Descent (Black Heart Romance presents Heaven & Hell)

doesn’t move, doesn’t look at her. His gaze never so much as flickers away from Calvin’s despite the
knockout wiggling her ass on top of him.
I see Arson nearby. I don’t have to ask—the man who swallowed half of the room with his
presence is definitely Nick.
Calvin is talking to him, holding Nick’s attention entirely despite the best attempts of the cute
little blonde on his lap. Her long wavy hair falls down her back, nearly covering more of her body
than her dress is. She’s smiling and trying so hard for his attention. She leans in to playfully kiss him
on the cheek, and he puts a massive hand on her face and pushes her away.
Oh.
Yikes. I guess he wasn’t interested.
Dejected, she gets up and goes over to talk with another girl I hadn’t noticed.
I feel bad for her. Maybe I should go say hi.
“There you are.”
Charity’s voice cuts off my intentions to go make the girl feel better about being humiliated. I
look over at her and start to smile, but my smile dies the moment I see her face.
Calvin was right; Charity is mad.
“What the fuck,” she says, grabbing my arm and hauling away from where people can hear us.
“You’re going to have to be much more specific,” I say as I follow her down the hall toward the
gallery.
Once we’re in the gallery away from everyone else, she turns to face me, her eyes wide with
disbelief. “What the fuck, Hallie.”
“Okay, maybe I wasn’t clear enough…”
She gestures wildly back toward the room. “What is this?”
“My engagement party.”
“You have known this man for two minutes, and you know, I didn’t even comment on that when
you invited me. I thought, hey, Hallie’s a romantic, maybe she got swept up, but what the actual fuck
am I doing at a party with gangsters? This isn’t the roaring 20s. We don’t party with gangsters.”
“Shh,” I say, darting a paranoid look at the hall. “They might be able to hear us.”
“I don’t care,” she hisses, wide-eyed. “Who the hell is this guy? Why are criminals at his
engagement party? And the only fucking people in attendance? I can’t be here, Hallie. I work for the
prosecutor, for Christ’s sake.”
“Oh. I… I hadn’t thought of that.”