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She turned around and patted my cheek. “He’s not important.”

He is very important, dammit.

The urge to kill him coursed through me, changing my entire mood.

She tucked herself in, looking exhausted and sad. “He’s dead.” She stared at me for a while as tears welled in her eyes.“Thanks for asking. This has been the most perfect dream of my life.” She reached for my hand as her eyes fluttered close. “He can’t hurt me anymore . . .”

While she drifted off to sleep, I held her hand, trying to process everything.

My plan to call an Uber vanished. I wasn’t going anywhere. I wanted to stay by her side. The need to protect her coursed through me like magma churning beneath the surface of the Earth. I had to know the complete story when she was sober.

She shifted, removed her hand from mine, and curled into the blanket, facing me. I lay beside her, studying her lovely face.

She looked so peaceful. But behind the peaceful façade dwelled a dark story. Her scarred back flashed in front of me.

How long had she had these wounds? I noticed a circular wound of raised fleshon her lower back. That appeared to have been caused by something else—like a branding tool.

“What in the world happened to you?” Ibrushed her hair away from her face.

The scars appeared like they’d healed, but had she truly recovered?

Those kinds of scars lasted forever. I knew this because I couldn’t forget the wounds on my body either.

I couldn’t sleep as I wondered what her life had been like. Did Kaylee know about Vivian’s story?

My phone buzzed with a text from the PI.

PI:JC spotted in Providence at Midnight Chaoss.

He sent me a pic of a man amongst the fighting crowd. That club required a special invitation.

Arrow:Can you get me in?

PI:You’ll need to wear a mask.

After I gave him an alias I wanted to use, I ended the call and prepared to find the fucker.

Vivian shifted, murmured something, and fell back to sleep.

“Sweet dreams, Tulip.” I squeezed Vivian’s hand. I didn’t want to leave her, but this was my chance to apprehend a man who had stolen from me.

CHAPTERTWENTY-FIVE

ARROW

I’d calledan Uber to retrieve my car from Remi’s and rushed into the twenty-four-hour store to buy a blue mask. I got some markers and drew a bullseye on it since my alias was Bullseye.

I’d heard of Midnight Chaoss but hadn’t considered going there. I’d been focusing on luxury clubs where elite members of The Trogyn visited. Midnight Chaoss wasn’t a classy club by any means. On the surface, it appeared like a nightclub with dancing, food, and music. But it also hosted illegal gambling—a fight club for humans and animals.

This would be the perfect place for James Chin to hide. The fuckerhad worked at my Texas warehouse for eight years. He had moved up the ladder from a forklift driver to a manager.

I parked a block away from the alley where the club was. Midnight Chaoss was below a twenty-four-hour gym called Chaoss Workouts. I strode by a group of thugs trying to hook up with two girls. Another group of men wearing masksstood huddled, smoking in the corner.

I recognized a strange version of Iron Man, a cat, an alien face, and Elmo. I supposed my half-assed mask wasn’t that bad compared to theirs. An icy breeze blew by and I pulled up my hood. The temperature had dipped to zero tonight.

I walked into the gym, which was pretty busy given the midnight hour. I walked up to the receptionist and told him I was Bullseye and here for the special training.

He gave me a red bracelet and pointed to the back room. “Down two flights of stairs, and you’ll see a black door. Scan the bracelet on a monitor, and someone should let you in.”