Chapter 33

He follows me into the dark club, dim after the bright daylight outside, and I skirt ahead, trying to get my eyes to adjust before he gets too close. Stepping down the low stairs to the sunken floor of the centre of the bar, onto the plush carpeting, which makes my feet sink into it deliciously. I look around, blinking as my eyes adjust to the dullness.

I notice immediately that things seem different somehow. This was my palace, and something is off.

I can’t quite put my finger on it at a glance, but there’s enough of a change to make my hackles rise, and my eyes start scouring walls, chairs and the bar to try and see what it is that’s making me pause. The initial overwhelming feeling at being back in my space, my first real home, is short-lived as gut instinct takes over and pushes me to start inspecting protectively.

So many conflicting emotions at being back here, and it hits me with a dull pain in the chest how much I missed this place. A sob caught in my throa