She studied me for a second, then nodded. “Night, Lark.”
The door swung shut behind her. The bar emptied fast after that. Lights dimmed to a warm, muted glow that made High Voltage feel smaller, quieter. Like the walls were leaning in.
When I turned, Chain was standing in the doorway to his office.
“Come here a minute.”
“I still need to—”
“Now, Lark.”
Not harsh. Just final.
I followed him inside. The office smelled like whiskey, leather, and him. He shut the door and leaned back against it, arms crossed, blocking the only exit without touching it.
“You gonna tell me what’s goin’ on?” he asked. “You’ve barely looked at me since earlier.”
“I’m fine.”
His jaw flexed. “You keep sayin’ that. You don’t look it. So try again.”
The lie hovered on my tongue. It would’ve been easier. Safer. But I was tired of swallowing things whole.
“I heard Roxanne and Cassie talking.”
His brows drew together. “About what?”
“About me.”
Something shifted in his face, the easy calm gone. “What’d they say?”
I met his eyes because if I didn’t, I wouldn’t get it out at all. “That you pity me. That I’m just some damaged girl you feel sorry for. And that you like her too. In your office. On her knees.”
The silence that followed pressed in hard. The room felt smaller.
He pushed off the door. “That’s bullshit.”
“I know what I heard.”
“And I know what’s true.” He took a step closer, frustration radiating off him. “I was with Roxanne. Once. A year ago. It wasn’t here. It wasn’t even in this building.”
“That doesn’t change the fact you still work together.”
His eyes narrowed, searching my face. “Yeah. We do. Because she does her job. That’s it. She’s someone I slept with when I was drunk and stupid, and it didn’t mean a damn thing.”
“Not to you,” I said quietly. “But it meant something to her. And to women like her. And I’m not going to be one of them.”
Confusion crosses his face. I knew I was being unreasonable. I knew I was giving him whiplash with my hot and cold approach. But I couldn’t seem to stop myself.
He stopped in front of me, close enough that the air between us felt charged, his anger aimed everywhere but at me. “Lark—”
“No.” I didn’t step back. “You want honesty? Here it is. I’m afraid, and it kills me to admit it.”
His voice came rough, edged with disbelief. “You really think I’m out to use you and toss you aside?”
I hesitated.
That was answer enough.
