Page 117 of Scarred in Silence

“This is where Nicolette told them what I was worth. This is where I stopped being Astra.”

Lucien steps behind me. His reflection towers over mine. His hand comes to rest on my hip, grounding me.

“I wish I had killed him slower,” he says, voice low and venomous.

I don’t tell him that I do too.

I let my head fall back against his shoulder. “They called me an addict, but pretty enough to fix…”

“How long were you here?”

“Three nights, I think… Long enough.”

We stand in silence. Breathing together. Remembering things we didn’t live together, but still survived.

Then, we hear footsteps.

Lucien stiffens.

Heyanks me behind a pillar just as two men enter the room. My pulse flatlines. The first man walks with a limp. He is too tall. Too lean.

The second?

I freeze.

Damien.

His hair’s longer now. His coat designer. He’s laughing at something the other man said, like he doesn’t have blood on his hands. Like he didn’t sell his brother’s soul and set fire to mine.

Lucien’s hand tightens around my wrist.

We don’t move.

They don’t see us. They’re too busy talking. Too full of their own power. They exit through the side door, leaving the hallway open behind them.

When it’s quiet again, Lucien breathes out, slow and measured.

“That was him,” I whisper. “Damien.”

“I know my own fucking brother,” He snaps.

I turn to face him, heart beating so fast it hurts. “We should go.”

“Yeah. But next time…” His voice is steel. “I won’t let him walk away.”

We slip out the back the same way we came. Neither of us speaks until we’re back in the SUV.

When we finally sit in silence, Lucien turns to me.

“You okay?”

“No,” I whisper. “But I will be.”

He starts the engine, pulling us into the night.

The velvet shadows of Club Muse fade in the rear view mirror—but I know we’re not done with them.

Not even close.