Sweet Revenge

managed to get out of Jaquir with the necklace, you’d never be able to claim it publicly, you’d never be able to wear it.”
    “But I don’t take it to own it, to wear it.” A fire came back into her eyes, a dangerous one. “I take it so he knows, he finally knows how much I detest him.”
    “Do you think it would matter to him?”
    “That his daughter hates him? No. A daughter means less than nothing to a man like him. A commodity to be traded, as he’s already traded his others for political security.” She looked back at the portrait. “But The Sun and the Moon means everything. There’s nothing worth more in Jaquir, not for its monetary value. It’s beyond price. It’s a matter of pride and of strength. If it passes out of the hands of the royal family, there’ll be revolution and bloodshed and the crumbling of power. The unrest that borders Jaquir will cross over and sweep it away.”
    “Do you want revenge on your father or on Jaquir?”
    She brought herself back. Her eyes were blurred as ifshe’d been dreaming. “I could have both, but that’s up to him. Abdu will never risk Jaquir or his position. His pride. In the end it will be his pride that makes restitution.”
    “His pride could as easily strike back at you.”
    “Yes. It’s a risk I’m willing to take.” She stood then, her back toward the portrait, her hand offered to him. “Don’t say anything more yet. There’s something else I want to show you. Will you come with me?”
    “Where?”
    “You’ll need your coat. I’ll take you.”
    The snow fell in sheets, whipped by the wind that tunneled through the buildings. With her mink tossed over her sweats, Adrianne tried to relax in the warmth of the limo. She hadn’t told anyone so much, not even Celeste. She hadn’t shown anyone what she intended to show Philip.
    It mattered. Though she’d tried hard to deny it, it mattered what he thought. For the first time in more years than she could count, she needed someone else’s support and approval.
    The east side neighborhood was far less affluent than her Central Park address. The covering of snow helped, but the crude graffiti spray-painted on the sides of buildings stood out. Here and there windows were boarded up, and more than one car parked along the curb was as hot as a five-dollar watch. A knock on the right door could get you a nickel bag of heroin, first class stereo components that still sizzled, or a knife in the back. Philip hadn’t been there before, but he recognized it.
    “An odd place to pay New Year’s calls.”
    She tucked her hair under a mink hat. “We won’t be long,” she told the driver. He nodded and fervently hoped so.
    There were a few choice pieces of garbage in the gutter. An empty crack vial, a used condom, broken glass. Philip steered her around it as his anger grew.
    “What in the hell are we doing in a place like this? You can get your throat slit for your shoes alone, and you wear mink.”
    “It’s warm.” She reached in her bag for keys. “Don’t worry, I know most of the people who live on this block.”
    “There’s good news.” He took her arm as she started upa set of crumbling, slippery steps. “Let’s hope they don’t have any cousins visiting from out of town. What the hell is this place?”
    She opened three locks. When she pushed in the door, her voice flowed in, then back to him. “Its mine.”
    He shut the door behind him, but it did nothing to keep out the cold. “You never mentioned you were a slumlord.”
    “I don’t rent it.” They walked into a huge empty room. The floor gapped in places, making him think uncomfortably of rats. Two of the windows were boarded, and the others were covered with a thick scum of grime and dust. What light fought through was weak and as dirty as the walls. A few boxes and rickety tables were pushed into corners. Some local artist had drawn pictures of couples in various sexual positions, then had added unnecessary captions.
    “This used to be a rather seedy hotel.” Her footsteps echoed as she moved around the room. “I’d take you upstairs and show you the rooms, but the staircase fell in a couple of months ago.”
    “Just my luck.”
    “There are twelve rooms on each floor. The plumbing is, well, unreliable at best, and the wiring has to be completely updated. Naturally, a new furnace is in order.”
    “In order for what? Shit.” He tugged spiderwebs out of his face. “Addy, if you’re thinking about going into