I try to retrace my steps, but everything is a blur. I vaguely remember messaging someone…no,who did I message? Did I send anything to Andrew?
My stomach tightens.Please, God, don’t let me have texted him.
I fumble for my phone, my fingers sluggish, uncooperative. I manage to unlock the screen, and a wave of relief washes over me when I see only old messages about Bash. Thank fucking God.
But then I catch sight of my laptop, sitting innocently on the coffee table. The pull is subtle but insistent, demanding I open it and confront whatever mistake is waiting inside.
I push myself up, nausea rising, but I don’t stop. I drag my legs over the edge of the couch. One foot thuds to the floor. Then the other. I haul the top half of me forward and reach. My fingers are slow, trembling as I open the laptop and type my password. The screen blinks to life. A barrage of additional screens open, but a dark broody website catches my eye—
Ruin's End.
My stomach drops.
What the hell?
I lean in. My contacts are dried to my eyeballs. That’s it, because I can’t be seeing things right. My heart pounds in my chest, eyes scanning line after line. I can’t shake the feeling that whatever’s on the screen is a mess I can’t undo.
Demi appears in the hallway, her energy bouncing off the walls, bubblier than I can handle right now. She stops when she sees me.
“Why do you look like you’re about to cry?” she asks, brows knit with concern.
I let out a shaky breath and show her the laptop screen, pointing to the open conversation. “This.”
Her brows furrow even more as she leans in to read. Fingertips fly through her sleep mussed red hair. She doesn’t say anything for a beat, then looks up at me, lips curling into a smile.
“Oh, come on,” she says, almost laughing. “Look at this as a win. A funny story. It’s the freaking bar website.‘Ruin's End.’” She tosses up air quotes, dripping with sarcasm, already prepared to wage eternal war against the place.
“Yeah, let’s hope,” I mutter, rubbing my forehead. “Nothing went too far, and I didn’t hire a hitman. Thank God. The guy said his name was H.” I stare at the screen again, my heart still thumping against my ribs. “It could be Hex—Hector, couldn’t it? What if he reports me to the police?”
Demi shrugs, clearly more amused than concerned. “He could.”
I open another tab on the website, this time clicking on the About Us section.
“That doesn’t concern you?” I question my friend.
“One drunken night? Nah. Nothing to worry about. A mistake. I think you actually have to exchange money for it to be a crime. You didn’t CashApp him, did you?” She’s making her way to the kitchen I pray to make coffee.
I read about the bar’s founding, a couple of years ago, scrolling down to Hector Alvarez’s bio.
I pull my blanket around my shoulders and crane my neck to read it again. Sober.
The bio makes him sound… wholesome, oddly enough. The kind of guy you’d expect to be running some upscale lounge, not taking hitman requests. His profile mentions his background in business, and that he’s dedicated to making Ruin's End a placewhere people come for more than just drinks. It even says he’s “known for his personality” and “for going the extra mile for his patrons.”
I shut the laptop with a sigh, shoulders caving in.
“I’m going to go in and talk to him. Make sure he knows I sent this”—I wave in circles at my laptop—“without thinking. Drunk. Stupid. A mistake, just like you called it.”
“It’s fine, Sable,” Demi says after a long pause. “Seriously. The guy probably laughed it off.”
“No,” I say firmly, shaking my head. “I need to go there and make sure he doesn’t think I tried to hire a hitman. I don’t care what he thinks of me. I just need to make it clear. I own a business in this town and so does he. We will cross paths, and I don’t need him thinking Thorne Revival is run by a paranoid woman looking to commit murder.”
Demi rolls her eyes dramatically. “Babe, WE are banned FOR LIFE. Remember?”
I wince. “Youare banned.”
“You’re not going to get in there. But I’d be happy to wait for you outside.” She grins wickedly.
I shoot her a look. “So helpful, Demi. I’m a big girl who can go by herself.”
