It wasn’t.
None of this was.
Gianni rolled his neck once, cracking it like he was about to step into a boxing ring instead of a beauty parlor.
I pushed off the counter.My pulse had changed to a stutter.Like something inside me had settled into place.
This was the part I understood.The quiet before the storm.
I reached for the small clutch on the table, slipping my fingers inside long enough to feel the cool metal hidden within.Grounding.Familiar.Real.
Near me, Archie moved and stopped just short of touching me, close enough that I could feel the heat of him again, even through the layers between us.
“Stay where I can see you,” he said quietly.
Not a request.Not even advice.A command.
I tilted my head, meeting his gaze.
“You planning on watching me all night?”
His jaw tightened slightly.
“I’m just trying to keep you alive, Tone.”
Something sharp slid through my chest.I smirked anyway.
“Try not to get distracted, then.”
Archie’s gaze dropped—brief, deliberate—catching on my mouth before dragging back up like he hadn’t meant to linger.
There.Gone.
“Not a problem,” he said.
I let out a quiet breath, tilting my head as I held his gaze, catching the tension he’d just buried.
Liar.
16
Archie
Everything about tonight was a lie.
The dress itched.Like my skin knew it didn’t belong there and was waiting for permission to tear it off.
I stood behind the station, one hand resting lightly on the counter, posture loose, relaxed—every inch of me selling the illusion to the empty salon.At any moment now, Baron Vilevski would roll up to the salon for his appointment.And with any luck, it would be the last appointment he would ever keep.
Atlas sat in one of the chairs, legs crossed, posture immaculate, like he belonged there.Like he’d been born to sit in places like this.But I knew better.I knew what lived under that calm.Precision.Violence.
Gianni lingered toward the back, head down, playing the part even though we still didn’t have an audience.Anyone looking too quickly would miss the way his weight was distributed.The way his hands never strayed far from where he could reach for his gun.
And Tone—I tried not to keep looking in her direction.Because if I did, I’d linger.And lingering was dangerous considering what was about to happen here.
But I felt her.At the front.Holding the room together like it belonged to her.
She didn’t act.Shebecame.She stepped into her role—and it fit.