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ALI

Drinks flowed freely in the resort bar, laughter spilling over polished wood and glittering crystal. Ali barely touched her own glass. In a new crowded place coupled with rising stress always made her tics flare. Still, the mood was light. Even Victoria—for once—seemed pleasant. Not a single cutting remark. She even told a few stories that had everyone laughing… including Charlotte.

A true miracle.

But the din of the bar crept toward overstimulating. Noise layered over noise until Ali’s skin began to crawl, that familiar urge stirring at the backs of her arms. She leaned close to Charlotte and murmured that she needed air. Charlotte offered to come—of course she did—but Ali could see she was relaxed, glowing, unburdened. A rare sight. A well-earned one.

Ali could still feel her in the most delicious way.

Outside, the courtyard was quiet and cold. She dropped onto a leather sofa near the fire pit, tugging her jacket tighter as the sharp alpine air shocked some of the static from her nerves. The fire crackled, steady and grounding.

A flash of blonde crossed her peripheral. Lilah. Soft blonde curls bounced as she walked, glancing over her shoulder before hurrying toward the stairs that led up to the pool.

Ali lifted a hand to wave but Lilah never saw it as she disappeared up the stairs. Surely she wasn’t thinking of taking a dip in this weather… Everyone kept telling her it wasn’t that cold but she begged to differ.

Another flash of blonde.

Victoria.

Something in the way she moved like she was stalking prey set off spidey senses forged by years of watching True Crime documentaries.

Her boots hit stone as she crossed the courtyard in record time and started up the stairs, the wind biting at her face as she reached the top.

The deck was deserted.

Except for Lilah who was curled in the farthest corner beneath the pergola’s shadow and Victoria who stepped forward and strategically blocked her exit.

Ali’s stomach dropped and she retreated, darting down the stairs just to creep to the opposite side. She softened her footfalls up another set of stairs to peer through the railing, just close enough to hear and see everything.

She might feel bad for eavesdropping later. But part of her knew…

Victoria’s voice floated up into the air, like honey poured slowly over silk, warm and unhurried. But beneath all the sticky sweetness was something cold and deliberate.

“Come upstairs with me.”

Ali’s breath came out in a white puff that dissipated. There was no way.

Lilah’s hazy voice shook as she spoke. “No…”

This wasn’t Lilah. She mistook her for someone else. This was a horrible hypothesis that made her wretched for jumping to such conclusions.

Then Victoria spoke again and Ali’s next breath froze in her lungs.

“Please, Lilah. I want you all to myself.”

Oh.

Fuck.

“No,” Lilah managed, firmer but smaller somehow.

Cold flooded Ali’s veins. Accompanied by a horrid realization she was privy to something no one was meant to know.

Shit.

“Come on, baby girl,” Victoria coaxed, taking a step closer. “Sasha has kept me busy. We haven’t been able to spend any time together. I miss you,” Victoria’s voice dipped low, all saccharine sweetness and seduction.

Ali forgot how to breathe as she white-knuckled the railing.