“She’s getting an award,” I said. “A big one. Elias went with her to the awards show. It’s going to be on live television.”
“It’s on in about twenty minutes, too,” Luke said as he walked around. “Is there a TV? I told Elias I wanted to see him in a monkey suit.”
“Ahem,” Iver clinked a spoon against the side of his glass. “A toast. If everyone would please pick up a glass of champagne.”
When we had, and the buzz of talking in the room quieted down, Iver cleared his throat. “Now,” he said. “When I found out that the most attractive member of our team had absconded to a little Colorado town with someone, I couldn’t imagine that it was true.”
Silas’ hand wrapped protectively around my shoulder. “Most attractive, for sure,” he whispered into my ear.
“Until,” Iver said, clearing his throat again. “Until I heard her talk about him. And then I understood that it was the only possible thing she could have done. Because when you find the person who makes you want to leave everything behind, you can’t do anything but that.”
Oscar held up his glass. “To Ariana and Silas.”
“Who’s Ariana?” Silas asked.
“About that…”
Silas turned to me. “Your real name isn’t Ariana, is it?”
I laughed. “No,” I said. “It’s Tempest. They know me as Ariana.” She yelled loudly. “It’s Tempest, guys. My given name is not Ariana.”
Oscar put his hand over his heart. “I’m hurt that you gave us a fake,” he said.
“I’ve known all along,” Emir said, opening up one of his laptops on the table he stood behind.
Iver turned toward him. “And you haven’t said anything, Emir?”
He shrugged. “You should just assume I know everything. Because I probably do.”
“I find that equal parts admirable and reprehensible,” Iver said.
“Thanks.” Emir sat down, typing furiously on his keyboard.
“Is this the part where we plan out the grift?” Silas asked before bringing his lips to my cheek. I felt a shiver of pleasure at his mere touch, and I nuzzled against him.
“Oh, no,” I said. “Not yet. This is the part where we drink champagne and talk.”
“Shouldn’t the champagne go after the grift?” he asked.
“Let me refill that for you.” Iver appeared beside us, filling up Silas’ glass. “We drink champagne anytime. This is the part where we regale you with stories of Aria-I mean, Tempest’s legendary grifter antics.”
I looked at Iver, my eyes narrowed. “Not the embarrassing stories,” I said.
“Of course those are the ones we’ll be sharing,” Oscar said. He sipped from his champagne glass. “They’re the most important stories of all. Do you remember the time in Monaco when-”
I groaned. “Come on, guys.”
Luke interrupted from where he stood in front of the television. “The camera just panned over Elias and River in the crowd,” he said. “I think her category is up next.”
“Saved...for now,” Oscar said.
We watched, standing around the television while River, clad in a floor length gold dress that shimmered under the lights, walked onto the stage to collect her award. The camera panned briefly on Elias, who sat in the audience, grinning broadly. “Turn it up, man,” Silas yelled. “We can’t hear what she’s saying.”
River’s mouth moved, and Luke pressed on the volume button. “She’s thanking people,” he said. “Can you hear it?”
“Who’s that?” I asked, watching as a man wearing tight leather pants and a ragged black t-shirt ascended the stage, grabbing the microphone from her hand.
“Holy shit,” Silas said. “That’s her fucking ex-boyfriend.”
“Oh my God, the one who cheated?” I asked. “With her sister?”
Iver and Oscar were talking and Luke hushed them. “That’s that douchebag Viper,” he said. “Do you think River is going to push him off the stage?”
We watched as Viper grabbed the microphone from her hand and got down on one knee, proclaiming his love for her and apologizing for his indiscretions. Beside me, Silas hooted. “Shit, if River doesn’t punch him, Elias is going go up there and beat his ass on live TV.”
But Viper didn’t get out more than two sentences before River yanked the microphone out of his hand. “You stupid fuck,” she said. And then, as he started to stand, she punched him in the face.
Luke and Silas whooped. Luke turned from the TV, now cut to commercial, laughing. “River can fucking hold her own,” he said. “I can’t wait for Elias to tell us the whole story.”
“She’s one of us now,” Silas said. “A Saint. And you just don’t fuck with us.”
“Speaking of that,” Oscar said. “Do we have an update on Coker?”
“He figured out that he’d been had,” I said. “Finally. It took him long enough.”
“But, as it turns out, he also owed money to some Eastern Europeans,” Silas said. “One of my friends back in Vegas said he disappeared.”
“Well, isn’t this darling,” Iver said. “It’s happy ever afters all around.”