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“So,” she said as she hopped up and laid back, “who’s this Zarina?”

I smirked, shaking my head at the eavesdropping skills on the girl. She was probably making conversation more to ease her own nerves, rather than actually being nosy. But I still chuckled a little as I dipped into the black ink.

“She’s my old lady.”

* * *

The rest of the night passed without much interest. Jess went home. I packed up all the equipment, disinfecting everything with the fresh smelling cleanser. The bit of work had done me good, got me out of my head.

The bell on the door chimed as it opened.

“Sorry,” I called over my shoulder. “We’re closed.”

“That’s nice, mate.” A man chuckled in a tone that had me turning around to see who the fuck he was.

But then everything went dark.

24

ZARINA

It wasweird sleeping in my old bedroom at Toni’s house. Sure, it looked nothing like how it used to, but it still felt like mine.

There were no boy band posters on the wall, no mirrored vanity or boxes stained with makeup, no piles of clothing in the corner of the room. But the bed was the same, and so were the dark red sheets that felt so soft and worn in.

It’s no wonder that when I checked the time that it was nearly 10 a.m. It had been probably some of the most restful sleep I’d had in a while.

Toni and I hadn’t got to talk much after he brought me back here. We put on quite the show though. I sulked in the corner while he told me I was not to leave the house. And though it was tempting to reclaim my 16 year old self and sneak out the high window to go and meet up with Ashe, I stayed put.

I had tried so hard to get Toni and the others to listen to me, and now they had. I wasn’t about to ruin it by fucking up what was essentially my own plan.

Though, I’ll admit that I was a little disheartened that Ashe hadn’t even tried to call me. Hadn’t sent me any harassing text messages either.

Hadn’t stalked me even alittle.

But my time in the tower playing locked-away princess was nearly over.

I padded out into the hall to the bathroom to wash my face, but the house was eerily quiet. My ears strained as I got dressed, listening for a hint of anyone or anything downstairs, but heard nothing.

I headed down the steps slowly and on high-alert. My stomach twisted, telling me that something was very wrong.

“Hello?” I tried halfway down the staircase.

And there was no response.

“Toni? Rome?” I called as I headed into the kitchen.

Hadeveryoneleft?

The sound of my phone ringing echoed through the room, causing me to jump. I clutched at my chest and looked down at the screen.

“Val?” I answered.

That feeling in my stomach only got worse.

“Zarina. Have you seen Ren?”

I frowned. “No, why?”