What the hell is she doing here?I looked behind her and didn't see her normal shadow.And where the fuck was Nathan?
“Hey—” She skidded to a stop in front of me and bent forward, her hands braced on her hips, breath coming out in short bursts. Her bright blonde hair had fallen slightly out of place, strands sticking to her flushed cheeks.
“I heard—you won—congra…tulations,” she managed to huff.
That same slimy feeling I got when I watched Manshu pass the finish line had me looking away from her.
“It’s not likeIwon,” I said, my tone dry as I made a show of looking around her. “And where the hell is Nathan?” My gaze snapped back to her. “And what are you doing here?”
She took a deep breath and straightened, waving her hand in dismissal like I was being ridiculous.
“I’m out with some work friends. No biggie.”
My arms folded across my chest as I raised a brow, letting the silence sit just long enough to make the question clear without repeating it.
Eventually, her eyes rolled upward in exaggerated annoyance before she stepped closer and looped her arm through mine, squeezing like she could physically drag me out of whatever mood I was in.
“Why are you such a worrywart?” she huffed. “I’ve been to this club a hundred times—even without Nathan. I’m fine.”
“Famous last words after you're dumped in an alleyway and murdered,” I grumbled.
She stopped so abruptly it yanked me with her. My feet planted as she turned toward me, her grip tightening on my arm.
“Nathan had to meet his maker tonight,” she shot back, her voice sharper now. “And you?—”
She gestured at me, frustration flickering across her face.
“—you won’t go out anymore because of that one thing at the Track.”
Her voice wavered just slightly at the end, her expression tightening as she looked at me. Something softer, vulnerable, slipped through the cracks before she added, “You know I don’t like being alone at my place for too long.”
The words landed, and I immediately felt like shit. The way her shoulders held just a little too stiff, the way her fingers stayed hooked into my arm like she needed the contact.
Damn it.
I scrubbed a hand over my face, the irritation draining out just as fast as it had come.
“Shit, Lark…” I let out a breath, my posture loosening as I looked back at her. “You know I didn’t mean it likethat.”
The excuses sat on my tongue. Work. Exhaustion. Anything. But none of it was something I could actually say.
“I’m just—” I cut myself off, then shook my head with a short, helpless shrug as I admitted in full honesty, “I’m an asshole.”
She didn’t laugh or brush it off like she usually would. Her grip on my arm stayed, fingers pressing just slightly into my sleeve before easing again, and I knew why.
Her place wasn’t just an apartment; it was a childhood memory she couldn’t fully shake. The same walls, the same space where her mom had brought in strangers, trading blood for cash. No clinic. No safety net. Just whoever showed up at the door with enough money.
The trouble with that was you never knew what kind of supe was about to walk in… and she’d grown up right in the middle of it.
I exhaled slowly, letting my shoulders drop.
“Alright,” I said, softer this time, shifting my weight and lightly nudging her with my elbow. “What arewedoing tonight?”
Her eyes flicked up to mine, the tension easing just a fraction as she searched my face.
“Really?”
For just a second, I could see the little girl she used to be shining down at me. The one whose fingers would grip the doorknob that wouldn’t turn all night long. The child who heard her mom’swarning on the other side of her locked bedroom door.Don’t come out. No matter what you hear.
