Chloe noticed Nadia’s arrival first, and when Nadia met her eyes, she knew at once that something was wrong. Chloe smiled at her and waved, but there was something slightly off about her expression, and she quickly looked away, cupping her hands around her coffee cup and staring moodily at the steam rising from its surface. Hardly the greeting Nadia was expecting. And that was when it occurred to Nadia that she hadn’t had any phone messages from Chloe this morning. Surely a true friend should have at least called to see if she was okay.
Out of the corner of her eye, Nadia saw Jewel and Blair watching her and smirking. Nadia could just imagine what had happened here before she’d arrived. Jewel and Blair had probably talked extensively—and loudly—about Nadia’s fifteen hours of questioning at the security station, speculating on the possibility of her being guilty of something. Maybe they’d even suggested that they were taking a social risk by attending classes at Nadia’s home, that the taint of Nadia’s potential involvement with the Chairman Heir’s murder might rub off on them.
Jewel and Blair were both so highly born that they could afford the social risk of being in Nadia’s presence. But Chloe, already on the fringes, could not. And the bitches had made sure she knew it.
Nadia swallowed hard and tried to act as though she were oblivious to the undercurrents. Fuming quietly, she headed toward the refreshments table. And that was when she got her first look at Robert Dante.
He was standing stiffly, with his back against the wall, hands clasped behind him, looking straight ahead in the perfect imitation of a servant making himself unobtrusive while standing at the ready.
She guessed his age as somewhere around eighteen—unusually young for a servant who was meant to interact with his Executive employers. He should have had to work his way up to the position, but she supposed being a spy meant he could skip all that. Well over six feet tall, he had shoulders so broad they seemed to strain the limits of his jacket. The formal livery couldn’t hide the muscular build that reminded her of a professional athlete, and his deeply bronzed skin and freckled nose suggested he spent a fair amount of time in the sun. Not at all the look of someone who hoped to make a living as “personal assistant” to a man like Nadia’s father. Not what she would imagine a spy looked like, either, though she supposed a spy who looked like a spy wouldn’t be much use.
Ordinarily, Nadia would introduce herself to a new member of her household, even if girls like Jewel and Blair would sneer at her for acknowledging a servant as a fellow human being. However, since Dante was here to spy on her, she didn’t feel inclined to indulge in social niceties, so she tried her best to ignore him as she fixed herself a cup of tea.
He was hard to ignore, and she found her gaze darting in his direction again as she dunked her tea bag. If she had to be spied on by someone, at least that someone was conspicuously nice to look at.
Maybe he sensed her looking at him, because he suddenly met her eyes. She looked away hastily, hoping she wasn’t blushing. Just because she was engaged to Nate didn’t mean she didn’t notice good-looking guys like any other girl, but she didn’t want anyone to notice her noticing a servant like that.
Bracing herself for awkwardness, Nadia turned and headed toward the conference table. Jewel and Blair were still smirking in the corner, and Chloe was still fascinated by something in the depths of her coffee cup. Nadia considered sitting on the far side of the table, but she always sat next to Chloe, and she wasn’t going to allow social politics to change that. She took her seat and sipped her tea, painfully aware of the wall of silence beside her.
Nadia felt as if everyone in the room was watching her every move—with the exception of Chloe, who was trying to pretend she didn’t exist. She felt sure Dante was staring at her, spying on her, but she didn’t dare glance his way again. She looked over at Jewel and Blair and saw that they had both locked on to her and were heading over to the table.
“You poor thing,” Jewel said with stunning insincerity as she set her cup carelessly on the table and reached for Nadia’s hand to give it a squeeze. She inserted herself into the space between Nadia’s and Chloe’s chairs, standing so her backside was directly in Chloe’s face. “I can’t imagine what you must have gone through yesterday.” She shuddered dramatically. Behind her, Chloe slid her chair over, getting Jewel’s butt out of her face—and putting more distance between her and Nadia.
Jewel wanted to play at being a sympathetic friend? Fine. Nadia knew just how to beat her at that game.
Nadia rose to her feet and threw her arms around Jewel, hugging her hard. “It was awful,” she confirmed as Jewel awkwardly hugged her back, her body stiff as a board. Nadia had to suppress a smile, knowing how badly Jewel wanted to pull away. But pulling away from a hug she had seemed to solicit herself would be openly rude, and while subtle, underhanded cruelty was accepted and sometimes even encouraged in girls of their station, open rudeness was not. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your kindness and support in such a difficult time.”
“Well, um, of course,” Jewel said brightly, still trapped in Nadia’s hug.
Nadia wasn’t sure what prompted her to do it, but she couldn’t help darting another look in Dante’s direction. And yes, he was looking at her, with a small smile on his lips and a glimmer of amusement in his eyes. His smile broadened when their eyes met, and he held her gaze for a fleeting moment before he returned to proper servant mode, wiping the expression from his face and staring straight ahead.
Nadia finally released Jewel from the hug, pleased to have so successfully fended off her first attack. But though she liked to think of herself as an understanding person, hurt and disappointment compelled her to voice one more thought.
“It’s in times like these that you find out who your true friends are,” she said, smiling warmly at Jewel. Chloe had moved far enough away that Nadia couldn’t even see her in her peripheral vision, but she knew her barb had hit home when she saw the smug satisfaction in Jewel’s eyes.
Nadia immediately felt guilty. It wasn’t like she didn’t understand. Chloe couldn’t afford to take any chances with her reputation, especially not in these critical years during which her marriage would be arranged. In fact, she probably shouldn’t have shown up for the class at all. Taking potshots at her was unfair.
Mad at herself for speaking before thinking, Nadia sat back down and picked up her cup of tea just as their tutor arrived to begin class.
* * *
Usually, Nadia enjoyed her economics class. She wasn’t a big fan of math as a general rule, but the teacher, Mr. Guthrie, had a contagious enthusiasm for the topic that rarely failed to draw her in. He was so good that sometimes he could win over even Jewel, an indifferent student if there ever was one. But today, there was so much tension in the room that no one seemed to be concentrating on the lesson, not even Nadia. Chloe was taking pains to ignore her, though she didn’t look happy about it, and anything Nadia tried to say to ease the strain would only make things worse. She was also aware of Jewel and Blair reveling in the discomfort, sharing smug, superior smiles and writing notes to one another that made them giggle.
Mr. Guthrie noticed the passing of notes and gave the girls a disapproving frown, which they completely ignored. The poor teacher was at a disadvantage where his students were concerned, being a lowly Employee who couldn’t afford to ruffle any feathers. The frown was the only sign of censure he betrayed as he continued with his lecture.
Nadia’s attention continued to wander, and she found her gaze frequently drawn to Dante, who stood silent and unmoving at his post against the wall. She felt like he was watching her at all times, but she soon realized that he wasn’t actually looking at her, but at Mr. Guthrie. Nadia remembered her father mentioning that Dante was a “bright young man” who would benefit from the classes. She’d thought that was merely an excuse for his presence in the schoolroom, but he seemed to be genuinely interested—certainly more interested than any of Mr. Guthrie’s official students on that partic
ular day.
After forty-five minutes, Mr. Guthrie declared it time for a break, and Nadia considered the possibility of making her excuses. Only the knowledge that Jewel and Blair would take her withdrawal as a victory kept her from leaving.
Usually, Nadia and Chloe would spend these break times talking, but as soon as Mr. Guthrie called a halt, Chloe was out of her chair and heading toward the ladies’ room. Nadia had a feeling her friend was going to spend the entire break in there, just to avoid having to talk to her—and to avoid having to pointedly not talk to her.
Nadia pretended nothing unusual was happening, hiding her feelings behind a serene expression. She headed over to the refreshments table to make another cup of tea. To her annoyance, Jewel followed her, putting her hand on her arm to stop her just short of the table. Jewel hunched her shoulders a bit and leaned toward her as if sharing a secret, but she didn’t particularly lower her voice.
“I wanted to speak with you while we have a moment,” Jewel said as Nadia came to a halt.
This can’t be good, Nadia thought as she looked at Jewel with an expression she was sure adequately displayed her complete lack of interest in whatever the other girl had to say. But Jewel was never one to take a hint when she didn’t want to.
“I couldn’t help noticing during class that your servant was listening in.” Jewel waved a hand vaguely in Dante’s direction. “I thought you might have a word with him about it before class resumes.”
Despite her respect for manners where her peers were concerned, Jewel obviously felt no compunction about being openly rude to servants. She might have made a pretense of keeping this a quiet discussion between the two of them, but there was no way Dante hadn’t heard her.
Technically, it was bad form for a servant to openly pay attention to what his “superiors” were saying in his presence. Servants were supposed to be as unobtrusive and unobservant as pieces of furniture, so that the Executives they served could pretend they weren’t there. But Nadia had never been a stickler for such conventions, and even if she had …
Nadia blinked innocently and cocked her head. “Really? How shocking. Shall I order him to stuff his ears with wax so he can’t hear Mr. Guthrie speaking?” She frowned, as if flummoxed by the problem. “But that would make it difficult for him to hear any requests for service as well.” She glanced at Dante and saw that while he was looking straight ahead, his lips were twitching as if he was fighting a smile. Clearly imitating a blind and deaf piece of furniture was not his forte. It was lucky Jewel had her back turned to him or she’d probably be demanding his head on a platter.
Jewel held her nose a little higher in the air. “Make jokes if you must, but it’s unseemly behavior for a servant. That other one knew his place.”
“That other one?” Nadia asked, unable to keep her voice from rising just a bit. “You mean Sully? Who’s been attending us for two years? Do you mean to tell me after all that time you don’t know his name?” That seemed to be taking the superiority act a little far, even for Jewel.
“You’re missing the point. In light of recent events, you would be wise to exercise extra caution in regards to propriety. There are those who might take offense at your servant’s behavior and take your unwillingness to correct it as a sign of moral turpitude.”
There was an implicit threat evident in Jewel’s words, and Nadia knew she should take that threat seriously. Jewel could easily start a rumor that the male servants at Nadia’s house behaved in an “unseemly” manner, which could lead the most spiteful and jealous of the gossipmongers to start speculating about just what kind of unseemly behavior was involved. Such rumors could eventually become stories about how the servants were servicing Nadia in bed, or something equally ridiculous.
But really, how seriously could she take someone who used the term “moral turpitude” in everyday speech?
“I’m touched to know you’ve taken such a keen interest in preserving my reputation,” Nadia said, then affected another puzzled frown. “Or is it my servant you’ve taken such an interest in?” she asked, making a show of looking Dante up and down. “I must admit, he is nice to look at, but I had no idea you would find him so … distracting.”
The color that rose to Jewel’s cheeks was quite gratifying indeed. Nadia wasn’t as good at starting rumors as Jewel was—she suspected the art required more malice than she herself was capable of—but that didn’t mean she couldn’t do it. Jewel liked to think of herself as the queen bee among the upper echelons of the Executive teens, and she and the rest of the Trio did wield a great deal of social power, but there were plenty of people jealous enough of her to revel in a good, unsavory rumor.
Nadia dropped her voice to something just above a whisper, through with the games. “Neither of us is going to come out of it unstained if you take this any further. I suggest for your own sake that you pay more attention to your lessons and less attention to who else may or may not be listening.” How had she ended up defending the guy she knew was here to spy on her? If she’d been using her head instead of reacting emotionally, she might have been able to use Jewel’s complaint as an excuse to get Dante out of the schoolroom and away from her.
Jewel smiled, a razor-sharp expression that held no warmth. “I was merely trying to be helpful.”
Nadia didn’t dignify that with an answer, and was more relieved than she wanted to admit when Jewel gave up and flounced off. Hostilities weren’t over—they never were, where Jewel was concerned—but at least they were on temporary hiatus.
Nadia began fixing the cup of tea she no longer wanted, and she was surprised when Dante finally left his post at the wall and made his way to the table beside her. He made a show of gathering the trash and dirty dishes onto a tray, but if he were just doing his duty he would have waited until after the break was over.
“I’m sorry if I put you in an awkward position,” he said in a voice so low she could barely hear him. “I’ll try not to catch her attention again.”
Nadia dunked her tea bag a little more vigorously than necessary as she took a sidelong glance at him. His eyes were a green-flecked brown, and they sparkled with humor. He must have really enjoyed listening to a pair of Executive girls arguing over him.
“If you’re going to play at being a servant,” she said in an equally low voice, “you should at least try to act like one.” No well-trained servant would address his employer’s daughter with such ease and familiarity, especially when they were close enough in age that it could easily be construed as flirting.
Dante arched an eyebrow at her. “I’m not sure what you mean,” he said with a pretty good impression of puzzlement. “All I wanted to do was apologize for my mistake. And if you dunk that tea bag one more time, your tea is going to be dark enough to pass for coffee.”
Nadia withdrew the tea bag—he was right, and the tea was likely undrinkable—and dropped it on the tray he extended to her.
“Will there be anything else, Miss Lake?” he asked, suddenly turning formal again.
In her peripheral vision, Nadia saw that the other girls were back in the schoolroom, and she figured even if they weren’t looking directly at her, they were very aware of her and—thanks to Jewel—of Dante. So that was why he’d turned formal again after his overly familiar teasing.
“No,” she said with a sigh, wishing for a simpler life. “You’ve done quite enough already.”
CHAPTER SIX
It had been almost forty-eight hours since Nate’s murder, and still no word from Kurt. Not that Nate was expecting word anymore. If Kurt had been planning to contact him, he’d have left something in the secret compartment, even if it was just a scrawled good-bye. No, Kurt was gone, and he’d left Nate behind without a word. Even if he hadn’t needed Kurt’s account of what had happened on the night of the murder, Nate doubted he could have let go without making an effort to find him. No matter how dangerous that effort might be.
There was only one logical place to begin the search: the Basement.
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There were parts of the Basement that respectable Employees and Executives could visit during the day with relative safety. These were the neighborhoods on the fringes, not controlled by any of the gangs. These were also the neighborhoods where the black market did a brisk business, selling goods smuggled in from rival states.
Though the Replica technology was unequaled anywhere in the world, the rest of Paxco’s home-grown tech was decidedly second-rate. Officially, Paxco citizens could buy Paxco products at reasonable prices, or a competitor’s superior products at absurdly high prices with a premium tax on top. Even the richest of Paxco’s citizens balked at those prices, and there wasn’t a single Executive Nate knew who didn’t take advantage of the black market’s offerings—usually through intermediaries, because even in the fringes the Basement was never truly safe.
What Nate was contemplating was not a routine visit. To track down Kurt, he would have to delve into the Basement’s human trafficking market—and that would require him to go deeper into Debasement, where even Paxco security officers feared to tread. It would require him to leave the relative safety of the daylight and venture into the dangers of the Basement night.
Even thinking about going into the Basement at night sent a shiver of adrenaline down Nate’s spine. Like any young man of means, he’d made forays into Debasement with friends, dipping his feet into the shallow end. The neighborhoods that housed the black market during the day turned into something much more sinister at night. The privileged rich could sample some of Debasement’s most tempting vices, dabbling in drugs, exotic contraband, and sex for hire. Such behavior was officially frowned upon, but everyone knew that perfectly respectable Executives and Employees took advantage of the opportunities there.
Nate had never told anyone, not even Nadia, the truth about how he’d met Kurt. Sure, Kurt had shown up at one of the Basement recruitment drives the Chairman sponsored, but he’d come because Nate had invited him. Nate had first met Kurt at a Basement-fringe club called Angel’s, one of the favorite destinations of well-heeled tourists. At Angel’s, you could get cheap, home-brewed drinks that ate a hole in your stomach, or you could get expensive brands that weren’t carried by any official Paxco liquor stores. You could also get any drug your heart desired, and a pretty girl or boy to “entertain” you in one of the private rooms upstairs.