Chapter 53

• Alaric’s POV
• The thrum of bass from the nightclub seeped through the walls like the beat of a pulse, filling the air with a low, steady vibration. The place was packed tonight, bodies moving on the dance floor like a mass of shadows under the shifting lights. I took a slow breath, letting the scent of sweat, perfume, and alcohol wash over me. It was familiar—too familiar. The kind of place where deals were made in whispers and secrets traded like currency.
• Allesio walked beside me, his face set in the hard, impassive mask he wore when we were on business. We cut through the crowd like a blade, the people parting instinctively as if they could sense the danger clinging to us. This was a place where people looked the other way, where nobody wanted to remember your face the next day. It was exactly why we were here.