“Hey, Dollface,” Bradley greeted.
He rounded the table and pulled Serenity into a tight embrace. His blue gaze collided with mine in an icy glare overSerenity’s head, though if he expected me to cower over such a thing, he was going to have another thing coming. I stood taller and notched my chin higher in silent challenge.
“What are you doing here?” Serenity asked once the fucker released her.
“Isn’t it obvious?” he asked with a strained chuckle.
He reached out to squeeze her hand, and I nearly let some flames of Hell ignite over that limb. The fear of burning Serenity was the only thing that kept that urge in check. How dare he fucking touch her? He shouldn’t even exist in the sameworldas her.
“I’m here to celebrate your book release,” Bradley finished.
“Oh,” Serenity replied with a slow nod.
An awkward silence descended between the two. John scratched his beard and murmured something about regretting coming while Bradley shifted nervously on his feet. The tension made me scoff snidely, and I didn’t bother hiding it. This bastard really thought his presence would be welcomed, but Serenity’s confused silence spoke volumes. I relished in the fact that he knew I was witnessing her lack of excitement in his being here.
But why stop there? Why not rub some salt in his wound?
I shifted behind Serenity and feigned dropping one of my new books. “Oops,” I monotoned.
With the guidance of my shadows, which only I could see, the book landed by Bradley’s feet, facing his way, and on the signature page. The note she’d written was scrawled in bright blue ink, impossible to miss.
My Dante -- your Serenity
Serenity saw it too, because she gasped softly and quickly bent down to snatch the book closed. Bradley’s eyes were wide, and he stared at the ground where the book had been, all whileSerenity tucked her hair behind her ear and held the book close to her chest.
“Well,” she began nervously, not meeting her ex’s eyes. “Thanks for coming. The signing is actually over. Dante and I were just leaving.”
She grabbed my arm and pulled me toward the entrance with a whispered hiss. “Dante.”
I chuckled and leaned down closer to her, even as her face got redder. “What, Star? It was anaccident.”
She looked up at me with steel daggers in those gray eyes. “Accident my ass. You—”
“Wait!”
I froze and nearly growled as Bradley’s desperate voice grated on every last one of my nerves.
We looked over our shoulders as Bradley caught up to us, his eyes ping-ponging between us before settling on Serenity.
“Dollface, I wanted to take you out to celebrate your big day. Come to Oakley’s with me and John. The rest of our friends will swing by to congratulate you, too.”
I narrowed my eyes. Was this guy really that brainless, or did he just not care? Serenity had no friends among his group, so the suggestion to spend her evening with them amplified my hatred for this son of a bitch. But it also reminded me of my goal in all of this—to destroy this fake man by taking what he wanted most.
“Um,” Serenity started with a glance at me. “I think Dante and I—”
“It’s okay,” I told her. I flashed a tight smile at Bradley. “We can join your friends first.”
Her brow rose, and her lips parted in surprise. Bradley’s strained worry morphed into hopeful triumph. He shot me a cocky smirk, which made him look like an even bigger idiot. He acted like he’d somehow won here, despite the fact thatI’dagreed to join them. Little did he know he was walking right into the gaping jaws of a monster.
Oakley’s Bar was only a five minute drive from the bookstore, which gave my acrimony no time to settle. But I expected nothing less, considering the company I now had to share my time with. The only positive in this was getting the chance to break Bradley’s spirit.
The first instance of this came when we walked to a table. I stepped into Serenity’s side and placed a hand on the small of her back just as Bradley was starting to do the same thing. I nearly laughed when he basically tripped in his shocked state.
Our weird group got a small square table, and Bradley wasted no time taking the seat on Serenity’s other side and across from me. I was stuck staring at this ugly fucker while also sitting next to his friend, who hadn’t looked away from his phone since we got here. Though, he wasn’t the only one.
Serenity kept checking her phone, scrolling through what I now realized washersocial media account as SC Draven, interacting with the handful of posts about her books. She picked at her thumb beneath the table while her nervous eyes darted over her phone screen, reading what people had tagged her in.
Bradley cleared his throat. “So, uh, congrats, Dollface. Another book down!”
