Page 23 of Hidden

Slowly, deliberately, I straightened from the glass, dragging my gaze away from hers for the first time since she’d seen me. Itfelt wrong, like tearing something open that had only just begun to settle.

But this wasn’t over.

Not by a long shot.

My fingers tightened briefly around the knife before I lowered my hand, stepping back towards the edge of the balcony. The distance between us widened, but it didn’t feel the same as before.

Because now she knew.

Now she had seen me.

There was no going back to shadows and silence after this.

I held her gaze one last time, letting everything I wasn’t saying sit heavy in the space between us.

I grinned at her, a grin that said so much.

I haven’t forgotten. I haven’t forgiven. And you don’t get to pretend that I’m not here anymore.

I’m always fucking here.

Then, without another thought, I turned and vaulted over the railing, landing lightly on the grass below. The impact barely registered as I straightened, already moving, already slipping back into the darkness I had abandoned hours ago.

Only this time, it felt different. Because this time, I wasn’t leaving her behind. This wasn’t a retreat, it was a reprieve. I’d be back.

Over and over, I’d be back.

She chose me once, and I wasn’t waiting for her to do it again.

This time, she wouldn’t be offered the option.

Chapter 9

Vienna

Now

“With all due respect, brother, you look like shit,” Greg told me, slapping a hand on my shoulder.

For a second, I let a smile play on my lips. A small, secret smile of the night before. And then the mask came back into place, and Vienna reigned supreme.

“The disrespect in this place is getting out of hand. Dante!” I yelled, interrupting his bickering with Rachel. “Dante, where’s the suggestion box? I need to make an entry!”

“An entry for what?” he sighed, sounding at the end of his tether.

“About how we deal with the disrespect running rampant in this club. It’s tearing us apart. I want to put a formal suggestion that all such cases should be met with swift punishment.”

“You burnt the suggestion box, Ven,” Rachel said. “You literally danced around the fire giggling like a fucking maniac, and then dumped the ashes in Monster’s pint.”

“Are you sure about that?” I frowned back. “It doesn’t sound like something I’d do.”

“Not unhinged enough for you?” she called back before dismissing me, pulling Dante through the door to continue their argument.

“Looks like that was a no,” Greg laughed.

“Don’t you have some sort of spell to cast, Malfoy?” I barked at him, referencing the nickname Rachel had once given him.

“And don’t you have a song to be performing?” he responded, ignoring my insult. “Why are you sulking at the bar?”