But then he walked out of the room without looking back at me, and I just stood there, pulse still thrumming in my throat, and the phantom heat of his body hovering just over me. What was worse was that I was disappointed that he hadn’t kissed me. Yes, we had gone farther than just a simple kiss, but this felt different. This time, I was emotionally invested in his lips meeting mine, in the fact that maybe he could fall in love with me, not the image of the girl I portrayed myself as. This moment felt electrified, and I think he knew that too.
Somewhere deep in my gut, I knew we were drawing near the end of this dangerous game. It was just a matter of time to see who held the loaded gun to whose head.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
acelynn
It had beendays since I had last seen or heard from Kaius. I wouldn’t say he was avoiding me, but that might be giving myself too much credit. Kaius wouldn’t stay away from his own bar and the Knights just because he felt something toward me.
The rush at the Queen’s Table had finally bled out into the streets for the night, leaving the bar with the strange after-hours quiet. A couple of regulars nursed the last of their beers in the corner, too stubborn to leave a drop behind, but even their voices were muffled under the slow, melancholy hum of a jazz track dripping from the speakers.
“I’m going to take this out,” I called toward Astoria.
The trash bag was heavy in my hands as I yanked it out from under the counter, the bag slick and bulging, like it might split at the seams any second. The smell of sour beer, citrus rinds, and something oddly metallic clung to the inside of my nose. Astoria nodded once at me before turning back to counting the till. Tosay it had been awkward between us the last few shifts would be an understatement, but there had never been a good time to speak with her. Maybe tonight we could clear the air because, as much as I hated to admit it, I missed Astoria.
I shoved open the back door, bracing against the harsh heat of the night. The alley was still, lit only by a flickering streetlight that buzzed overhead. The dumpster creaked open, and I tossed the bag into its darkness.
That’s when I noticed it. At the far end of the narrow alley, the basement doors were swung open. I knew for a fact that none of the boys would just leave that open for anyone to venture into. My feet moved quickly toward the shadowed doorway.
“Hello?” I called out, staring down into the basement’s depths, waiting for someone to jump out and ask me what I was doing, but no one came. Crossing the invisible barrier, I took the stairs two at a time, letting the coolness of the underground bunker chill my heated skin.
Everything in me told me to leave. To go back to the bar and pretend I hadn’t seen it. But curiosity didn’t work like that. I reached up, fingers searching for the string to the overhead light, pulling once when I found it and illuminating the entire space. Nothing looked out of place, all the vials perfectly aligned, and the discarded remnants of something Vince had been working on scattered across the worktable. But still, I couldn’t get the gnawing feeling that this was some sort of trap out of my mind.
“What are you doing?” Astoria’s high-pitched voice startled me.
I whipped around, facing the girl as she descended the last steps.
“That door was open,” I stammered, pointing one finger toward the entryway. “I thought this was maybe another dry storage unit that someone forgot to close up.”
“You always seem to be sniffing around where you don’t belong.” She crossed both arms over her chest as she glared at me. I took her in for the first time tonight. Her light-colored hair was pulled back into a claw clip, a few loose strands framing her face. She didn’t look like she had worked a moment tonight, makeup still perfectly intact. She let out a laugh. “You know what? Save whatever other excuse you have for me. That Polaroid told me everything I needed to know about you.”
“Enough with the Polaroid, Astoria!” I screamed at her, my patience wearing thin. “Did you ever stop to think maybe I had an explanation for what was in that picture?”
“Careful, sweetheart. Some secrets you can’t take back if you dig them up,” Astoria sneered at me.
I rolled my eyes at the girl. “Cut the tough girl act.”
“Well, go on.” Astoria motioned with her hands to continue. “Try to explain away the obvious.”
“Like you have any room to talk, Miss ‘I’m having secret meetings with strange men outside my brother’s nightclub.’” I shot her a knowing look.
Her face became flushed with anger, but she didn’t say anything more.
I continued, “I was being questioned about the Knights by those two detectives when that picture was taken. They caught wind that I was now working for Kaius as a bartender and were trying to grill me about what goes on in the bar.”
“And what did you tell them?” Astoria narrowed her eyes at me.
“Well, considering I had barely even started working here, there was nothing to tell.” I shrugged nonchalantly. Astoria went to speak, but I cut her off. “Even if I did know what I do now, I wouldn’t have said anything. I wouldn’t betray you like that.”
“You mean you wouldn’t betray my brother like that?” Astoria grumbled. She stepped back, taking a seat on the bottom step of the stairs.
I stepped forward. “No. I mean, I wouldn’t betray you, Astoria. Yes, I am seeing your brother, if you can even call it that, but you’re my best friend, Astoria, and that means something to me.”
She peered up at me through her lashes. “I am sorry for holding this over your head instead of just asking you. There has been a lot going on in my head, and I might have gotten a tad jealous that my brother has been stealing all your time.”
“It’s fine,” I said, the corners of my mouth quirking up into a small smile. “You gonna tell me what you were doing at the club the other night?”
Astoria’s entire face flushed red in embarrassment. “I, uh…I was meeting up with an old fling, but I didn’t want you to say anything to my brother and it get back to Nolan.”
