Lina's POV
I should really get going. It was getting late, and the whiskey was already making my thoughts heavier than I wanted them to be tonight.
I stood up, grabbing my bag.
"Lina." Mandy's voice cut through the noise of the club. She was leaning over from the next table, her hand already waving me over. "Come sit with us for a bit. Please."
The please did it.
I glanced at Dr. Cross, who was watching me with that same calm, unreadable expression, then back at Mandy's face — which was doing something between pleading and quietly desperate.
I set my bag back down and picked up my glass. "Fine. One drink."
Mandy's shoulders dropped with visible relief as I pulled out the empty chair beside her.
"So," I said, looking between the two of them. "You're Mandy's step-br
