Page 37 of Silk and Sirens

“The pretty redhead. Look, she came to me, okay? I didn’t go looking, I promise.”

“Hmm.” My grip tightened. “And where did the pretty redhead go?”

“Downstairs.”

Jerking my head to the side, I finally released him. “Well, fuck off then.”

He blinked at me, then scuttled off like the roach he was. He’d be dealt with later, because right now Aeris was the priority.

Not many people dared cross us, and yet she had.

If she wanted a game, I’d give her one.

Irritation simmered, weighing down each step as I made for the stairs. The basement was starkly industrial, sections carved out by corrugated metal with the outer walls raw concrete marked only by graffiti. It was designed like a maze, each turn taking you into a different section splashed with neon colour.

Guests lounged across low sofas, drinks in hand, watching girls dressed as butterflies dance around poles. The shimmer of their wings caught the light with every move while others were draped across laps, money exchanging as they stripped bare, their strands of beads and painted skin glowing under the UV that washed the room in blue.

It was less frantic than upstairs, but no less intense.

I turned left, the man-made corridor tight as I searched for Aeris. My shoulders scraped the metal, conversations nothing but a buzz beneath the vibrating bass.

I found her sitting beside a man, legs crossed and whispering poison directly into his ear through red-painted lips. They seemed too familiar, like this wasn’t their first time meeting.

Something sharp tightened in my chest, but I shut it down just as quickly.

The bouncer was already there, tucked into another corner, carefully out of her direct line of sight. His focus didn’t waver as he watched them, jaw tight, eyes glinting with something darker than irritation.

I crossed the space deliberately, taking a seat opposite with my gaze fixed on Aeris. Her back was to me, my hands curling into fists as the man’s hand rested far too easily on her exposed thigh.

Then he noticed me watching, stiffening when I didn’t look away. Aeris picked up on it immediately, glancing back over her shoulder with a faint frown. I caught the flicker of surprise when she saw me, gone almost as quickly as it appeared.

I stayed where I was, legs slightly spread, posture loose—relaxed—like I had all the time in the world.

A beat passed. Then another.

Until finally she stood, the silent threat hanging between us.

Chapter 17

Aeris

“It’s done,” Fletcher muttered. “But you need to be more careful. Messing with those guys is a death sentence.”

I pressed myself against his side, dropping my lips to his ear. “I’m always careful.”

“Red …” he hissed, his fingers digging into my thigh. “You’re going to end up as fish food.”

“I know what I’m doing.” I said it with so much confidence I had no choice but to believe it.

“You’ve asked me to mess with the Russians. Clearly you don’t know what you’re doing,” he said, breath feathering against my cheek with how close we sat together.

To the room it looked intimate, just two strangers getting to know each other at a club. In reality, Fletcher was here to give me information, secrets he’d pulled from low-level gangbangers, dealers, and anyone clawing their way up the Underworld food chain.

With his sandy blond hair and big, expressive eyes like the colour of the ocean, he had this boy-next-door look that made him approachable. Add his warm, slightly nervous smile, and he could make almost anyone talk.

But mostly, he was my fixer, the person I went to when I needed just about anything. If something was broken, he could repair it. If it needed replacing, he could make something new. If something needed burying, it would stay buried. And if I needed him to deal with the Russians, he’d figure it out because he was the most resourceful person I knew.

We’d been friends for as long as I could remember, and the only person Selene had never managed to use against me. Mostly because he was my secret, my only friend that knew of my past. More so because he was part of it.