Page 82 of The Saint

She grinned and winked before walking out of the bathroom without another word.

It took me a moment to gather my courage and walk out of there myself. I stored my bag in Erika Lovegood’s office, then headed for the stairs. Shaw wasn’t kidding about the size of the crowd down in the gallery, and I gripped the metal railing hard, hoping with everything in me that I didn’t actually trip and fall. They weren’t looking at me, despite what she’d said. Though I was glad I didn’t have an audience, that also meant no one would know to catch me if I fell.

The front door swung open when I was halfway down, and I nearly lost my footing as D’Angelo and Lorenzo came in. I turned my attention back to the stairs, to the placement of my feet as I continued my descent. Over the railing to my right, I saw three familiar heads of hair: Lev, Dieter, and Abe. Three of the men I’d worked with in Kansas.

My foot slipped on the step again, but I caught myself without looking like a fool. However, the sound of my heel slapping against the tile drew their attention my way.

Dieter glanced up briefly, only for his head to whip in my direction so fast it probably hurt. His eyes bulged, his mouth dropping open as he stopped in the middle of whatever story he was telling the other two. Abe’s lips turned up into a wide smile as I hit the bottom step, and Lev wiped a hand across his mouth.

“Who the hell are you and what’d you do with Major?”

I rolled my eyes at Lev, punching him lightly in the gut. “Shut it.”

“No, I mean it. You don’t exactly look like the woman I dropped off at the front door a half hour ago.”

My fingers tangled in the ends of my hair, but I dropped it so I wouldn’t ruin the braid Shaw had worked so hard on. “I told you I had to change for Rolly’s show.”

“You never changed like this for us,” Dieter complained.

“You never kissed her the way he did at D’Angelo’s party,” Abe retorted, coming to my aid.

Lev looked down at me, and I could feel his eyes lingering over every part of my body that was exposed by my dress. His arm curled around my back, and he dipped his head toward mine. “He’s a lucky man.”

Heat raced across my cheeks. Part of me wanted to shuck my shoes and go running from the room to hide myself away from them. The other part of me wanted to jab my knuckles into Lev’s side to make him stop.

“Ouch!” Lev retracted his arm, rubbing at his side. “Fuck, Major.”

“Major pain in your ass,” I told him.

“There’s our girl,” Abe said, deep laughter rumbling from his chest. “I knew you were in there somewhere. Smirk and all.”

“Whatever.” I flattened my lips, wanting to hide them behind my hand, but not wanting to ruin the pale lipstick Shaw had applied. There was no way I could make myself look this good again, even with the makeup she’d left for me upstairs. I turned back to Lev. “I’m leaving. I had enough of you today.”

“Lev, dafook, you ruined it for us again.”

“Shut up, ma’niac.”

Turning, I walked toward the tables on the other side of the room. Spread out across them were hor d'oeuvres and bottles of water. I’d been working at Alvarez’s chop shop all afternoon, had even enlisted Lev’s help to get the parts loaded and ready to be shipped. We hadn’t taken the time to stop and eat all day, and I was starving.

I snagged a couple finger sandwiches off the trays, eating them as carefully as possible so I wouldn’t ruin my makeup or spill on my dress. Then I grabbed a glass of champagne from a passing server and looked around the crowded room.

Each painting or framed portrait hanging on the wall had one or more people standing in front of it, admiring the work. Pride swelled inside of me, and I couldn’t help the smile that pulled at my lips.

This was Rolly’s dream. To make art for others to enjoy. And the sold signs hanging beside a handful of those paintings were the icing on the cake.

What Rolly had the most trouble with, though, were the people spread out throughout the room. Across from the stairs stood most of the Medina family. Not far from them, near another painting, were my five brothers and Sarah.

Adalberto and Daphne Vinci stood near Zeno Fierro and Jet, as well as a few of the Pasternelos. And little Clara Vinci stood off to the side, nursing a glass of champagne.

I took a sip of my own, moving through the space. Over the heads of the crowd, I could see Lorenzo and D’Angelo moving toward the center of the back room. Rolly was there with his mother, as well as Queenie and Mateo. My heart clenched as I watched Lorenzo grab Carmen by the cheeks and give her a long, lingering kiss.

Walking that way, I passed a crowd of people I didn’t know. But I stopped short in front of one of the few nudes Rolly had on display, then made my way over.

“Didn’t expect to see you boys here.”

Dion, Tyrone, Jamal, Jermaine, and Desmond turned from the painting, the whole lot of them doing a double take that made me want to cover my chest with my hands. I raised my glass, taking a sip, then held my arm in front of me to help hide me from their view.

“Holy shit, David,” Jamal muttered as Des, Jermaine, and Dion stared.