Alexandra’s POV
The ride to the forgotten part of the underworld was more unsettling than I anticipated. The deeper we went, the more the air thickened with an almost tangible tension. I sat stiffly in the backseat, my hands clenched in my lap as Jake’s men drove me through narrow, dimly lit streets that twisted and wound in ways that made me lose all sense of direction. The world above seemed a distant memory. Here, I was at the mercy of those who operated in the shadows.
I kept my face composed, even though my insides were knotted with dread. The men beside me hadn’t spoken much since they picked me up—just a cold, businesslike “Get in” when they arrived. Now they sat silent, their eyes hard, not offering me any reassurance. I wasn’t sure what I had expected, but this wasn’t it.
When
