Page 60 of Silk and Sirens

It was as if I was on autopilot, because suddenly I was pulling up outside the club. Killing the engine, I sat in the heavy silence, staring up at the sleek, glowing sign I was proud of.

Atlantis was mine, built with nothing but blood and sheer fucking will.

Yet every brick carried the invisible stain of Selene’s authority. Her tentacles stretched across this city like rot beneath the surface, and no matter how hard I’d tried, I could never fully unravel myself. Not until she was dead.

Rain began to spit as I stepped out and walked towards the back entrance where a man stood in the shadows. My chest clenched, panic surging before he stepped into the light.

“Fletch?” I asked, coming over to grab him in a hug. “What are you doing here? You know this isn’t safe.” I tried to pull back, but he tightened the hug until it was almost painful.

He finally relaxed, pulling back so I could see his face. “Are you okay?”

I frowned up at him. “I’m fine.”

“Don’t bullshit me.”

I glanced around, relieved we were the only ones outside. Reaching past him, I keyed in the code, unlocked the door, and pulled him in with me. “I said I’m fine.”

The door clicked shut behind us, but I didn’t slow. I kept moving, dragging him with me until we reached my office, the only room without cameras, and locked us inside.

Fletcher stiffened, eyes darting around before settling back on me.

“I have something for you,” I said quietly, going to my keys to remove the spare. “I had my locks changed.” Mostly because people had developed an alarming habit of inviting themselves into my home. Not that I would tell him that.

He accepted the key, hand curling around it like he wanted it to dig into his skin. “I know who that was at Hex,” he said. “What kind of trouble have you gotten into with the Beast?”

“Nothing I can’t handle.” I shrugged off my coat and started undressing without hesitation. I didn’t bother with modesty. We’d been friends too long for it to matter.

“Red … The Beast isn’t exactly known for forgiveness.”

“I can handle it,” I said, slipping into the skin-tone dress I’d picked for tonight. “I don’t have any other choice.”

Fletcher sighed and stepped closer, reaching to zip up the back. “One word, and I’ll smuggle you out of here. New ID. New life. I even have this new printer that⁠—”

“You know I can’t.” Brushing my fingers down my dress, I turned to give him a brittle smile.

Fletcher’s jaw tightened, eyes flashing with a fury I rarely saw directed at me. “You’re so fucking stuck on helping Mira that you’ve forgotten she’s gone and not coming back,” he bit out, forcing me to flinch. “Yet you’re still trying to bleed yourself dry for her ghost.”

“Not a ghost.” Mira was missing, not dead.

“How long has it been since we found a single scrap of evidence that she’s still alive?” He stepped closer, his broad frame vibrating with barely leashed anger and something worse—helpless frustration. “Ten years? Eleven?”

His hands flexed as if he wanted to grab me, but I stepped back, automatically reaching up to touch the pearl pendant at the centre of my throat.

“Does Dad know you have that?” I asked, watching as Mira’s fingers paused on the clasp of the necklace.

She met my eyes in the mirror, hers widening just a little.

“I promise I won’t tell,” I whispered, nibbling on my bottom lip.

“Promise?” Mira turned around, one hand still rolling the pearl pendant between her fingers while she held out her pinky towards me.

“Promise,” I said solemnly, curling my little finger tightly around hers. “Was it Mama’s?”

Mira turned back to the mirror and studied her reflection for a long moment. Then she reached behind her neck and unclasped the necklace. “It’s mine now,” she said softly, “but I’ll let you borrow it. Fair?”

My eyes widened in surprise. “Really?”

“Of course,” she laughed gently. “Come here, kid.”