ONE–If You’d Excuse Me.

                             ❧

 Somebody is going to die tonight. 

 I can sense it from the tensed guards. See it in the forced smiles and fake laughters as our host calls for more wine. The fat man is laughing loudly, but his eyes remain cold and calculating.

 I grab my husband’s arm when the potbellied man looks away. “I don’t think you should do this deal” my voice is low, as laughter erupts around us. 

 He shrugs me off angrily. “You don’t get to decide what deal I make. Your job is to sit and smile. You only speak when you’re spoken to.” 

 I take in his face. Even when he’s glaring, Sebastain is ridiculously good-looking. With his startling golden-brown eyes, and thick, dark curls, he might have been a model in another life. 

 I’m tempted to reach out and run my fingers through his hair, like I used to do when we were younger. But I don’t. It would only annoy him more. 

 “If you’d excuse me Walter, my face could use a little touch up.” I address our host, the man Sebastain is conducting business with tonight. 

 He snaps his fingers and a woman steps forward. “Show Mrs. Delacruz to the restroom”

 The woman bows and hurries to my side, but I turn to my personal attendant standing behind. “Let’s go Lena”. 

 “Now that won’t be necessary.” Walter sits forward, his beady eyes shining. “Dear Lena can wait here while you do your thing.” He licks his lips as his eyes rake over Lena’s body. 

 “Don’t even think about it, she is my personal attendant, and she will do as I say” my words come out a little harsher than I intended. 

 The room goes silent as Walter’s face slackens in surprise. Apparently, he’s not used to women snapping at him. 

 I turn just as Sebastain opens his mouth.

 I wish he hadn’t. 

 “Maria, you would sit down right now, or you go without your servant.”

 “But I want my own assistant to go with me so…”

 “It’s the restroom, you don’t need your slave with you.” Sebastain’s tone is cold and dismissive. He doesn’t even spare me a glance. 

 “Lena is not a slave, and I need her to…”

 “Go” he cuts me off. “The woman would not be leaving.”

 “But…”

 “That’s final. Now leave Maria.” 

 Walter roars with laughter along with the scantily dressed women perched on his laps. 

 “Dear me! I’ve heard about the way you discipline the women in your household, but I didn’t think it extended to even your wife.”

 Cheeks burning in humiliation, I hurry out of the room with Walter’s maid before Sebastain can say something worse. 

 I take my time in the restroom, trying to calm myself before stepping out. When I do, the hallway is empty, and maid is nowhere to be found. I hurry towards the private room, unable to shake a bad feeling. 

 Half filled bottles of wine and ashtrays with lit cigars litter the room, but there’s nobody inside. 

 I frown. 

 “The people who were here, where did they go?” The feeling of unease returns as I speak to a bodyguard. 

 “My boss left with Mr. Delacruz to finish business. You have been instructed to wait until he returns”. 

 “What about the lady who arrived with me? She was wearing a Delacruz arm ring. She couldn’t have followed them to finish the business, where is she?”

 The bodyguard shrugs, and I feel my heart drop to my stomach. 

 I mostly stay out of Sebastain’s affairs, but I know enough about the illegal things he’s involved in. His business partners are not good men. 

 I have to find Lena quickly. 

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 The mansion is huge; Lena could be anywhere. 

 I hurry down corridors, peering into rooms, so engrossed in my search that I don’t see the man in front of me until I slam into him. 

 I stumble backwards and he catches me. 

 The back of my dress is open in a deep V and I let out a gasp as his hand makes contact with my naked skin. His palm is hot and soft…so, so soft. He smells like apples and cedar. 

 For a moment, we just stand there, frozen, neither of us ready to move just yet. 

 “Sorry I wasn’t watching” my cheeks heat up in embarrassment. He’s tall enough that the only thing I can see is his chest, his buttons are undone. I try to look up at his face, but he instantly pulls away and hurries down the corridor. 

 I watch him leave, confused by his odd behavior. It feels like he didn’t want me to see his face, and he seems to be hurrying away. 

 The door at the end of the hallway is open, it’s where the man must be hurrying from. 

 I go to take a look and my blood turns to ice. 

 “No” my throat tightens with dread. 

 There she is, crumpled on the floor in a dark corner. Her dress has been ripped off her body and she’s completely still. 

 “Lena, what happened? How did you get here?” I tap her urgently. No response. 

 That’s when I notice the pool of blood around her head. 

 “Lena” a scream rips out of my throat as I grab her wrist to feel for a pulse. I hold my hand under her nose, she’s not breathing. Trembling, I press my ear to her chest to listen for a heart beat. Silence. Nothing. 

 Lena is dead. 

 I pause for a moment, refusing to believe the sight before me. Then I run outside, blood pounding in my ears. 

 “Mrs. Delacruz, is there a problem?” A bodyguard approaches me in the second hallway. 

 “Get out of my way” I shove him aside and race down the corridor. I have to find the man who was here moments ago. 

 At the end of another hallway, I spot him just as the elevator doors begin to close. His face is still turned away. 

 “Stopppp! Stay right there you monster.” My throat is raw from screaming. I throw my shoe at him, and it bounces harmlessly as the elevator shuts. 

 In a daze, I take the stairs two at a time. Getting to the first floor, I’m sweating and panting, my hair loose from its bun.

 Surprisingly, there’s a party going on and guests gasp at my appearance. 

 I don’t care. 

 My eyes scan the room for the man and find him hurrying towards the exit. I break into a run, shoving a waiter carrying drinks; he crashes into a group of women. They scream but I don’t stop. 

 I’m almost close enough to grab the man when hands seize me from behind. 

 “Let me go” I scream, kicking and struggling as I’m lifted off my feet. 

 “You cannot go that way madam. We were instructed not to allow you leave until Mr. Delacruz returns.” A bodyguard whispers in my ears. 

 “No. You’ve got to let me go, he’s escaping” I’m screaming and pointing at the man. “I have to see his face”. 

 Still the guard drags me away, refusing to listen to me. 

 As the mysterious man lifts his hand to open the exit door, I catch a glimpse of a serpent tattoo on the inside of his arm. Then I’m shoved into a room and the door is shut.