The Party

Angelique Ryans stepped out of the sleek black car, her deep red dress glittering in the low lamp lights and the flash of the cameras. The glittering gold jewelry shone against her dark skin, and her thick curls hung long and loose.

Her date to the party, the son of one of the wealthiest men in the city, offered his hand. His deep green tuxedo suited him, brown hair styled back, a cocky smile on his lips.

"Shall we?" He helped her onto the sidewalk, turning to the cameras for pictures of the pair of them together as they headed to the front of the mansion.

Angelique hadn't planned on going to the event that was happening that night. Fancy parties weren't exactly her scene, and while the dress looked nice on her, she'd prefer to wear anything else.

She had heard about the event--everyone in the city had heard about it. Held by Timothy Welsh, the owner of a jewelry business and one of the more wealthy men in the city. He had gone all out, and the news had been buzzing in preparation for it for weeks.

It was pure luck that she had been assigned as a temporary bodyguard to Ethan McMillan for the night.

"You don't have to stay close to me all night." Ethan muttered under his breath, his camera smile never wavering. "I'll be fine."

"That's not what your father told me." She murmured back, taking his arm as they walked into the front doors. "Don't you dare run off."

"I wouldn't dream of it." He smirked down at her, and it took years of undercover training for Angelique to hold back her eye roll. She didn't trust him to keep that promise.

The event was as lavish and expensive as she had assumed it would be, and people with all kinds of titles were in attendance. Fancy food and drinks, a glittering chandelier hanging overhead. Security stood against the walls and by the doors, and that was reassuring, but the kind of trouble she was there to look out for wouldn't be protected by them.

She smiled as Ethan made conversation, politely refusing drinks, keeping tabs on the people that his father had warned her about.

Unbeknownst to Ethan, his father suspected that he was toeing the line of illegal activities that could get the family business into trouble. While Ethan thought Angelique was there as eye candy to distract everyone from her being a bodyguard, she was actually there to catch him in the act of what his father believed was happening and--if she could--keep him out of trouble.

In addition to that, she had heard from her friend in the police that a drug bust was supposed to happen at some point that night, and that several title families were suspected to be involved in making and selling. She was there partially to be on the look out for who might be the perpetrators, and make sure Ethan wasn't involved.

Like she thought, it didn't take long for him to try to get rid of her.

"Wait for me here." Ethan said as he brought her to a standing table with a beautiful bouquet in the center, setting a champagne flute in front of her. "I'll be back."

"Where do you think you're going?" She arched her brow. Surely he didn't think he would be able to just leave.

"I want to talk with some friends. You can guard me from here, right? I'll only be right there." He jerked his thumb in the direction of a group of men, and Angelique quickly ran through what she knew about them.

They were the sons of rich families, and the ones Ethan's father suspected were influencing him. She also knew a few of them had nearly been caught in scandals involving drugs and money laundering, but the press and police had been paid off to keep quiet about it.

This was exactly what she was here for.

"Sure." Angelique smiled, and he grinned, clearly thinking he would get away with it. "Just remember this."

"Remember what?"

She stepped closer, fingers sliding down the front of his suit, her heels making her tall enough to lean in and let her lips reach his ear. To anyone else, they would look like a sweet couple, leaving a kiss on the cheek, but Angelique gave him a cold, fake smile.

"If you do something that gets you into trouble, it gets me into trouble. And if I get into trouble, your father finds out. And I'm sure you know what happens if he finds out."

His kind facade almost cracked at that, his eyes narrowing on her for a moment, but he just smiled down at her, muttered his agreement, and turned on his heel to walk to the group.

She sighed. That was almost too easy.

She lifted her hand, pretending to fix her earring as she turned on the listening device in her ear that was connected to the one she had slipped in Ethan's suit pocket, doing a sweep of the room.

Static crackled as her gaze settled on Ethan, and suddenly she could clearly hear the men talking as Ethan approached them.

"McMillan, how are you?" Nicolas Welsh grinned at him, looking every bit like his father. "We were thinking you were going to chicken out."

"What? No, of course not." Angelique could hear Ethan laugh, and watched as he ran his fingers through his hair--a nervous tick she had picked up on for him. Interesting. "Did you bring it?"

He nodded. "Of course. The stuff's in the car."

There. She was disappointed, to say the least, but not surprised. She suspected Ethan had been pressured into this, but either way, he was involved.

She slipped her phone out of her purse, not surprised to find a message from her in at the police station saying they would be going to the party to investigate.

She'd need to give Ethan a chance to get out, and quickly.

The second son of the owner of the biggest corporation in the city, Raphael Lopez, cast a glance around them, slinging an arm over his shoulders. "What are we waiting for, then? Let's go get it."

"There's a little problem." Ethan glanced over his shoulder towards Angelique, who turned away before he caught her watching them. "My dad gave me a bodyguard and she's not going to let me out of her sight."

"Not a problem." Nicolas nodded at one of the men, Adrian Reyes, a man that had most recently been in the news for seducing the city mayor's wife. "No one can resist Adrian's charms."

Angelique held back another eye roll as Adrian broke off from the group, casually making his way over to her as the group continued talking, grabbing a drink from a passing waiter as he stopped in front of her.

Adrian was a tall Black man with his hair shaved low, a sharp jaw and deep brown eyes that took her in appreciatively. Even if he was anywhere near her type, this wouldn't have worked. But he let him think it was, eyes widening slightly as she gazed up at him, leaning forward slightly to give him a view of the plunging neckline of her dress, effectively distracting him.

"Well, well. What's a pretty woman like you doing over here all alone?" His voice was sweet and sultry, and he leaned in closer, eyes kind and dark with greed.

This worked on women? She tried to hold back her grimace and put on an act, smiling shyly.

"I'm not here alone. I'm with Ethan McMillan." She said, tipping her head to where Ethan was pretending not to be watching her. "Though he seems to have gotten bored of me."

"I'll keep you company, then. I'm much more interesting than him." He grinned, and she was tempted to down her drink to keep herself from having to deal with this.

"You're...Adrian Reyes, right? Son of William Reyes?"

"The one and only." He smirked, casually leaning against the table, blocking her view of Ethan and the others as his eyes trailed down from her face when she shifted. She could still hear them through her ear piece, but she would need to find a way to keep an eye on them. It was a good thing he was so easily distracted.

"I've heard so much about you!" She gasped, feigning interest. Nothing got someone like him more cocky than stroking his ego. "I've seen your photo shoots. You're even more handsome in person."

He grinned, clearly enjoying the ego boost. "You think so? A pretty woman like you can do much better than Ethan, don't you think?"

She covered her mouth with a laugh, turning away to lift her drink shyly. She didn't drink any of it, but let her gaze shift slightly to catch Ethan following Nicolas near one of the doors leading to the hallway. "You're too kind."

"Just honest. If you're not in too much of a rush, I'd love to get to know you better..."

If she was anyone else, it might have worked. But she could hear Nicolas in her ear, telling Ethan to slowly make his way out.

"I'd love to." She smiled wide, acting excited that he wanted to talk to her. "Could you get us more drinks, then?"

He grinned, clearly pleased with himself. "I'll be right back."

He turned to find the nearest waiter, and Angelique slipped around him and into the crowd as he walked away.

That was honestly too easy.

Ethan and the others had already left the room, but Angelique headed towards the door she had seen them waiting near, listening to what he was saying through the earpiece.

"It's in my car." He was telling the group as she glanced down the hall. "I'll have someone bring it in--"

"No." Nicolas dismissed. "You'll bring it in. What happens if whoever brings it in finds out what's inside?"

"Right." Ethan laughed nervously. "I'll get it, then."

"Quickly, too. We don't want your date catching on. She'll run and tell your father, and that's the last thing we need."

"I know. Quickly. Got it."

"This is your chance to be one of us, Ethan." Nicolas sounded genuine, but Angelique knew better.

Did Ethan?

Now that she knew where they were going, Angelique took a shortcut through a sitting room, having memorized the building's layout, and took a side door to reach the parking lot. The car was far enough away from the front door that they wouldn't be seen by Nicolas and the others.

Angelique made her way to the car, reaching it as Ethan was pulling a thick duffel bag from the back seat. She switched the listening device to the second one that she had planted as she stopped behind him.

He didn't see her till he turned around, jolting in surprise, clearly nervous, pushing the bag behind him. "How did you--"

"It doesn't matter." She stepped forward, reaching for the zipper, but, like she thought, he pulled away, glaring. "What's in the bag, Ethan?"

"None of your business."

"It is my business if you're doing what I think you are. Your father told me to keep you safe, and that means stopping you from doing things that could get you or your family hurt."

"I won't get hurt. I know what I'm doing."

Voices crackled in her ear, and she heard Adrian reach the rest of the group, glumly telling them she had slipped away.

"If we get caught..." Raphael warned.

"We won't." Nicolas laughed. "Ethan's the one with the bag. His prints are all over it. Why do you think we brought him in on this? He can stand to get knocked down a peg."

That was what she expected, but she was still annoyed to hear it. This was why it was even more important for her to get him out of this before he was in too deep.

"They're setting you up." Angelique told him. "They'll let you be the one to get in trouble for it."

"They wouldn't. They're just as guilty as me."

"Not when you're the one with the duffel bag." She pointed out.

He faltered. "They wouldn't."

"They would. If they would cheat other people, they'd have no problem cheating you. Think about this, Ethan. This is your last chance to back out."

She could hear them in her ear, wondering what was taking him so long and debating whether or not they should go get him. They didn't have much time.

"You have a good future ahead of you. You have plans and dreams. Do you want to ruin it all just because they told you to do it?"

He hesitated, clearly at war with himself. "It's too late now. I already have it."

"It's not." She held out a hand. "You can give me the bag, and I'll take care of it. I promise."

If he wouldn't listen, Angelique wouldn't intervene. She couldn't force him to stop, because he would go right back to it and just get away with it better next time.

To her, it wasn't a hard choice, but to him, she knew it was more complicated.

The chances of him getting caught were high, but his friends, whose approval he seemed to so desperately need, would respect him like he wanted. He'd get more money, money that he earned himself, without needing the help of his father.

If he did accept her help, she could get him out of this. She could easily plant the bag in one of the other men's cars, and give him and the police a convincing story saying that he was framed. His friends would hate him for it, but he would be safe in his spot to inherit his father's wealth, to continue on without his name blacklisted.

She could hear his friends deciding to send someone to check on them, and she knew the police could be there any minute, and they wouldn't have a chance to fix this.

She couldn't make this choice for him. She had done her job. He'd have to decide what he wanted for himself.