Wicked(63)

Instinct flared to life. "I need to get up there."

"What?" Disbelief colored his tone.

"He's up there, and that's why we're here, right? To learn something, and he just got here. He doesn't know who I am." The lights over the dance floor changed colors, going from a soft white to a vibrant blue. "I'm going up."

"Ivy." He grabbed my arm, swinging me back against the hard length of his body. "Are you insane?"

I glared up at him. "No. I'm not insane, you dick. I can get up there."

His eyes narrowed. "I have no doubt in my mind that you can get up there. It's really not that fucking hard. You just walk up the steps, but if he even suspects that you are a part of the Order, I won't be able to get to you in time."

"I don't need you to save me, Ren." I yanked my arm free.

A vein thrummed along his temple as he lowered his head toward mine. "It's too dangerous."

I held his stare. "People are starting to pay attention to us." And that wasn't a lie. A couple of the dancers nearby were watching us. "If we keep this up, the fae are going to figure it out on their own. So let me go. I'll head up there, and you'll go to the bar."

Several seconds passed, and then he nodded curtly. "Go."

"I didn't need your permission," I spat back.

Ren smirked. "Honey, I know what you need and you're going to get it."

My body flushed hot with a mixture of annoyance and scalding desire. Raising my arm, I gave him a one-finger salute.

He laughed.

Spinning around, I stalked across the dance floor, easily moving in and out of the gyrating bodies. I couldn't believe what Ren had done—what I had allowed him to do. I had no valid excuse for it. I couldn't even deal with it right now, and I couldn't afford to be so distracted. Shaking off the lingering arousal and confusion, I focused on my job.

A fae stood near the bottom of the spiral staircase, but the female didn't stop me as I started up the steps. I'd half expected her to jump out and demand some kind of code word, but they never expected an Order member to find their way in here, and humans were no threat to them.

But I was.

My heartbeat steadied as I hit the second floor, and I slowed my steps as I neared the group surrounding the ancient. All of them looked out of it, eyes glassed over like they'd smoked a ton of weed. They were clearly under a glamour, and maybe even fed on. I wanted to grab all of them and force them down the stairs, but yeah, that would end badly.

Inching closer to the group, I stopped and grabbed the railing, staring down onto the first level. I sought out Ren, finding him seated at the bar next to a male fae. They were actually talking. I snorted and turned back to the group. Leaning against the railing, I debated my next move.

Marlon sat in the center of the couch, his broad thighs spread wide and his black dress shirt half unbuttoned. The blond fae was on one side, staring at the human female whose cherry red fingernails were sliding mighty close to third base.

"We have a lock on another one," the blond fae was saying.

Marlon smiled at the woman, but the curve of his perfect lips lacked all warmth in a way that concerned me greatly for her well-being. "That's good. How many will that make, Roman?"

"Five, once it's carried out." Roman's pale eyes glittered. He said something else, but I couldn't hear it over the bass of the music. "But we know."

I inched closer, turning sideways as I tried to blend in among those crowding the lounge area. Were they talking about how many members they'd killed? Sounded like it. Trent had made four.

Marlon reached out, curving his hand around the nape of the woman's neck. He said something too low for me to hear as he held her gaze intently. The woman's hand slipped between his thighs. Jesus. I quickly averted my gaze.

"We don't have much more time," I heard Marlon say. "We cannot let him down. Not this time."

Him? My little ears perked way up.

"We know the location," Roman said, his upper lip curling. My chest squeezed. Could they be talking about knowing the location of the gate? "I told you that. The bastard broke, and we will not fail this time."

"And we aren't the only ones who know, either." Marlon's grip on the woman's neck tightened, causing a whimper to escape her lips.

Roman's response was lost in drunken laughter from a nearby couch, but a horrifying notion blossomed in the pit of my stomach. The bastard broke? Trent had been tortured. If what Ren and I suspected was true, that the fae were hunting those who might know the location of the gates, had Trent known and told the fae before they killed him? God, none of this was good, especially if they knew where the gate was.

A human waitress appeared at the top of the stairs, carrying a serving tray full of shot glasses; however, three of the drinks were a strange, vibrant purple color. Was that nightshade? My suspicions were confirmed when she delivered those three drinks, one to the ancient and the other two to the fae. As the waitress doled out the rest to the humans, she glanced up. Her gaze was a clear brown, not muddied or glazed over like the others. She wasn't glamoured, but as she straightened, the blond fae who sat to the left of Marlon snaked an arm around her waist, tugging her back.