“Calm down, Kade,” Liam cuts in, smirking. “Go home to Queenie and cool off.”
I move before my brain even catches up. My hand clamps around Liam’s throat, and I slam him into the wall hard enough to rattle the frames. His smirk vanishes.
“You little fucker,” I growl into his face.
“Kade,” Jimmy warns, voice low. “Let’s not do anything stupid.”
The unmistakable click of a safety being released slices through the room. My jaw twitches. I shove Liam aside, lettinghim stumble. He laughs—high, shaky bravado. I step back, but only enough to show I’m choosing to, not because he earned the space.
“Get the fuck out of here,” I snarl. “And stay the hell away from my club.”
Jimmy lifts both hands in a mock surrender, backing toward the door with that oily smile still plastered on his face.
“Understood,” he says, giving me a small, mocking salute before stepping outside. The door swings shut behind them.
The silence they leave behind feels loaded. Like a fuse has just been lit. And I’m standing right on top of it.
CHAPTER FIVE
EDEN
I know, even before I open my eyes, that something bad has happened to me.
A cold heaviness sits in my chest, a hollow ache I can’t explain. I’m scared to see where I am; scared to confirm the feeling crawling up my spine.
So I lie still, eyes squeezed shut, shivering against the cool air, forcing my fogged brain to rewind the night.
The club. The dancing. Looking for the bathroom. Ending up outside. Texting Fern.
Fern.She’ll be worried sick.
I need to move. I need to face whatever happened.
Slowly, I crack my eyes open.
Dark sky. No stars. A strip of cloud over my head. I blink, once, twice, letting my vision steady. My limbs feel heavy, uncooperative, like I’m waking from the deepest sleep I’ve ever had.
It takes me minutes—actual minutes to curl a finger. Then a second. Then to bend my knees.
Nothing seems broken. But everything feels slowed. Distant. Fuzzy.
My head throbs with a ruthless, pulsing ache, and when I push myself upright, the world tilts for a second before settling again. My legs come into view, bare and dirty. Mud streaks my calves, and there are raw grazes across both knees, dried blood crusted around them. A tremor ripples through my hands. I don’t remember falling. I don’t remember any of this. The harder I try to reach for the memory, the further it slips away, leaving a hollow pressure in my chest. My breathing quickens, shallow and uneven and I carefully touch my knees where my skin is torn. The blood is dried.
How long have I been here?How did this even happen?
Panic chokes me as I scan my surroundings. I’m in an alley beside a large industrial waste bin. The smell of damp cardboard and something metallic hangs in the air.
I swallow hard and roll onto my knees, wincing as my body protests. Every muscle aches. There’s a heavy discomfort deep in my stomach, a wrongness I can’t explain.
I find my bag tossed half-behind the bin. It’s open. My purse is gone. My phone’s gone.
Was I robbed?Did I fall and knock myself out? I don’t remember. God, why can’t I remember?
A ringing starts in my ears, high and piercing. My chest tightens, my breaths turning quick and shallow as my eyes dart around trying to find anything familiar.
Holding the wall, I stumble out of the alley and onto a quiet street. Drunk stragglers weave past, laughing, but everything feels muffled, far away.
A couple slows when they see me.
