I stand near the edge of the rooftop with ocean wind lifting strands of my hair. The black dress Lady forced on me hugs my body like it remembers every curve I tried to forget existed. My heels click softly against the tile when I shift my weight, sharp and controlled.
Men notice.
They always do.
Tonight I don’t pretend not to see it.
A waiter in a crisp white jacket slides up with a tray of champagne flutes. I take one without hesitation, letting the cool glass settle between my fingers. Bubbles race up the side like tiny fireworks.
At last, I let myself stand still and breathe.
Maybe I belong here.
Maybe I deserve to.
“Jesus,” Lady mutters beside me when she slips away from the booth between tracks.
Her gaze sweeps over me from head to toe, slow and approving. “You look like revenge.”
“Good,” I say, lifting the glass to my lips.
The champagne tastes sharp and cold, the kind of expensive alcohol that pretends it isn’t dangerous.
Lady grins, resting her elbow against the railing. “Half the room thinks you’re somebody famous.”
“Let them.”
She laughs softly under her breath. “You always did like chaos.”
Before I can answer, the elevator at the far end of the rooftop dings.
The sound is small. Ordinary.
But something inside my chest goes still.
The doors slide open and black leather spills out into the glow of the rooftop lights. Saints Outlaws cuts. Saints Outlaws patches stretched across broad backs. The air around them changes, like the rooftop just remembered the real city below it.
They don’t belong in a place like this.
That’s exactly why they walk in like they own it.
My pulse jumps.
Diablo steps off the elevator last.
He looks different under the South Beach lights. Dark jeans. A black button-down pulled tight across his shoulders. Hair pushed back from his face. The shadow along his jaw makes him look even harder than usual. He scans the rooftop like he’s stepping onto a battlefield instead of a party, eyes moving over exits, corners, sightlines.
Then he sees me.
The moment lands like a punch.
His gaze locks onto mine across the rooftop. His shoulders tense slightly, and something in the air between us snaps tight.
He doesn’t smile.
He looks hungry.
Lady inhales beside me. “Oh hell.”
