We look almost normal when we leave.
The event space is attached to one of the city’s luxury hotels, with marble floors that gleam like mirrors and chandeliers the size of small cars. Money bleeds from every surface in designer suits and shiny dresses. Adriana walks beside me in a dark green dress that hugs her figure but covers more than anything I’ve seen her wear in months. Conservative, by comparison. Definitely careful and strategic.
I’m in an all-black suit.
We probably look like we belong here among the venomous fucking snakes. Alexei stands near the entrance speaking with a cluster of men, his salt-and-pepper hair slicked back, his steel-gray eyes finding us almost immediately. He looks us over slowly, then steps closer.
“Behave,” he says calmly. “Mingle. Eat. Have fun tonight. There’s an event later that you cannot miss.”
Before either of us can respond, he turns and disappears back into the crowd. I glance around and immediately notice his men spaced throughout the room, leaning against pillars, pretending to check their phones, and standing at the bar. They’ll be watching us all night.
I nudge Adriana lightly when I feel her go rigid beside me. Her eyes are locked across the room, wide and unblinking. I follow her gaze.
Vlad.
Of goddamn course.
I rest my hand on the small of her back and guide her toward the appetizer and drink tables before she can spiral. “Come on.”
She moves with me, but her shoulders are tight. “He’s going to sell me, isn’t he,” she says quietly, but it’s not framed as a question.
I grab a glass of champagne and hand it to her, then take one for myself. “Not while I have anything to say about it.”
That makes her look at me. “Really?”
I nod once and down the entire glass in a single swallow, setting it aside before the burn even fades. “Really.”
Some of the tension in her shoulders eases, just a little. “Jude,” she says after a moment, voice lower now, “can you make it look like I’m yours?”
I raise a brow.
She swallows. “We don’t have to do anything. Just…make it look like you’re staking a claim to me. Publicly. Maybe he won’t try to sell me if he thinks someone already has...ownership. Alexei knows you don’t feel anything for me like you do about…”
I study her for a second. She knows I don’t want to hearhername. “Yes,” I say easily, stepping closer. I lean down until my mouth brushes her ear. “Play the part, Adriana.”
She stiffens, just for a moment, her eyes going distant like she vanished somewhere inside herself. I wonder if I said the wrong thing. Then she comes back. She steps fully into my space, lifts her chin toward me, and I don’t hesitate. My hand slides lightly to her waist as I kiss her, slow enough to be convincing, controlled enough to stay believable in a room full of predators. We haven’t kissed in what feels like forever.
When I pull back, a soft smile touches her lips. “Okay, Jude,” she says quietly. “Let’s survive tonight, yeah?”
I nod once. Together, we move deeper into the crowd, toward the dance floor where the wealthy spin beneath golden lights, bathed in money and filthy secrets.
After a while, the alcohol settles in, warming my veins. The music shifts to piano layered over a low bassline, and Adriana’s hand slides into mine. We dance because we’re supposed to. We’ve managed to avoid both Alexei and Vlad so far, which feels like borrowed time more than luck, to be honest.
Adriana’s body stays close to mine, one arm resting lightly over my shoulder, her fingers brushing the back of my neck. For a while, neither of us says anything. Just swaying, blending in with the sea of wealth and quiet corruption surrounding us.
Then she clears her throat. “Can I ask you a favor?”
I nod without looking down yet. “Yeah.”
Her hand tightens slightly on my shoulder. “If they come for me…can you kill me before they take me?”
I still. Completely.
I look down at her, and she’s already watching me, eyes steady, not dramatic or emotional at all. She's completely sure about the questions she just asked.
She tilts her head slightly, her lips brushing my neck as she leans closer so no one else can hear. “I want it to be quick, if you can. If you’d gift me that. I’d rather die before another man hurts me. They've been hurting me since I was ten years old. I'm done.”
A slow breath leaves my chest. “Yes,” I say quietly.