Chapter 26
Holly
My head throbs as I come to, vision swimming. The air smells like bleach and cardboard—storage room.
My wrists are zip-tied behind me, ankles bound, but it’s the gun that really wakes me up.
Not in my hand.
Hers.
Darlene.
Standing five feet away, fingers shaking as she grips a small black pistol like it weighs a hundred pounds.
“What—” My voice cracks. “What the hell are you doing?”
Her eyes are wild, smeared mascara framing pupils blown wide. Her glossy red lips are trembling.
“I wasn’t supposed to be the assistant forever,” she hisses. “You think you’re so perfect, don’t you? With your little planner and your ballerina handwriting and your connections.”
“What are you talking about?” I croak. “We’re on the same team, Darlene—”
“You don’t deserve the gala,” she snaps, cutting me off. “You don’t deserve Stargazer. Or Carly’s praise. Or Noel fucking Kane playing your bodyguard boyfriend.”
Her voice cracks.
“You came in three years ago and got everything. And me? I’ve been here for ten fucking years! I’m stuck with baby showers and middle-class weddings and cheese cubes on toothpicks.”
I stare at her, heart pounding so loud I can barely hear myself think.
“You think this is about toothpicks?” I whisper. “I didn’t ask for any of this, Darlene. I worked for it. I built my reputation. I built my client list.”
Her lips curl.
“Right. Because you’re just so talented. Tell me, did you have to get him drunk to get him to fuck a fat bitch like you?”
That stings. But I lift my chin.
“I’m not talking about Noel with you, Darlene. But what is any of this going to prove? Think. Please just think about your endgame and tell me what you want.”
She takes a step closer. The barrel of the gun wavers, unsteady. Her breathing is ragged, erratic.
“You think you’re hot shit, don’t you? Well, you don’t tell me what to do, Miss Winters.
You only got the big gigs because you have friends in high places.
Because rich people like you. Because of Clementine.
Because of Drew’s House. You got handed the golden fucking ladder, and now you’re climbing it like you earned it?
Bull shit. You probably sucked off her husband the way you sucked off your bodyguard to get ahead! ”
“Oh, come on. That’s beneath us both, Darlene.
We’re both women working in a world that caters to men.
We should have each other’s backs. I didn’t cheat my way in, and I didn’t get anywhere on my knees or back,” I say firmly, even though my whole body is trembling.
“And you’re not a villain, Darlene. You’re just scared.
But this—” I nod toward the gun. “This isn’t going to fix anything. ”
She flinches. “You think I won’t pull the trigger?”
I don’t answer.
Because I honestly don’t know if she will.
And then—BANG—the door slams inward with the force of a wrecking ball.
“Get down!” Noel roars, storming through the door like a fucking avenging god in black tactical gear.
His eyes find me first—then the gun.
Darlene turns to point it at him, but she’s not fast enough.
One second later, the weapon is across the room, kicked out of her hand by Noel, and clattering to the floor.
Darlene shrieks as she’s taken down, face-first, by Kai, who must’ve been right on Noel’s heels.
Ego’s already on comms, calling for backup.
But all I can see—all I care about—is Noel.
He’s on his knees in front of me, already slicing through the ties on my wrists.
“Jesus, Tinsel,” he breathes, his voice ragged. “Are you okay? Did she hurt you?”
“I’m okay,” I whisper, my hands shaking as they come free and wrap around his neck. “You found me.”
“Of course I found you,” he murmurs, pulling me tight against his chest. “You’re mine.”
And just like that, the fear breaks. The tears come. But so does the safety.
Because Noel Kane is here.
And I’ve never felt more protected in my life.