I savored the rich, almost chocolatey taste of the whiskey as the bartender left to tend to other duties. I hadn’t allowed myself to indulge since the Prague incident, but I needed it tonight.
It wasn’t enough to fill the void, but it was better than nothing.
They’re as empty as everything else in your life.
Maya’s voice echoed through my head. I clenched my jaw and continued drinking, hoping it’d drown out the memory of her.
It didn’t.
God, I couldn’t stand her. I couldn’t stand how she argued with me every time we talked or the way she cut through the bullshit and nailed me right where it fucking hurt. I couldn’t stand knowing that no matter what I did or how much I won, she’d never see me as anything other than her nemesis.
Most of all, I couldn’t stand the way she haunted my thoughts for days, weeks, months.
Years.
She was right about so much, and wrong about so much more. But I couldn’t begin to untangle that web because we didn’t have that type of relationship.
So I sat there in the private bar of the Vault, and I drank.
The floor was closed to the general public. Only select VIPs had open access to it, and besides the bartender, I was the only person here.
Or rather, I used to be.
The door opened, and I caught a whiff of sweet perfume before the newcomer slid onto the stool next to mine.
“A seltzer with a twist of lime, please,” she told the bartender. “Thank you.”
“Ayana.” I didn’t turn my head. “Shouldn’t you be downstairs with your friends?”
“Maya’s busy, and Sloane is scheming with Xavier.” She crossed her legs, her crystal-studded dress sparkling in my peripheral vision. “I saw you sneak up here and decided to keep you company. You looked upset.”
If it were anyone else, I’d think they were flirting with me, but Ayana and Vuk were locked at the hip. There was no breaking up that couple unless some poor fool wanted to be fish food in the East River.
“That’s nice of you, but you should really leave before Vuk throws me into a meat grinder and serves me up to the dogs.”
Ayana laughed. “Come on. He’s not that bad. He’s a big teddy bear once you get to know him.”
I huffed out a laugh at the thought of how Vuk Markovic would react to anyone other than his girlfriend calling him a “big teddy bear.”
Big, sure. That motherfucker was the size of a small mountain. Teddy bear? Only if said teddy bear had silent anger issues and was more unhinged than a screen door in a hurricane.
I was about to excuse myself when I finally registered what she’d said earlier. “Maya’s busy? Doing what?”
“She’s talking to some guy.” Ayana accepted her drink with a smile. “Xavier couldn’t get a hold of Killian, so he introduced her to one of his old buddies who’s in town.”
I grimaced. “Not one of his party buddies, I hope. They’re bad news.”
“Maybe for long-term relationships, but she’s just looking for a wedding date. Someone who’s fun and down to party sounds like the perfect fit.” Ayana arched an eyebrow. “Unless you want to take her?”
I barked out a laugh. “No. I don’t.”
“Okay, so it shouldn’t bother you if she goes with another guy.”
“It doesn’t bother me. I never said it—” I cut myself off and took a deep breath. “She can go with whoever she wants. I was simply pointing out that the people from Xavier’s past can’t be trusted.”
“Aren’t you from his past?”
“I’m the exception, obviously.”
