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‘It’s a phase.’

‘It’s not a phase,’ Miller counters coldly.

‘Yes, it is,’ Sophia retorts confidently, waving a condemning hand at me. Her reproachful eyes stab at me harshly, making me shrink a little. ‘You know only one thing, Miller Hart. You know how to make women scream with pleasure, but you don’t know what it means to really care.’ She smirks. ‘You’re the Special One. You. Only. Know. How. To. Fuck.’

I wince, resisting my overwhelming temptation to put her straight, but I’ve done enough damage already. The reason Sophia is standing here, oozing self-righteousness, is because of me. The reason Miller is bleeding next to me is because of me.

I can feel Miller building up into maniac mode. ‘You have no idea what I’m capable of. I worship Olivia.’ His voice quivers under the anger fizzing beneath his cool exterior.

Her face screws up in disgust and she steps forward. ‘You’re a fool, Miller Hart. He’ll never let you walk away.’

He explodes.

‘I love her!’ he roars, knocking every person back in the room. ‘I fucking love her!’ Tears burst from my eyes and I fall into his side. He immediately grabs me and pulls me close. ‘I love her. I love everything she stands for and I love how much she loves me. It’s more than you love me. It’s more than any of you claim to love me! It’s pure and light. It’s made me feel. It’s made me want more. If any fucker tries to take her away from me, I’ll fucking kill them.’ Pulling up for a second, he gathers a long breath. ‘Slowly,’ he adds, shaking beside me, clinging to me tightly, like he’s afraid someone will try right now. ‘I don’t care what he says. I don’t care what he thinks he can do to me. It’ll be him sleeping with one eye open, Sophia, not me. So tell him. Fucking run to him and confirm what he already knows. I don’t want to fuck for a living anymore. Tell him I don’t want to line his pockets anymore. You’re not holding me to ransom. Miller Hart is out of the game. The Special One has quit!’ He withdraws and takes a few moments to suck in another calming gulp of air, while everyone looks at him, shocked. Including me. ‘I love her. Go to him. Tell him I love her. Tell him I’m Olivia’s now. And tell him if he even thinks about touching a hair on her precious head, it’ll be the last thing he ever does.’

We’re on our way out before I can gauge what we’re leaving behind, although I can imagine perfectly well. I can’t even process his violent declaration. His arm is draped around my shoulder, and it feels warm and comforting, but it goes nowhere near the sense of belonging that I feel when he has his signature hold of me. I wriggle free of him, making him look down at me, totally perplexed as we keep up our pace, and move his hand to the back on my neck. Then I coil my arm around his tight waist. He breathes a sigh of acknowledgement, returns his focus forward, and marches on.

The music is back, pumping through the speakers at every turn, but the elite clientele are far from back to normal. Crowds of people are gathered everywhere, huddled close, obviously discussing the earlier scene involving the club owner. It makes me think of something. ‘Do all of these people know who you are?’ I ask, feeling eyes begin to bore into us from every direction of the club as we emerge from the stairs.

He doesn’t look at me. ‘Some,’ is his straight, one-word answer, telling me he knows what I’m talking about, and it isn’t the fact that he owns this establishment.

The evening air collides with my body, sending instant shivers bolting through me. I snuggle farther into Miller’s side and catch the eye of one of the doormen. His mean face straightens as he watches Miller escort me from the premises and across the road where Miller’s Mercedes is parked. As I’m guided to the passenger door, I glance across to the front of the club, seeing the guy who Miller has just beaten to within an inch of his life being bundled into a taxi by another bouncer. I’m suddenly very worried. ‘He needs treatment,’ I say. ‘The doctors will ask questions.’

The door is opened and I’m gently pushed to the seat. ‘Those types of people don’t want the police involved in their affairs, Olivia.’ He pulls my seat belt across and buckles me up. ‘You’ve no need to worry.’ He plants a light kiss on my head and pushes the door shut, then pulls his phone from his pocket and makes a brief call as he rounds the car.

Those types of people.

This world.

It’s very real.

And I’m in the centre of it.

Chapter 12

The alcohol and exhaustion have caught up with me. My head is woozy and my legs are like jelly. As we’re walking through the lobby of his building, Miller scoops me into his arms and marches on. ‘Where you should be,’ he whispers, pushing his lips to my temple.

My arms twine around his neck and my head rests on his shoulder, my eyes closing, finally relenting to my tiredness. My weak request to be taken to Nan’s was refused. I didn’t argue. He needs calm, and I know his flat, with me inside of it, will bring him closer to achieving that.

Until we open the door again tomorrow morning.

The black shiny door welcomes us and is soon opened and kicked softly closed, locking the world outside. My eyes remain shut as I’m carried onward, the familiar clean smell of my surroundings settling me further. It’s not the fond scent of Nan’s house, but I’m happy to be here with Miller.

‘Can you stand for me?’ he asks, turning his face into mine. I nod and ease up on my grip, letting him gently place me on my feet. The concentration of his face holds me rapt as he undresses me slowly and carefully. All of the usual habits are here with us – the clothes being folded before he puts them in the laundry basket, his soft lips parted just so, his eyes swimming with emotion. Once he’s seen through his task, he looks to me in silent demand, so I step forward and begin to slowly strip him down, even folding his blood-stained suit before placing it in the basket, despite it being more at home in the bin. Seeing past the puncture wound and blood to allow my eyes to indulge in his perfection is impossible. His hands are covered in red stains, his chest, his jaw. I’m uncertain as to which blood belongs to Miller and which to the guy who appeared so unexpectedly from my sordid past. His timing couldn’t have been worse, though I doubt Miller’s reaction would have been any less violent had he materialised on any other occasion.