The dress I chose is simple and elegant with just a touch of mystique. A white strapless gown with a full skirt covered in a shimmering organza. The skirt stops about six inches above the ankle and the blood-red sash ties in a neat bow over my lower back. My silver, peep-toe pumps complete the outfit so I look very innocent and Dorothy-ish. Only, unlike Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, I don’t want to go home. There’s nothing left for me there.
The knock on the door gets my blood pumping. Rushing into the bathroom, I take one last look at myself through the light of the outside street lamps. I close the blinds and stride confidently to the door. I unlock the deadbolt and take a deep breath. Then I open the door wide.
He looks like a dark angel sent to deliver me to a hell where all my darkest desires will come true. I swallow hard as I take in the tuxedo, tailored to fit his broad shoulders. The sharp haircut and the silver and black mask that covers his face from the middle of his forehead down to the tip of his nose. Even with the mask on, I can see that he is much more handsome than I gave him credit for when watching him from a distance.
But it’s his lips that are so absolutely inviting. Perfectly symmetrical, with the bottom lip just a bit fuller than the top lip. The left corner of his mouth turns upward in a cunning half-smile that triggers a pulsing ache between my legs.
His gaze wanders over my face, completely ignoring my body. “You are the most beautiful creature I have ever seen.”
I clench my jaw against the angry retort I’d like to spit at him. He thinks I’m beautiful because I dyed my hair and I’m wearing a pound of makeup. I swallow my bitterness and remind myself that if everything goes according to plan tonight, my days of hiding will finally be over.
“You look pretty mouthwatering yourself.”
He shakes his head at my obvious attempt to deflect the attention away from me. He steps forward and lays his hand on my waist, where I was stabbed almost four weeks ago. Then he plants a soft, sensual kiss on the corner of my mouth.
“I hope you’re ready to mingle with the worst this city has to offer.”
I close the door as he enters the apartment, then I turn around slowly. “The worst this city has to offer? Is that how you refer to comrades at the police station?”
I can’t see him in the dark with this contact over my left eye. It’s not made for people with above average eyesight. But I can hear him as he steps toward me.
“Alex, there are some things you need to know about me. I’m not a good man. I wasn’t always a detective.”
“I don’t want to know.”
“I want you to know.”
“Then you can tell me after the ball.” I reach up to touch his face and my fingers bump against the mask he’s wearing. “I just spent four hours getting myself ready to leave the house. This is not something I would have ever done before I met you. You’ve changed me.”
I lean forward and place a lingering kiss on his lips. He steps backward and I think he just pulled something out from behind his back. Reaching forward, I find another mask in his hand. I feel around a bit and realize it’s secured with a ribbon.
I hold the mask over my face and turn around so he can tie the ribbon in the back of my head. He wraps his arms around my waist and I close my eyes as he pulls me into him. He nuzzles his face into the back of my hair.
“You’ve been hiding for so long.” He spins me around and his face is so close, I can feel his breath on my lips. “After tonight, I don’t want you to hide anymore. I want you to come away with me.”
This is so unexpected, it catches me off guard. “What? I don’t … I can’t. My life is here in L.A. It’s my home. It always has been. I’m not going anywhere.”
“You won’t even consider it?” He clasps his large hand around the back of my neck. “What do you have here? You live in the dark, Alex. This is no way to live.”
“Now you’re judging the way I live my life?” I shriek. “You have no right to judge me!”
He’s silent, probably calculating a response in that clever little mind of his. “You’re right. I have no right to judge you. And I have no reason to believe you’d want to run away with me. You hardly know me.”
“Can we leave now?”
I turn toward the door and he grabs my arm roughly. My instincts kick in and I throw my fist backward. But he’s quick. He blocks my fist before it hits his face.
He chuckles as he loosens his grip on my hand then brings his lips next to my ear. “Oh, Alex,” he whispers, and the sound sends a shiver straight to my core. “You should watch those killer instincts. They could get you into a lot of trouble.”
I smile at this subtle invitation. “Is that a promise?”
His hand slides over my abdomen and up to my breast as he takes my earlobe between his teeth. “As I said before, anything you want, you shall have.” He squeezes my breast and my heart races. “If it’s trouble you want, you’ll be in the right place, with the right man.”
We manage to get out of my apartment and into his black Mercedes hardtop convertible without tearing each other’s clothes off or tearing each other to pieces. The car looks and smells brand new. Is this the replacement for his gold Mercedes?
He’s quiet during the ride to the Bonaventure Hotel. Normally, I wouldn’t mind. But I’m so nervous, my palms are sweating. I need to fill this silence before I begin overthinking my plan.
“What is the benefit for again?”
He turns right onto Figueroa and glances at me before he answers. “An officer was gunned down during a routine traffic stop two weeks ago. Officer Kenneth Mulrooney. He was very young and his wife had recently passed away in a car accident. The benefit is to honor the officer’s memory and to raise money for his children, who have been placed under the care of the state.”
My eyes begin to water and I immediately regret asking the question. I discreetly dig my fingers into the sore wound in my side and remind myself to stop being such a woman. But, almost as if he can sense this inner struggle going on inside me, Daimon reaches across and grabs my hand.
“The world is full of cruel injustice, ma chérie. Injustice that will make you want to give up everything and everyone you’ve ever loved. But it’s also full of devastating beauty.” He brings my hand to his lips and I close my eyes to stop the tears from falling. “Don’t let the injustice distort your appreciation of the beauty in this world.”
Everything he learned about injustice he probably learned from his work as a detective. He doesn’t know what he’s talking about.
Great. Now my thoughts are beginning to sound like the thoughts of a petulant child. I need this night to be over with. I’ve had it with the sappy stories and life lessons from Detective Rousseau.
The benefit begins with a posthumous award ceremony for Officer Mulrooney where he is awarded the Medal of Valor by Police Chief Henry Needles. Then his poor children, two girls about six and four years old, are paraded onto the stage by a social worker and awarded scholarships, which were funded with the proceeds from the ticket sales to the gala.
No matter how many people clap and smile under those masks, this is not a happy occasion. Those children will hardly remember their parents. They’ll be forced to live with a family that chooses them, not a family they choose. And that’s only if they’re lucky and they’re adopted. If not, they’ll be tossed from one foster home to the next until they’re eighteen and they’re so weary of the system they’ll probably just set those scholarships on fire.
By the time the ball is moved outside to the lawn next to the pool deck, I’ve had it. I want to go home, throw away the mask he brought me, wash away the mask I put on myself, and disappear. But I have to be patient.
One thing I am grateful for is that Daimon seems to be as interested in this event as I am. He pulls me under the tent just south of the lawn and holds his hand out to me.