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The curtains slid down between us, cutting him off completely, the final barrier falling into place with a soft, quiet sound that echoed far louder in my chest than it should have.

I stood there for a moment, drowning in the silence, my hand still wrapped around the cord, my breathing uneven, my heart aching in a way that felt far too familiar.

Then, slowly, I let go.

And just like that, he was gone.

Chapter 16

Vienna

Now

“Careful, Axel. One wrong move and the mighty beast will awaken.”

“Car,” Axel replied, completely unfazed by my warning as he shoved one of his toy cars straight over the fuel tank of my bike.

I cracked one eye open and squinted at him from where I was lying flat on my back across the bar floor, one arm tucked behind my head and the other draped dramatically across my stomach like some tragic Victorian widow.

“Did you hear me? I saidcareful. You’re playing a dangerous game.”

“Car,” he repeated, this time louder, before ramming the little red car directly into the handlebars.

I let out a long, suffering sigh and tilted my head towards the ceiling, staring up at the rafters as though I were silently asking God why this was my life.

My head was pounding. My mouth tasted like I’d licked the floor of a pub toilet, and every bone in my body felt as though it had been rearranged by a particularly angry lorry.

And yet, somehow, this was still preferable to being left alone with my own thoughts.

“Your uncle Vienna is trying very hard not to die, Axel,” Rachel called from behind the bar, not sounding remotely sympathetic as she wiped down the counters. “Can you at least try not to make his hangover worse?”

“Excuse me,” I croaked, lifting a hand into the air. “I’ll have you know, I am not hungover. I’m simply… preserving energy,” I finished, gesturing vaguely into the air.

Rachel snorted. “You’ve been laid on my floor for twenty minutes.”

“Strategically placed,” I corrected, turning my head to look at her. “There’s a difference. I’m using the cold floor to regulate my body temperature. It’s very scientific.”

“Mm-hm.”

“I’m basically a doctor.”

“You’re basically a public nuisance.”

“Now that’s just rude. In front of the child and all.”

Axel giggled, clearly taking my side, which was only right and proper.

“There, you see?” I said, pointing at him. “That’s because he recognises greatness when he sees it.”

“Or because you’re acting like a clown,” Dante muttered from his seat at the bar, not bothering to look up from whatever paperwork he was pretending to be interested in.

I frowned at him. “A clown? I’ll have you know, I am this child’s emotional support adult.”

Rachel barked out a laugh. “That is the most concerning thing I’ve ever heard.”

“It should be. I’m shaping young minds here.”

“Vroom!” Axel shouted, apparently in agreement, now driving two cars up and down the length of my bike seat like he was preparing them for some sort of race.