Shadow Empire by Bri Blackwood
Grace
“What do you mean you can’t come tonight?”
“I can’t. I still have work to do at the office.”
I sighed. I wasn’t surprised by his answer. Hunter was trying to become a partner at his law firm, so he needed to put in longer hours. But this wasn’t the evening for him to miss.
“You’ll still have Broderick and Gage there.”
I cut my eyes over to the phone. “I wasn’t worried about anyone I knew being there, I hoped that this would be an opportunity for us to catch up.” Our schedules hardly matched up other than the odd Sunday we got together to watch sports, and I’d been hoping this would be a great opportunity to hang out with him. Plus, in a way, I’d wanted this to be an evening that would take my mind off the soul that was lost yesterday. Seeing the look on his daughter’s face as I told her the news nearly broke me and made me want to hug my mother tighter. I needed to call her either today or tomorrow.
“I guess our schedules will line up at some point.”
“Aw, thanks, Grace. Shoot me some dates that you have available, and I’ll try to match it up with mine.”
I plastered on a fake smile, even though Hunter couldn’t see me. “Will do.”
“Thanks. Oh, and I’ll send my regards to Damien, so you don’t have to worry about mentioning it to them.”
Hunter knew that I would have thought long and hard about an excuse for him that would probably end up being believable. “Okay. I have to go get ready.”
“Talk to you later.”
“Bye, Hunt.”
I hung up the phone and took my time pulling myself together for tonight’s event. I prepared myself for the questions I would undoubtedly get socializing with some of the people at events like this, and having Hunter there usually softened the blow. But that wouldn’t be the case this evening.
I smoothed my hands down my dark green, almost black gown that I'd bought last minute. Thankfully, the seamstress altered the dress slightly so that it fit perfectly to my body. I didn’t fully understand why I was going through all of this because I wasn’t the guest of honor.
On second thought, it was probably because it would give people less to talk about.
I pulled at the long sleeves of the dress and the deep V that showed off my cleavage. At least the mid-thigh split would make the gown easier to walk in and give me an excuse to show off the red bottom black pumps that I never got a chance to wear. All of this would take some getting used to since I spent most of my life nowadays in scrubs.
I flipped my long, blonde hair over my shoulder, making sure that the waves that I had styled earlier were still holding before I grabbed the black clutch that I would be using tonight. With one more glance in the mirror, I walked downstairs and found that the car I had hired for the evening was already waiting for me.
The driver gave me a polite smile as he held the door open for me, and once I was situated in the back seat, he took off into the evening, allowing me some time to sit with my thoughts as I tried to mentally prepare myself for the night ahead.
I had no problem socializing with others, after all, I spoke with many people as due to my profession, but some of the people that would be at this event pitied me. What made it worse was that it was no fault of mine.
Although it was a result of my grandfather’s initial embarrassment of the family, my father decided to one up him last year with what he did to Mom. I didn’t know if Hunter noticed similar things when he was around these people, but I couldn’t turn my brain off to ignore them. Their heated gaze as if they knew everything about me drove me out of my element, which was why I rarely attended functions such as this.
“My name is Patrick and I’ll be your driver for the night. Do you want me to switch the music station?”
Patrick’s words stopped my thoughts from swirling too far down any rabbit holes. I mentally thanked him before I responded, “No, this is perfect.”
He’d chosen a channel that was playing light jazz, and I let the soothing sounds of the song take over my mind.
You’ll still have Broderick and Gage there.
My brother’s words hung around me. I knew he would more than likely be there to support his older brother, but more often than not, Gage was absent from a lot of the get-togethers that the family had. No one brought up why and I didn’t ask. Then again, it was a party, so chances were that he’d be there.
But Broderick spun different feelings in me and at least I could count on him being there. Broderick and Hunter met in elementary school and had been inseparable ever since. It was almost as if he’d become another member of the Cross family, which was helpful in many ways.
The ride continued in silence, with just the soft jazz lulling me into a false sense of security. After all, I didn’t know what to expect once I walked into this party.
“I’ll stay in the area so give me a ring when you are ready to leave.”
“Will do.” I had rented the car, which I had paid a set number of hours for, in hopes of using it as an excuse to leave the party when I had enough socializing. Having the driver here was a safety net that I wasn’t afraid to use.
This is only for a short period of time. I can make it through this.
After the kind driver opened the car door, he helped me out of the vehicle, and I steadied myself in hopes of not showcasing any of the nerves that were running through my body like a tornado. I almost wished one would take me away from this place right now.
No. I wasn’t going to devolve back into the feelings that I had during my teen years. There was nothing their judgmental looks could do to me now.
I took a deep breath as I lifted my dress slightly to walk up the stairs to the Cross home. As soon as I walked through the door, I could feel the stares as I crossed over the threshold, and I politely nodded at one woman who was standing near the door. Then Selena Cross walked into the hallway and sent a smile my way.
“Grace! It’s so nice of you to come.”
I grinned back at her, happy to have a familiar face in a sea of the unknown. I talked to strangers on a regular basis, but it felt as if I was walking into a den of vipers when I walked into the room. The warmth that radiated from her helped ease some of the turmoil that was alive and well in my mind.
“I’m happy to be here. Can’t believe that Damien is getting married.”
I wasn’t kidding. Any of the Cross men getting married was a weird thought let alone seeing it happen.
Selena leaned in closer. “Thank you for all that you did to help Anais. We wouldn’t be celebrating their love on this occasion without you.” She reached over and gave my hand a small squeeze.
I returned the motion before Selena glanced behind me.
“Is Hunter coming along? I swore he was on the RSVP list.”
I gave her a small smile, somewhat amused that she remembered his name out of all of the names that were probably on the list. “He couldn’t make it due to work and he’s sorry that he is missing all of this.”
Selena shook her head. “Hunter reminds me so much of my husband and sons. They work so hard that it is impossible to get them to relax and do something fun.”
I nodded, clutching the words that I wanted to say. I knew for a fact that Selena’s sons and sometimes my brother had plenty of time for “play” at Elevate. This wasn’t the audience nor the time or place to discuss the things I had heard about their adventures. Although I had never been to Elevate, and things that happened there were supposed to stay there, not everyone could keep their mouths shut.
Selena sighed and I saw her smile drop for a second. “I should probably continue making my way around the room, but please let me know if you need anything. The couple of the evening and the twins should be in the big room just over there.” Selena gestured behind her as the smile was firmly back on her face.
“Okay, I will. Thanks.”
Selena moved around me and walked in the opposite direction. I straightened my shoulders and took a few steps toward the room she gestured to just moments ago, and as I walked inside, I could feel several eyes on me. Once again, it was as if I had entered a fishbowl. It was almost as if I could hear their thoughts circling around my family and what we had done to deserve what we got. Same thing, different day and it was frustrating because Mom, Hunter, and I had nothing to do with this. The only difference this time was that I refused to acknowledge any of them as I turned, and my eyes landed on Anais and Damien. It was almost as if a spotlight was shining on them or all of the energy in the room was coming from their direction.
It took a bit of maneuvering, but soon I found myself standing in front of the happy couple. Although I didn’t know Damien terribly well due to him being older than Broderick, Gage, and Hunter, it was nice to be in the presence of a familiar face. My posture shifted, allowing me to breathe more freely, and a genuine smile appeared on my face. When Anais looked over and saw me, she returned the expression. Damien nodded at me but said nothing.
“Hi Anais and Damien.”
“Hello! Thank you so much for coming.”
“Happy to. I appreciate the invite.”
Anais turned and introduced me to her parents and her friend Ellie. Our conversation had devolved into small talk when I noticed Anais staring at something over my shoulder. Before I could ask what she was looking at Damien leaned over and whispered something in her ear. I turned around to see for myself but saw nothing but a sea of people.
When I turned back around, Damien and Anais were walking toward a makeshift stage. I watched as Broderick handed Damien a microphone. Instead of turning his attention to his brother, Broderick’s eyes were focused on me. It was the first time I’d seen him since I’d arrived. I gave him a small smile and a wave, but all he did was nod his head in acknowledgment. What was that all about?
“We’re going to try to get closer to the stage. Do you want to join us?”
I found Ellie on my right and shook my head. “The amount of space near the front seems somewhat small. You and her parents should go.”
The excuse flew out of my mouth like a runaway train. I hadn’t even given proper thought to what I was saying before I said it, but a feeling had taken over me. Something told me that Broderick was acting strange, and I didn’t want to be near him right now and I was happy to oblige.
Ellie nodded before she and Anais’s parents left me standing on the other side of the room just as Martin Cross got up on stage.It was clear that he would be the one to introduce his son and soon-to-be daughter-in-law to the crowd.
I watched as Martin and Damien spoke to the crowd. When the round of applause signaled that the speeches were over, I looked to see if I spotted anyone that I wanted to talk to but saw no one. While everyone’s attention was still on the stage, I made my way over to the bar. When the bartender handed me the rum and Coke I ordered, something I talked myself into because I felt I needed something stronger to get through this evening, I took a sip through the dainty straw, confirming that I’d made the right choice.
I heard a throat clearing to the left of me. A quick look in that direction showed me that a tall man with dirty blond hair was standing next to me. When he sent a smirk my way, I knew what this was more than likely going to be about.
“Good evening.”
“Hello,” I replied, trying to appear polite, but not overly friendly. I was already on edge from attending the party; I didn’t want to have to deal with whatever was on this man’s agenda as well. As I thought that, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. Chalking it up to my drink, I shifted my focus back to the stranger next to me.
“I’m Todd Ross.”
I caught a glimpse of him sticking his hand out before I put my drink on the counter in front of me. “Dr. Grace McCartney.” I placed my hand in his, giving him a firm handshake that lasted a beat too long because he wouldn’t let go of my hand. How quickly can I get out of this situation?
“Doctor, eh?”
“Yes.” I stopped myself from rolling my eyes. It shouldn’t be a surprise, especially now, for a woman to introduce herself as a doctor. Be polite, but don’t entertain. Maybe he’ll get bored and walk away.
“Are you a friend of the family?”
“I am.” I made a point of answering his questions without offering much in return, hoping he would get the hint. No dice.
He smoothed back his hair with one hand—I don’t know if he thought this was a sexy motion or not—before tossing a smirk my way. When he looked as if he was going to say something, I leaned in closer because the surrounding noise had picked up slightly. He spoke louder to help me hear him better. “I was wondering if I could take you out to get to know you better. Maybe some place like Elevate?”
I swallowed hard when he finished his question, but before I could respond, I felt someone’s hand land on my waist. I looked up and found Broderick standing next to me. A dark smile crossed his face, almost making me feel bad for Todd for being on the receiving end. I looked at his hand that was around me and then back up at him. Broderick's hard gaze on the man chilled me to the bone. I'd never seen him looking so lethal and it set my ire off.