Page 79 of The Dark Before Light

Sven interrupts my dark thoughts. “Are you still doing the event at Crossroads tonight? If you are, I’d like you to let Gabe escort you there and home.”

There’s a snap in my head.

“No.”

“Talia, listen?—”

“You listen to me, Sven. I understand you’re caught between a rock and Kieran’s cement head, but you aren’t responsible for my safety. Thank you for the heads-up about the car, but I want the watchdogs at my house gone. I’ll find my own security company. As for Crossroads, there’s probably nowhere on earth I’m safer at the moment. Now put your boss on the phone because I have some words for him.”

There’s a weighted pause. “I wish I could, but I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“He’s indisposed.”

My anger fizzles as I realize where he must be—with his mom.

“Fine,” I grumble.

“I’d be happy to pass along a message, though,” he says in the ultra-dry tone that signals his amusement.

“Please do. Tell him if he thinks I’m flattered by his high-handedness, he’s lost his damn mind. And if he has something to say to me, he can put on his big-boy pants and call me himself.”

“You got it.” His voice is warm with approval. “One last thing. Just a suggestion, because I would personally hate for something to happen to you. Stay at a friend’s place for a few nights, okay? Until you can get your own people hired and monitoring.”

I sigh. “Yeah, all right. Here’s Gabe.”

I hand over the phone.

Chapter 23

Talia

Just after midnight, I punch in a code next to a black door with gold stenciling reading Private. This hallway at Crossroads is uncarpeted and utilitarian, its only features the door before me and a rolling metal one for deliveries, currently closed and dead-bolted.

The low, sensual beat of the club’s music snuffs out as I let myself inside and close the door. Under the soft glow of a security light mounted over my head, I follow London’s instructions, securing the locks and setting the alarm system. Then I head up a narrow flight of stairs, flipping a wall switch at the top to bring on recessed lights in the living area.

I’m relieved to see the one-bedroom loft hasn’t changed much in the years since I’ve been in it. It looks like a cross between an expensive hotel and a residential brothel, the latter owed to the wall with a gleaming St. Andrews Cross and an impressive display of whips, ropes, and floggers. In reality, the loft is something in between, primarily a safe haven where close friends of Dominic and London can retreat, relax, and play.

I drop my purse and small overnight bag on the couch and head for the kitchen, finding the cabinet with glasses. Behind a stack of cloth napkins in a different cabinet, I find the bottle Dominic told me would be there: his favorite brand of very expensive, eighteen-year-old Scotch.

“Thank you, Dominic,” I whisper as I pour a few fingers into the bottom of my glass.

Retreating to the sofa, I sit listlessly next to my purse. A few swallows later, I finally begin to relax.

Tonight’s lecture was fantastic, the crowd even more responsive than last week’s. But it took serious mental effort to shut away the memory of my conversation with Sven. The man in the car outside my house. The possibility that someone who wishes me harm knows where I live.

My head falls back to the cushion. I close my eyes. Silence buzzes in my ears, a sensation I normally love but right now feels oppressive.

Or maybe… maybe I’ve never loved being alone. Maybe it’s a lie I told myself so many times it became true. A defense against feeling like I’d never have a place in the world.

Stop. Not tonight.

Giving myself a shake, I sit up and finish the Scotch in two long swallows. I’ll take a shower. Get some sleep. Things will be different in the morning—or maybe my perspective will be different. Either way, nothing good will come from me dwelling on all the shit I can’t change.

Recenter. Reassess.

I push to my feet and grab my bags, then take them into the bedroom and toss them onto the bed. Halfway to the bathroom, I hear the distinctive bzz, bzz of my phone ringing. Figuring it’s Nate or Charlie checking to see if I made it into the loft okay, I fish the device from my purse.

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