“Everything’s in place,” John assured her as they neared the stairs. “We have all our bases covered.”
She nodded. She knew Jordan and his penchant for building in layers upon layers to his plans.
It wouldn’t matter.
The thought didn’t catch her off guard, though she would have preferred to escape it.
Still, it was the truth. It wouldn’t matter. Tonight the culmination of a lifetime of running, of a mother’s death and the destruction of friends and loved ones, would end here. One way or the other.
As they descended the stairs, she could feel the eyes on her. Dozens of guests were lingering in the foyer along with Bailey, Emily, Kell, and Senator Richard Stanton. She felt as though they were all staring at her, though she knew they weren’t. At least not overtly. Just as she knew that the malevolent gaze that made her skin crawl couldn’t possibly be in the foyer as well.
Still, she felt it, like a whisper of death over her flesh.
It was all she could do to keep moving forward, to hide the fear flashing through her from the man at her side.
“Okay?” John asked as they neared the marble entrance area.
“Fine,” she assured him. She would pretend. She had been pretending all her life, practicing for this night.
“Courage is facing your demons,” he whispered at her ear as they took those final steps. “We all feel it, Tey.”
She didn’t have a chance to argue the point. They stepped into the foyer and were immediately joined by Kell, Emily, Bailey, and the senator.
Bailey wore a deep emerald silk sheath cut high to the knee and revealing the chiffon confection of her slip. With her hair arranged into artful waves and emeralds glittering at her neck and ears, she looked sedately festive.
Emily’s rich sunlit dark blond hair was pulled back from her face to reveal her graceful neck and high cheekbones. Her black silk strapless gown smoothed over her more petite form and emphasized her breasts. Black silken lace covered the bodice and fell in dark shimmering waves to her feet over the silk, while hundreds of tiny crystals winked within the delicate cobweb design. Between the gown, the heels that added to her height, and her diamond-and-sapphire jewelry, she looked like a soft midnight star, while the compassion and concern in her gaze nearly had tears filling Tehya’s eyes again.
Both women had their own unique tastes that were excellently presented in their gowns, accessories, and kind demeanors.
Senator Richard Stanton, though nearing sixty, was still fit and handsome. The laugh lines at the corners of his blue eyes and the strength of his expression had drawn constituents to him for decades. Now, he was grooming his son-in-law for politics, and, Tehya knew, eventually taking his senatorial seat. It was the reason for the glamorous balls he’d been throwing for several months now. Allowing his backers, his business associates and friends, as well as other potentially powerful friends, to meet the former SEAL and, hopefully, decide to contribute to his run for office.
Kell would make a wonderful politician in some ways, she thought. He was a man who could command when needed and one who could lead effortlessly. He was also quite adept at seeing through the bullshit to the lies below and sidestepping them effectively.
“You look absolutely exquisite, my dear.” Richard bent and kissed her cheek fondly before enfolding her in a quick hug. A major gesture in an atmosphere where affection was normally hidden.
“Thank you, Senator,” she whispered, blinking again.
What the hell was wrong with her? Her stomach was trembling as though she had never faced danger before, as though this particular specter of evil hadn’t been shadowing her for her entire life.
“Are we ready to make our entrance, then?” he asked the small group quietly before lifting his gaze to survey the foyer. “Most of the guests who have arrived are already in the ballroom, and I’d like my daughter and son-in-law to greet them and begin tonight’s festivities.”
His gaze was eagle sharp as he glanced back down at her, then extended his elbow to her. “Would you like to accompany me, Tehya?”
Tehya managed a small smile. “I would love to accompany you, Senator Stanton.”
As they stepped into the ballroom, Tehya noticed the small amount of whispering. The rumors had already circulated that something had happened between her and her lover.
As they walked through the room, Bailey moved closer. “We just had a report from security that there was activity at the back gate,” the other woman murmured in her ear. “Stay alert.”
Tehya gave a small nod, very aware of the small derringer tucked into the specially designed garter belt that she wore around her thigh.
It wasn’t much, but at close range it could mean the difference between life and death. Between captivity or freedom.
It had happened too quickly though, she thought desperately. The party hadn’t even truly begun yet.
The band was still warming up in the center dais, the buffet tables were still fresh, and the men were lining up at the bar for drinks as champagne circled on trays carried by eager black-coated waiters.
The senator escorted her to one of the tables set up along the wall of balcony doors that led out to the gardens. The glass doors had been thrown wide, a gentle autumn breeze filling the brightly lit ballroom and whispering around the exquisite fabrics and gowns that filled it as conversation began to fill the cavernous room and the senator stepped up to the center dais with Kell and Emily following.