow.”
Laughing softly, she turned the conversation back toward me. “How can I help?”
“I need a king-size mattress delivered to the penthouse.” The freedom to say put it on my card was heady. I could get used to this. “Talk to Remy about sheets. We get free samples. Color doesn’t matter.”
“King-size, huh?” Lisbeth cackled. “That’s quite the upgrade.”
“Hmm.” I thought about it. “We’ve made the futon work this long. Downgrade us to a queen.”
We.
Us.
Powerful words that gave me heart palpitations.
“I’m just yanking your chain.” She snorted. “Midas is a lot of man. I get you want to keep him close, but come summer, you’ll be glad you can feel a breeze between you.” She waited for me to decide. “Well? King or queen?”
“Surprise me.”
I couldn’t dedicate this much headspace to the next logical thought, that if the courtship thing didn’t pan out, I wouldn’t need more than a futon. A king-size bed would be a reminder of the prince who no longer shared it with me.
“Okay.” A worried note carried in her voice, but she kept her concerns to herself. “Need anything else?”
“Another outfit would be nice.” I read her the numbers off my card. “I might need it after this.”
“After what?”
“After I have a nice sit-down with Blithe,” I confided. “That’s what.”
It was time to stir the pot and see what bubbled over.
Greenleaf was in full swing when I arrived, and I stepped in line to wait my turn. I didn’t want to draw the bouncer’s eye, so I kept my head down but my ears open. As it happened, he wasn’t paying much attention to the individuals waiting to get in. He got a call through his earpiece every so often, and he counted out the next five people to let through the door. It was very methodical, not at all based on how much flesh or cash got exposed. More than anything, it reminded me of an assembly line.
When my turn came, the bouncer didn’t blink. Just counted heads and let us in. I was grateful to be the fifth in my group. I wouldn’t have wanted to stand at the head of the line and wait right under his nose. So far, he had given no indication he recognized me. I wanted to keep it that way.
Inside the club, I breathed easier. The space was pitch black except where dark-green lights shone on walls of living plants that writhed with magic or an optical illusion. It was hard to tell, and I didn’t plan on investigating.
“Dance with me,” a male voice whispered in my ear, “you lovely creature.”
Chills peppered my arms, and I turned slowly to find a slender man with leaves for hair and lips as bright as clovers behind me. He wore a costume straight out of a period feature film, something Jane Austenish, and I had to admire his dedication to a theme.
“I have a boyfriend.” I honed my glare on him. “He eats men who dance with me for breakfast.”
“Do you promise,” he breathed, and I could tell he meant it. “I haven’t been properly dined on in ages.”
That sounded like a personal problem to me. “Have you seen Blithe?”
“Madam Danann is holding court.” He offered his arm. “Shall I escort you to
