"The watch." Her eyes dropped toward my wrist again. "That's not yours."
I stared at her. Because I hadn't expected that. Hadn't expected anything even remotely close to that. My hand movedunconsciously. Just slightly. Toward my wrist. Toward Angelo's watch.
Four years. Four fucking years. Four years since I picked it up from his corpse. Four years since I put it on. Four years since I'd taken one look at it and decided if I couldn't have my brother back, then I'd take whatever pieces of him I could keep. I'd never taken it off. Not once.
Her eyes lifted back to mine. And the smug little smile faded. "You looked surprised."
I said nothing. She studied me quietly for another second. Then pointed. "It's too big."
My throat tightened. "...Too big?"
"A man like you." I frowned beneath the mask. She gestured vaguely toward me. "Everything matches."
“Suit. Shoes. Watch. Cuffs. Mask.” She was right. Then her gaze dropped toward my wrist again. "And a man like you would've had it altered."
I was speechless.
"But you didn't." Her voice softened slightly. "So it must be sentimental."
Christ. For the first time all night, I forgot how to speak. Because I wasn't standing in my club anymore. I wasn't hearing music. Wasn't seeing amber lights. Wasn't smelling perfume and whiskey and smoke.
I was twenty-six again. On my knees. Blood everywhere. Snakes. Chaos. Angelo lying there while the entire fucking world collapsed around me. His watch in my hand.
And when I looked back at her, she wasn't smiling anymore. She was just looking at me. Like she'd realized she'd accidentally found something I never let people see.
Chapter Three: AURORA
Ishouldhavefeltvictorious.I should have felt smug. Triumphant. I should have enjoyed the tiny, ridiculous satisfaction of finally wiping that stupid amused look off his face.
Instead, something strange settled low in my stomach. Because one second ago we'd been playing games. Stupid games. Annoying games. Stranger-in-a-devil-mask-and-making-questionable-life-decisions games. And then the entire atmosphere around us shifted so quietly I almost missed it.
The club hadn't changed. Music still rolled through the room in slow waves, deep enough that I felt it in my ribs more than heard it. Amber light still spilled across black marble and polished glass, catching on crystal bottles lined behind the bar like liquid gold. Laughter still drifted through velvet shadows while bodies moved around us beneath hanging chains and dark silk and whispered secrets.
Everything looked exactly the same. But somehow it felt different. Because he'd gone still. Not physically. Physically he looked exactly as he had before. One shoulder resting against the bar. Long legs crossed lazily at the ankle. Tailored black suitfitting broad shoulders like it had been designed specifically for him. Devil mask hiding half his face beneath warm gold light.
But his eyes... Something in his eyes had changed. Like I'd reached out blindly and brushed against something I wasn't supposed to touch. Like I'd knocked against a locked door and heard something breathing quietly on the other side.
Oops.
My stomach twisted unexpectedly. Not because I was scared. Because I wasn't sure I liked seeing him look... human. I looked down toward his wrist again. The watch sat beneath the edge of his sleeve, silver catching soft light from overhead. Expensive. Heavy. Too large. Too worn. Too loved. And another realization slid into place.
He hadn't laughed. Hadn't smirked. Hadn't thrown some irritating comment back at me. He'd just looked at me.
"Oh no," I said quietly. I pointed vaguely between us. "I accidentally made this serious."
Silence. Then the corner of his mouth moved beneath the mask. Just barely. Relief hit me embarrassingly hard.
"There he is," I sighed dramatically. "For a second I thought you were having emotions."
He stared at me for another second. Then he laughed. Not loudly. Not the obnoxious, smug kind of laugh he'd been using all night whenever he thought I was being ridiculous. This one was quieter. Rougher.
Like something had caught him off guard and he hadn't managed to hide it fast enough. The sound curled through the space between us and disappeared beneath the slow pulse of music.
"Emotions," he repeated.
I nodded solemnly. "Very concerning behavior."
He shook his head once, still looking at me in that strange way. Like he was trying to figure something out and wasn't entirelypleased by whatever answer he was getting. Then he pushed away from the bar. Slowly. Like he was making himself do it.