Chapter 29
Tessa
For the next week, everything about the break in plagued my nightmares.
The men chasing me through the house. One of the hovering over me, pulling my pajama bottoms off.
Feeling the wet splatter of blood on my face as Felix killed them.
Waking felt like coming up from under water—my lungs burning, heart pounding, and then plunging back into the depths of despair.
I’d assumed Felix and the two men who’d “cleaned up” the bodies were just part of the nightmare, a cruel invention of my mind. Then I realized they weren’t: the same two men from my kidnapping had actually dismembered the intruders on my bedroom floor.
At least the blood hadn’t been mine to scrub away.
I let out a long sigh and stared up at the ceiling. The brownstone had always been a prison to me, walls I longed to escape. But after the incident, it no longer felt like confinement. It felt like a fortress, the one thing standing between me and the chaos beyond its doors.
I flipped over onto my stomach, burying my face in the cushions. The fabric still smelled faintly of Felix’s cologne, sharp and grounding, proof that I wasn’t alone here.
Felix walked in and found me stretched out on the couch, half-buried in the cushions. His mouth curved just slightly, the kind of expression he rarely let anyone else see. “Hey.”
“Hey,” I said, although it came out muffled through the cushions.
He sat down next to me and gently tugged the pillow out from under my face. “I can’t have you suffocating yourself. And,” he said, brushing back a few tendrils of my hair. “I have some news I thought you might like.”
I lifted my head, blinking at him through the tousled strands of hair he’d brushed aside. “News?” I asked, letting the word hang in the air.
“Mhm. I’ve figured out a lot of what’s in that ledger you found.”
I shot upright, the cushions falling away as my full attention snapped to him. “You have?” My heart picked up, curiosity and excitement tangling together. “What did you figure out?”
“Someone had been stealing from my family for years,” Felix said, tracing patterns into my skin. “My grandma was keeping meticulous records of it. The theft only stopped after my grandfather died.”
I frowned, trying to wrap my head around it. “So your grandfather just turned a blind eye to it?” I asked, my voice tinged with disbelief.
“I think he refused to listen to my grandma. She was always better with numbers,” he sighed.
“I would divorce my husband if he refused to listen to me,” I muttered, angry for Felix’s grandma.
Felix’s gaze sharpened, a low, almost dangerous chuckle slipping past him. “Good thing you don’t a husband,” he said, his voice edged with ownership. “Because I don’t plan on sharing you.”
I felt heat rise to my cheeks, and part of me wanted to scoff, to tease him back, but I couldn’t find the words. I opened my mouth to respond, but the words caught in my throat. The gravity of his statement settled between us, heavy and undeniable.
“Come on,” he said, voice low but unyielding. “We’re going out tonight.”
“Out?!” I exclaimed, sitting up a little straighter, eyes wide. “Why now? After everything?”
“Because,” he said, brushing a loose strand of hair from my face, “you’ve been cooped up in here long enough. And I’m not letting you stay stuck on that couch while the world waits outside.”
I took a deep breath as I slid off the couch, glancing at Felix for reassurance.
He leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed, watching me with that half-amused, half-possessive expression that made my chest flutter.
I changed quickly into the outfit he’d picked out for me—sleek, dark, and perfect for blending in while still standing out.
My hands fidgeted as I smoothed the fabric, anticipation and nerves twisting together.
Felix took my hand, and we slipped out of the brownstone, the city night swallowing us in its pulse.
Streets blurred past, lights reflecting off wet asphalt, until we turned into a shadowed alley and descended a narrow staircase behind a black steel door.
The muffled roar of laughter, clinking glasses, and bursts of cheering hit me before we even stepped inside.
Eclipse. Underground, illicit, electric.
The interior was just as I remembered: low ceilings, smoky air, and the constant hum of money and risk. People moved with a practiced ease, chips clattering, dice rolling, voices rising and falling like a strange, hypnotic rhythm.
I hesitantly asked Felix a question I didn’t know if I wanted the answer to. “Do you do a lot of gambling?”
“Eh, not really.”
His eyes told me they already knew why I asked. Was he like my father, a gambling addict? The thought made my stomach twist, memories of chaos and broken promises flaring behind my eyes.
Felix noticed the flicker of unease in my expression and let out a soft, almost amused chuckle. “Relax,” he said, voice low and steady. “I play occasionally, yes. But I’m definitely not addicted.”
I nodded, letting a small sigh escape me. Okay, I told myself. I believe him. The knot of worry in my stomach eased slightly, replaced by a cautious curiosity. If he wasn’t like my father, then maybe this place wasn’t as dangerous for me as I’d feared—at least, not while he was by my side.
“There’s actually a club area,” he said, steering me in a different direction. “I didn’t get to show it to you the last time we were here.”
“Dancing?” I asked, raising an eyebrow, a mix of surprise and intrigue in my voice.
“Something like that,” he said, his hand brushing lightly against mine as he guided me forward. “It’s more exclusive. Music, lights, people letting loose. You might actually enjoy it.”
“Felix!” I heard a familiar voice say.
Felix cursed under his breath. His cousin, Cosimo, had spotted us and was already weaving through the crowd. When he reached us, his grin was all charm and menace.
“And ‘just Tessa,’” he said, flashing that smooth, dangerous grin. “How have you been?”
“Fine,” Felix said, answering for me. “Is there anything you need, Cosimo?”
“Do I need anything?” he mused, letting the words linger in the air. “I suppose I’m just here for some entertainment tonight.”
“Well go to the club, tables, or the back,” Felix said, not bothering to hide the irritation in his voice.
I glanced between him and Cosimo, curiosity prickling at the edge of my nerves.
The back… what could that be? I wondered, the thought sending a little thrill through me despite the tension in the air.
Cosimo’s smirk widened as if he’d read my mind, and I felt Felix’s grip tighten on my hand, a silent warning not to wander too far.
“Maybe I will,” Cosimo said. “Will I see you back there, ‘just Tessa?’”
“Absolutely not,” Felix said, he said, leaving no room for argument. His hand tightened around mine, a protective anchor I didn’t realize I’d been craving.
“Shame,” he said, glancing at me.
“Watch your words Cosimo,” Felix growled, his eyes darkening. “I don’t care if you’re family. I’ll throw you outside and make sure you can’t walk back in.”
“I’ll be on my way then,” Cosimo said, putting his hands up in mock surrender. “I do need all my limbs in working order.”
Cosimo gave one last sly, lingering glance, one that promised mischief and danger in equal measure, before melting back into the crowd. Felix didn’t relax, but his grip on my hand loosened just slightly, enough that I felt a little more at ease.
“Give that man an ounce of alcohol and he’s more insufferable than normal,” Felix muttered.
I stifled a laugh, shaking my head. “You make it sound like he’s dangerous,” I said, amusement flickering through my nerves.
Felix’s eyes flicked to mine, sharp and serious for a heartbeat before the corner of his mouth twitched. “He is. Just not in the way you think.”
I tilted my head, curiosity prickling at the edge of my nerves. The back… I wondered, my mind replaying the brief mention from earlier. What could he have meant by that?
“What’s in ‘the back?’ Why can’t I go there?”
“You don’t want to go there,” Felix said, his voice low and firm. “It’s basically a giant sex party.”
“Oh,” I said, my face turning bright red.
“And we have a different location specifically for that,” he muttered, looking annoyed. “People just can’t control themselves.”
“A different location?” I blurted out. “Like a sex club?”
Felix’s lips twitched, half-amusement, half-exasperation. “Exactly like that,” he said, voice low. “Which is why we stay here. This is the civilized section—mostly.”
I blinked at him, torn between mortification and curiosity. Civilized… mostly? My pulse quickened, and I realized just how little I actually knew about this world Felix moved through so effortlessly.
“Dance with me?” Felix said, outstretching his hand.
Without hesitation, I took it, feeling the familiar warmth of his grip. He guided me through the throng of bodies, weaving us smoothly between dancers, lights, and swirling shadows. The music pulsed around us, a deep, hypnotic beat that made my pulse echo in time.
Once we found a pocket of space, he pulled me close, hips brushing, hands steady on my waist. My breath hitched as our bodies moved together, every subtle shift charged with heat.
The world around us faded into a blur of motion and rhythm, and the teasing, slow pressure of his touch made it impossible to think about anything else.
I glanced up at him, and his smirk was gone, replaced by that intense, dark gaze that left me trembling and wanting more.
The music throbbed through us, a heavy pulse that seemed to sync with our own heartbeats.
Felix’s hands slid just a little lower on my waist, guiding my movements with a confidence that left no room for doubt—or escape.
I could feel the heat radiating off him, the press of his body against mine, and the subtle brush of his lips near my ear as he leaned in with the rhythm.