Authors: Maddy Barone
“Shall I accompany you?”
“No, I won’t need a bodyguard tonight. I’ll go through the labyrinth to the dungeon. I’ll be safe enough.”
Rose stayed huddled close to the ground until she was sure both men had left the room. She had to tell Sky about this. He probably already knew how the mayor felt about him, but she had to tell him just in case he didn’t. It made her feel sick to her stomach. When the mayor said he should’ve gotten rid of Sky years ago, did he mean murder? What else could he mean?
She straightened and walked carefully and quickly back to the carriage. She climbed in holding the bracelet so tightly the chunks of amethyst hurt her palm. Mr. Hudd looked at her with his brows pulled together in a slight frown.
“Mrs. Wolfe?” he asked.
“Let’s go home,” she said, trying to keep her voice from shaking. “Let’s just go home. Hurry, please.”
Chapter 14
When she arrived at The Limit, Sky was out. Of course he was out. He was always out. When would they ever have time to actually talk to one another? She’d been in Omaha for days and they’d barely said hello. She paused in the doorway of the busy kitchen where Mrs. Nord and her helpers were making supper and getting tonight’s treats ready. Her fingers tapped rapidly against the wood doorframe while she thought about her lack of interaction with Sky. That was on him, not her.
Rose gave the kitchen a vague wave as she passed through to go upstairs to her room. Sky wanted her. There could be no doubt of that. He was simply very busy right now, doing whatever he needed to do for the upcoming council vote. She shoved a hand into her pocket and clenched the broken bracelet. When the vote was over he would take the time to court her.
Wouldn’t he?
“Rose.” Ms. Mary caught her just as she picked up the lamp to go upstairs. The elderly lady was panting slightly. “Sheila isn’t able to work tonight. I don’t know what we’ll do without her.”
Rose tried to remember which of the women Sheila was. “Oh, no. What does Sky say?”
Ms. Mary put an age-spotted hand over her heart. “He’s still out and we don’t expect him back until seven or eight o’clock.” She smiled when Rose made a helpless gesture. “And you’re wondering why I’m bringing this to you when I’ve dealt with this sort of thing for years.”
“Well, yes.”
“My dear, you’re Sky’s wife. You’re the lady of the house now. That’s why you should sit at the foot of the table while Sky is at the head.”
“Well, uh, I see.” But Rose didn’t. She didn’t want to be in charge of a house of prostitution. Yeah, the girls here seemed content, but whatever anyone called it, it was still a whorehouse.
Ms. Mary touched Rose’s arm. “May I give you some advice?”
“Yeah, sure.”
“You’ve been acting like a guest, not the lady of the house. I’ve seen how Tanya and Zoe annoy you with the way they hang on Sky. Don’t let them get away with it. Put them in their place and make sure they know you won’t tolerate their behavior.”
Rose stared, struck by Ms. Mary’s description of her behavior. The older woman was right. She drifted around the house without acting like she had anything to do with it, or with Sky. She was trying too hard to be polite and friendly. She nodded. “Thanks. Now, about Sheila, what do you want me to do?”
“I hope you can fill in for Sheila for a few hours tonight.”
Fill in? Rose’s eyes stretched so wide it almost hurt. Sky might be pretty much ignoring her, but there was no way he’d like for her to fill in for one of his girls. “I-I don’t…Sky wouldn’t like…”
“Sheila is a waitress,” Ms. Mary said. When Rose let out her breath in a relieved whoosh, she laughed. “Heavens, you didn’t think I meant for you to entertain an appointment, did you? You are absolutely right: Sky wouldn’t like that.”
A few hours later, Rose stood in the mudroom outside the kitchen, wearing a white blouse and a black skirt. She listened carefully as Tracy and Jes, the other two waitresses, told her what the job consisted of.
Jes, tall and queenly with long golden-blonde hair, gave her an encouraging pat. “It’s not hard. We’ll give you as much help as you need. Savedra and Jocelyn trade off at the piano, so they can probably lend a hand, too.”
“Sheila usually took drink orders, but I’ll handle that tonight,” Tracy said. She smoothed a lock of brown hair behind her ear. “All you need to do is carry the hors d’oeuvre tray around and offer it to our guests. When the tray starts looking empty bring it back to the kitchen and trade it for a full one.”
Rose was pretty sure she could do that. “How much do we charge?”
“For the snacks?” Tracy shook her head. “Nothing. The hors d’oeuvres are complementary. We make our money on the drinks. That’s why I’ll do that tonight. It might be too confusing for you on your first night as a waitress to have to make change.” She laughed a little. “Of course, this will probably be your last night as a waitress.”
“I hope so,” muttered Rose.
Ms. Mary poked her head out of the kitchen and smiled at them. “There you are. You look very nice, Rose. You and Sheila must be about the same size. You’re a few inches taller, though. That skirt is just a tish short on you, but not inappropriately so. Are you ready?”
Rose brushed her hand over the side of her waist where her knife hilt usually sat. The skirt’s hem hit her about three inches above the knee, which was shorter than any skirt she had worn in eight years, but it was the lack of a handy blade that made her feel naked. “I guess so.”
Ms. Mary reached out her frail hand and took Rose’s in a comforting grip. “There’s no need to be nervous. Our guests are all well behaved, but if one does give you a hard time just call Jason or White Horse. They are the bouncers on duty tonight and they won’t let any of the men bother you. But really, I don’t expect any kind of trouble. Our guests are gentlemen. All you need to do is offer them the tray and allow them to choose what they would like to eat.”
White Horse was a steady man, not given to emotional displays, but if he saw a stranger talk to her he would come at a run. If a strange man were to touch her, White Horse would rip his hand off. This evening could be anything from entertaining to tragic. Rose decided it would be best if she carried the tray around without looking at or speaking to anyone.
The guests began arriving at six o’clock. Rose picked up one of the large rectangular trays from the kitchen counter, pinned a smile on her face, and followed Jes and Tracy out to the reception rooms.
She’d never seen them in the evening. The room on the right was mostly empty. It was the room meant for dancing. Jocelyn sat at the piano, playing something quiet and elegant. Her floor length evening gown was cream silk trimmed with warm brown velvet. Her explosion of brown curls was barely controlled by a band of the same velvet that trimmed her gown. Tanya and Zoe leaned against the piano talking and adjusting their minuscule dancing dresses. They glanced at Rose, clapped hands over their mouths, and laughed, eyebrows arched in a way that told Rose they were laughing at her. She looked back at them, wondering how they’d like a tray of hors d’oeuvres tipped down those indecent necklines. Not that there was room for a cubic centimeter of air in those bodices, much less any hors d’oeuvres. Still, Rose liked a challenge.
She passed on to the other reception room. Tracy was already at the bar on the far end of the room. Dana, the bartender, set up glasses with rapid, deft hands. Two men were sitting at one of the small tables, with Sophie between them. Rose didn’t know Sophie well. She was one of the dancers, like Tanya and Zoe, but her dancing dress was a bit more modest. Rose headed their way and offered the tray with a vague smile directed at one man’s shoulder.
At the outer edge of her vision, Rose saw White Horse standing in front of one of the lush crimson draperies. She knew the exact moment he saw her because he stiffened and the arms he had folded over his chest dropped to his sides. The two men at the table each selected a snack, murmuring polite thank yous. Rose took her tray over to White Horse.
“Hello, White Horse,” she said with a bright smile. “I get to be a waitress tonight.”
White Horse’s hair was dark brown rather than black, but his eyes were as black as ink. His eyebrows were pulled down in a thick straight line over glaring eyes. “What are you doing here dressed in that little skirt?” he demanded.
Rose turned to stand at his side, looking out over the reception room. Half a dozen more men had come in, and Zoe was attached to one like a leech. “I guess no one told you that Sheila was sick tonight?”
“No.” The bouncer’s teeth ground together audibly. “Can’t they get along one night without her?”
“I guess not. Ms. Mary asked me to fill in. I don’t mind. It’s not like I have anything else to do.” Rose shifted the tray in her hands, trying to balance the weight more easily. Carrying a tray took more strength than she’d expected. “I might be busy if Sky were actually courting me. You know, taking me out to eat, or something like that. Maybe something really romantic like
taking an hour to
talk to me
?” She forced an impersonal smile on her face. “I better get out there and do my job. See you later.”
Being a waitress wasn’t all that hard, but after a couple of hours Rose’s feet ached and her arms trembled with the strain of holding loaded trays. She had a twenty minute break coming up at nine o’clock, but until then she had to grit her teeth and carry on. The guests were polite. A couple of times men tried to be overly friendly, but not so much that White Horse felt he had to come over and protect her. As soon as she mentioned that she was Sky Wolfe’s wife, the men promptly went from flirtatious to excruciatingly polite.
By eight o’clock the reception rooms were packed. Rose had trouble navigating her tray through the crowd, but she did it, pausing here and there to offer hors d’oeuvres to the guests who lingered along the walls and at the small tables. Tanya and Zoe glided by in the arms of their dance partners and never failed to smirk at her. Rose smiled brilliantly back, mentally throwing her tray under their feet to trip them. Tracy and Jes made up for it by praising her for doing the job well and making her sit at the bar for a few minutes now and then to have a drink. Rose’s drinks were not alcoholic. After all, she was working. Her shift was done at eleven o’clock. She figured by then she would have earned something very strong to drink.
It was during one of these breaks that the trouble started. Rose sat sideways at the very end of the bar, a glass of water in her hand, her empty tray leaning against her knee when a tall man came her way. Even though the room was crowded, she noticed him because he looked a little younger than most of the other guests, and much more handsome. Dana, filling a glass with a dark brown beer, noticed him too.
“Damn,” the bartender muttered.
Before Rose could ask what was wrong, Dana moved off to fill customer orders. The man came right to the bar, which wasn’t surprising since Tracy couldn’t get all the drink orders herself. But instead of trying to flag the bartender down he came and stood much too close to Rose. She lifted her tray to hold like a shield in front of her and gave him one of the vague smiles she had perfected over the evening.
“Excuse me, sir,” she said, trying to wiggle her way along the wall to get away from him. There was no room for her to go anywhere because the crowd was so thick. “Pardon me.” She made her voice cold and firm. “Let me pass, please.”
“Sure,” he said. “It will only cost you a kiss, honey cakes.”
Honey cakes? Rose managed not to gape at him. “That’s not my job. I’m a waitress. Excuse me so I can go get my tray refilled.”
The man smiled at her and she had to admit it was a very attractive smile. His hair was dark blond, about shoulder length with a hint of a wave to it. Against it, the dark tan of his handsome face and the pale blue of his eyes were almost startling. Really, he was a very handsome man, and probably not more than twenty-five years old. Rose wondered how many other waitresses would have been happy to give him a kiss. But she was a married woman and she was not interested. Well, she wasn’t really married, and if she had met him in Kearney she might have liked to get to know him better.
“Excuse me,” she said with a little more force. When he spread his arms out to keep her from moving, she rotated the tray into a horizontal position. If she shoved the sharp edge into his throat he would move in a big hurry. But there was no need for such extreme actions. She gazed directly up into eyes rimmed with long, dark lashes. “My name is Rose Wolfe. My husband is Sky Wolfe.”
She waited for that to sink in, sure he would step aside as soon as he realized who she was. He moved, but not away. One step brought him close, and he pushed the tray down so it was vertical between them. He was so close that using the tray as a weapon would be impractical. If she jerked it straight up she might be able to slam it into his chin. That might do more damage than he deserved. He put both his hands on her shoulders, leaning in so she could feel his breath on her forehead. Her gaze flicked to his crotch. She could jam the corner of the tray there. That would cause severe pain and humiliation, but he would still be alive. If White Horse took action, there was no guarantee he would live to walk out the door.
Where was White Horse? Rose thought he would be here by now. Of course, there were so many people maybe he hadn’t noticed that this man had corralled her. A low growl sounded behind the man.
Nope
, Rose thought with an inner smile,
White Horse is on the job
.
It wasn’t White Horse. She looked over the man’s shoulder and saw Sky, and for the first time since they came to Omaha he looked like a wolf warrior. In spite of his short hair and perfectly fitted business suit, at this moment, Sky looked as feral and scary as Taye in his worst protective rage. His voice rumbled low in his throat as if he were speaking around gravel.
“Take your hands off my wife.”
The man lifted his hands off Rose’s shoulders and jerked around to face Sky. Rose pushed her back hard against the wall to put as much space as possible between her and the two men. Sky’s lips peeled away from his teeth in a snarl. His eyes, so bright and blue against the smooth gold of his face, practically glowed.