A gunshot.
Sharp. Loud and real as fuck.
The music downstairs cut off instantly. Screams followed. Chaos erupted as people surged toward exits, bodies colliding, voices rising in panic.
I froze.
My heart slammed against my ribs as another shot echoed...shouting, then the unmistakable rush of security flooding the room.
Zane was on his feet in an instant.
"Stay where you are," he ordered, already moving.
The world tilted.
Whatever this night was supposed to be had just shattered.
The second gunshot was closer.
Not downstairs this time. Not muffled by distance or music. It cracked through the VIP floor sharp enough that my ears rang.
Zane moved before I did.
His hand closed around my wrist and he pulled me backward, hard, my heels skidding against the floor as bodies surged around us. People were shouting now. Someone screamed. Glass shattered somewhere to my left.
"Stay with me," he said, low and controlled.
He stepped in front of me without thinking, his body angling instinctively like he already knew where danger would come from. I barely had time to register it before another shot rang out, followed by the sound of people stampeding toward the stairs.
My heart hammered so violently I thought I might be sick.
"Zane," I said, my voice too thin. "Your security...where are they?"
He glanced over his shoulder briefly, eyes sharp. "I brought just one."
"And where is he?" I asked, already knowing I wouldn't like the answer.
"With your cousin."
My chest tightened. "You sent the only one you had with Ivy?"
"Yes."
"So it's just us," I said.
"Yes."
Another shot echoed from below. Closer, it sounded too close.
Zane didn't waste time explaining. He dragged me toward the far end of the VIP section, pushing through a narrow hallway partially hidden behind a velvet curtain. The noise dimmed slightly as he shoved open a heavy door I hadn't noticed before.
Cold air rushed in.
A back exit.
"Move," he said.
I stumbled outside with him, the door slamming shut behind us. The alley was narrow and dim, lit only by a single flickering security light. My breathing came out fast and shallow now, fear finally clawing its way up my throat.
"Where are we going?" I asked.
"Anywhere but here."
Another gunshot rang out, unmistakably upstairs this time.
Zane swore under his breath.
"They're coming up," I said.
"I know."
We walked for a few minutes then abruptly pulled a door handle and suddenly we were outside in a parking lot, pulling me into the shadow between two parked vehicles. His hand pressed briefly against my shoulder, steadying me.
"Listen to me," he said. "You do exactly what I tell you. No questions asked."
My mouth was dry. "I don't take orders well."
That earned the smallest huff of breath. Not a laugh. Almost though
"Tonight," he said, "you will."
Something metallic flashed in his hand.
He held it out to me, grip first.
"Do you know how to use one?" he asked.
Every rumor I'd ever heard about him screamed through my head at once. About violence. About blood. About men who crossed him and vanished.
And here I was, standing in an alley with Zane Whitmore offering me a gun like it was nothing.
"Yes," I said.
The word surprised even me.
His eyes narrowed slightly. "From where?"
"I grew up around paranoid men," I replied. "They liked to be prepared."
He watched my face for a beat longer, then nodded once.
"Safety's off," he said. "Finger stays off the trigger unless you mean it."
"I know." I said rolling my eyes.
I took the gun.
It was cold in my hand. Heavier than it looked. The weight of it grounded me in a terrifying way.
Another shot cracked the air. Oh so they were outside the club too, of course.
Zane stepped closer, his voice dropping. "If it comes to it, you aim center mass. You don't hesitate."
My stomach twisted. "You're saying that like you expect it to."
"I plan for outcomes," he said.
Footsteps pounded behind the door we just left.
Someone shouted.
Zane's hand closed briefly around my wrist, firm and grounding. "Stay behind me. If I tell you to run, you run."
"And you?" I asked
His gaze flicked to me, sharp and steady. "I'll handle the rest."
For the first time since tonight began, I understood something with brutal clarity.
This was his world.
And I'd just stepped into it unarmed.
The door behind us rattled.
Zane shifted forward, positioning himself between me and the sound.
"Elaine," he said quietly
"Yes?"
"If you survive tonight," he continued, eyes never leaving the door, "you won't try to replace your cousin again."
My grip tightened around the gun.
"If I survive tonight," I said, "we're finishing that conversation."
The door burst open.