Valeria's pov
The Maybach sliced through the night toward the Zenith Solstice Gala. I checked my medical bag—a vial of sedatives, a syringe, and a digital voice recorder hidden in the lining.
Five minutes alone. That's all I'd need and in case something goes wrong, these babies will come in.
Alaric looked at the bag. "Why the heavy kit? It's not a war zone."
"I prefer to be prepared," I said.
We arrived at the glass mansion. Security was everywhere, cameras flashing like strobe lights.
Alaric stepped out and reached for me. I hesitated before taking his hand. His palm was warm, a contrast to the freezing dread in my stomach.
"Don't say anything reckless tonight."
Seraphina froze atop the stairs, her face twisted in fury. A gray haired man stood behind her—tall and cold. Marcus Sterling.
"Smile, Valeria. You look like you want to murder someone," Alaric said, his hand tightening on the small of my back. "Don't say any snarky remarks in front of the man beside Seraphina."
Marcus Sterling's gaze bore into me.
"Who is she?"
"Daddy, that's the secretary," Seraphina said, descending the stairs in a gown that barely covered her.
She hooked her arm through Alaric's, wedging herself between us. "Alaric, darling! You're late. Daddy and the boards have been asking for you. You can't keep the future of the merger waiting for... her."
"She's here as my medical escort, Seraphina."
Seraphina laughed. "How quaint. Run along to the staff buffet, Valeria. I will take it from here."
Alaric allowed Seraphina to lead him away toward the VIP circle. I was left alone under Marcus Sterling's gaze. He descended the last few stairs like an assassin.
"Hi," I said, tilting my chin up.
"My daughter is uncomfortable with your closeness to Alaric," Marcus said, his bodyguards creating a wall around us.
"Insecurity doesn't look good on a daughter of a Sterling."
"Careful." His voice was low, a dangerous rumble. "I don't like women who test my patience."
Marcus turned to join the party. I tripped, my hand catching his tuxedo jacket to steady myself. In that split second, our eyes locked, a flicker of something unsaid before I pulled away.
"My apologies, sir. I am not so good in heels."
Marcus stared at me with disgust. "Get out of my sight before I have security dump you in the street."
Inside, waitresses who wore elegant but revealing gowns moved between the guests with practiced smiles while VIPs smacked them as they passed, laughing like degrading women was just another luxury on the menu.
The higher the net worth, the lower the IQ. Truly.
I slipped away while Alaric was trapped in a toast with the blondie. I turned a corner in the West Wing and stopped dead.
Two massive guards stood before a biometric scanner.
"Hiii... gentlemen, do you guys care for company?"
"Identification, now. This area is off-limits."
"Oh, relax. I must have taken a wrong turn looking for the powder room," I said, tilting my head with a practiced, dizzy smile. "Maybe one of you big types could point me back? Or is being grumpy a job requirement?"
Note to self... Next time, bring a stun gun for the big types.
"Ma'am, go back the way you came."
"Alright!"
I retreated and ran straight into a solid chest. Alaric. He pulled me into a shadowed corner. "I told you to stay in the light. What are you doing in Marcus Sterling's private wing?"
"I was looking for a place to relax. Between your fiancé's screeching and the smell of corruption, I was having a migraine."
Alaric's jaw tightened. "If you go near that floor again, even I won't be able to protect you. Marcus doesn't take prisoners."
"Since when did you become his bodyguard?" I drawled. "Shouldn't you be upstairs playing the devoted fiancé?"
"Careful, Valeria. You keep talking like that, and people might start thinking you want my attention."
My smile faltered and my fingers tightened around Alaric's arm.
I feel like a slut, but something about how he said it made me want him to pin me against the wall and kiss me.
"I... I think I want to go home," I said.
As we turned to leave, a woman in a designer suit stepped into our path, her eyes widening as she recognized me. It was Dr. Sloane, a woman I used to call a mentor.
"Valeria? Is that really you?" Solane looked me up and down with mocking pity "To see you here, as ermm... arm candy for a Von. It's a waste of a surgical mind."
Alaric's grip on my arm turned to iron. "Who is this?"
"Nobody," I whispered.
"Nobody?" Sloane sighed, looking at Alaric. "She was the most promising talent we had until she withdrew without a single word of explanation. It's a shame."
What about the difficult part of watching you sell your soul to the Sterlings and everything you once stood for but I won't tell you that.
"Get lost." Alaric's voice dropped to a dangerous octave.
"Just a warning," Sloane said, adjusting her glasses. "People who run once usually do it again."
The silence between us was suffocating as we walked to the car.
The valet brought the Maybach around. Alaric shoved me inside, slamming the door.
"Is it true?"
"Which part? That I'm a dropout or that I'm arm candy?"
Alaric grabbed my chin, forcing me to look at him. "The part where you run. Are you planning on disappearing from me too?"
"Disappear from you?" I tilted my head, letting a slow, dangerous smile play on my lips. "Mr. Von, your ego is already taking up all the space in this car. I don't think there's room for anything else."
He didn't ask for an explanation. He just leaned in until our lips were inches apart, the smell of expensive cologne and suppressed lust filling the space between us.
"I don't like mysteries Valeria."
I whispered, my gaze dropping to his mouth. "We both know you're addicted to the chase."