The club was darker than the one Alexei had been in.
I stood at the bar in the short black dress, lace visible at the neckline, and ordered something strong. The music was low. Men looked. Most of them looked like the ones I had spent months avoiding—young, loud, already deciding how fast they could get me upstairs. I ignored them and scanned the room until I saw him.
Older. Broad through the shoulders. Silver at the temples. He sat alone in a corner booth in a black shirt, one arm resting along the back, watching the room like he owned it. When his eyes met mine they didn’t slide away. They stayed. Sharp. Assessing. Not hungry the way the younger ones were. Just interested enough to wait and see if I would come to him.
I did.
I crossed the floor and stopped at the edge of his table. U
