Page 30 of Coal Hearts

My heart rate picked up as I dropped my stare. Thick, ruby-red carpet covered the floor, doing its best to swallow up my boots and climb my legs as if I waded through a lake of blood.

Terror darted down my spine. All the false bravado I’d wrapped around myself shredded like a flimsy coat as I glanced back up.

Henri refused to look at me.

I’d agreed to follow him because I was pissed off and hurt and burning with recklessness. I had nowhere else to go. Nowhere to stay. No one to turn to for help. The idea of going to the train station at one in the morning and sitting alone, vulnerable and rejected on a cold bench had paled in comparison to staying in Henri’s orbit for a little longer.

There was something about him.

Something that drew me in, despite his prickly, unreadable strangeness.

And to be honest...the tiniest part of me thrilled that a man who looked like Henri wanted me enough to pay for my company. Any other day, I would’ve slapped him the moment he propositioned me. Any other night, I would’ve run in the opposite direction.

But tonight...well...

There’d been something.

And now...there was fear.

Those darts of terror turned into daggers of panic as I made eye contact with the eldest man. He lowered his glass and licked his bottom lip. His dark blue gaze drifted over me from head to toe. The way he studied me was approving but also clinical, almost as if he saw me as stock to buy or a painting to invest in.

My skin crawled as he smiled. “Hello.”

I locked down every atom suddenly straining to run. Social niceties almost bent me into saying hello back, but then I glanced at Henri and choked on every wrong thing I’d just agreed to.

He stood with his hands balled and jaw clenched. Grey eyes churned with vicious storms, and his entire body bristled with...fury? Despair? Hunger? I couldn’t tell. I couldn’t tell because I didn’t know him and this was all a very, very bad idea.

“Eh...I think I made a mistake.” I stood as tall as I could. “I’d like to leave.”

“Oh, come now.” The older man with greying dark blond hair stood from his suave slouch. “That’s not very nice. We’re friendly...once you get to know us.”

Henri muttered something under his breath.

The guy shot him a narrowed glance. “What did you say, Ward? Come now. We’re all friends here. If you’re going to speak, let everyone hear.”

Henri braced his shoulders. “I merely agreed with her. She did make a mistake. And I doubt she’ll be going anywhere...not now she’s here.”

I flinched. “E-Excuse me?”

Henri’s turbulent gaze met mine. I sank into their smoky depths, and came face to face with how badly I’d fucked up.

I’d agreed to go with a complete stranger.

In a foreign country.

The same night I’d broken up with Sam.

For the ludicrous promise of a million euros.

God, Ily...what have you done?

“You should’ve run when I told you to,” Henri growled, rage etching his features, turning him cruel instead of dazzling.

“You told her to leave?” the older man asked sharply. “I thought you wanted into my club.”

“I do.” Henri tore his gaze from mine, focusing on the guy. “I’m here, aren’t I? Regardless of fighting my moral compass.”

“Moral compass?” The older guy snickered. “If what Roland tells me is correct, your moral compass shattered months ago.”