Chapter 36

Adrian sat in the back of his car as his fingers tapped against his knee in a slow, deliberate rhythm. The motion was steady and controlled, but the tension coiled beneath it was anything but. The streets outside blurred past in streaks of neon and shadow that radiated fleeting flashes of light against the tinted windows which he barely noticed.

His mind was clearly elsewhere.

’Noelle.’

He gritted his teeth as the name burned at the edges of his thoughts, unraveling the restraint he had carefully built over the years. He had told himself he wouldn’t let her matter much—not like this, not enough to send him back into the life he had once left behind.

And yet, here he was, hunting for her like she was a treasure.

His fingers stopped as they curled into a loose fist.

She thought she could just leave him. That she could disappear into a world where he wouldn’t find her.

She was wrong.

Adrian exhaled slowly, rolling his shoulders back, but