~CHAPTER FORTY~
The club slowly breathes back to life.
Music swells again. Laughter returns. People dance like nothing ever happened, like violence didn’t just ripple through the room minutes ago. It’s strange how quickly the world moves on
I drink more.
Too much.
The burn of alcohol dulls my thoughts and loosens my tongue. Ivy is already wasted, slumped into the couch, words tumbling out of her mouth in nonsense. I don’t care enough to listen.
I stand, swaying slightly, and decide I need air or answers.
Hardin’s office.
I stumble through the hallway, muttering to myself, heels clicking unevenly against the floor. The door is unlocked. I push it open and walk in.
He’s seated behind his desk, focused, cold, surrounded by paperwork and shadows. A cigarette burns between his fingers,
