Page 61 of Dark Soul

He found it, now, camouflaged behind the same dark mahogany paneling as the wall. Dark had been too distracted by Alexia’s presence on the stairs to even wonder where Kvyat was doing.

“Where’s he going?”

“To his bedroom, it looks like. I’m hiding in the linen cupboard.”

“Sounds cozy.”

“Fuck off, Dark.”

Dark walked around the room, looking for anyone who looked even remotely out of place. Even with the terrace doors open, the sheer number of bodies in the room generated an inordinate amount of heat.

He kept an eye out on the elevator—until his eyes were drawn back to the stairs again.

Alexia.

His heart nearly stopped when, instead of coming back down the stairs, she walked right past the landing, towards Kvyat’s master suite and office.

He blinked once, twice. And there was something calm and purposeful about the way she moved, but also stealthy.

She doesn’t want to be seen.

The realization was like a punch to the stomach.

It couldn’t be Alexia.

Please, God.

Don’t let it be Alexia.

But so many pieces of the puzzle were suddenly falling into place. Her decision to quit a stable job and cross the ocean to spend a few months in Gstaad. Her unwillingness to leave, even though Kvyat’s parenting style clearly bothered her.

You knew she had secrets.

No.

She wouldn’t knowingly hurt anyone.

Through sheer force of will, he forced his lungs to engage again—breathed deeply two or three times.

“Dark,” Rogue whispered. “Your girl just walked into Kvyat’s office.”

“Is he there?”

“He’s still in his bedroom. I don’t—“ Rogue paused for a moment, as if looking for the right way to say this. “From the way she was acting, I don’t think she wanted anyone to see her.”

What the hell are you doing, Alexia?

“Let me know if she comes out.”

“Too late. Kvyat is on the move, walking towards his office. And he’s changed out of his dinner jacket. It’s blue now.”

Fuck me.

We’re not going to hear anything.

And Alexia’s in there with him.

“Is anybody else there?”