Olive’s POV
I stood up, my hands shaking slightly, and made my way toward that door.
The security guard was still there, same guy who’d waved Brend through earlier.
“VIP only he said when I approached.
I have a VIP pass, I said, showing him the card Brenda had given me.
He looked at it, then at me, then shrugged. “Go ahead
I took a deep breath the second I walked in.
The hallway beyond the door was quieter, dimmer, lined with more private rooms. I could hear music thumping through the walls, could hear laughter and voices, but it all felt muffled, distant, different somehow,
I walked slowly, my heart pounding, looking for any sign of that girl or the man who’d dragged her back here.
But there was nothing. The doors were closed with dim lighting and the feeling that I was somewhere I absolutely shouldn’t be.
Maybe I’d imagined it. Maybe I was overreacting.
No one has seen what I’d has seen.
I kept walking, checking doors, trying to figure out where they could have gone, but everything was locked or empty .
Then I remembered-Brenda.
She’d come back here too. Maybe she’d seen something. Maybe he knew what was going on.
I pulled out my phone, opening it to Brenda’s contact, finding a photo of her smiling at the camera from last week.
I turned to look for someone-anyone-who might have seen where she went.
That’s when I saw him.
Another man, older, maybe forty, leaning against the wall near one of the private rooms. He looked bored, like he was waiting for something
“Excuse me I said, approaching him. “Have you seen this girl?”
held up my phone, showing him Brenda’s picture.
He looked at it, then at me, and something shifted in his expression.
“Yeah, he said slowly, pushing off the wall. “I know where she is omne on, I’ll take you to her.”
Relief flooded through me. “Thank you so much. I was worried
“This way,” he interrupted, already walking down the hallway.
I followed him, my phone still clutched in my hand, past more pores until we reached one at the very end of the corridor
He stopped infront of it, turned to look at me with a smile that suddenly made my skin crawl.“She’s in here.” he said.
I reached for the door handle, but before I could open it, he grabbed my wrist.
Actually,” he said, his grip tightening, “why don’t we talk first?”
Warning bells started going off in my head. “I just want to find my friend-”
“Your friend, huh?” he said, his eyes dragging down my body in way that made my skin itch. “She’s busy. But I can keep you company”
“How dare you,” he said, his voice low and deadly as he advanced on the man who was now on the ground, bleeding from his nose, looking dazed and terrified. “How fucking dare you put your hands on her.”
“I didn’t know- the man started, scrambling backward, trying get away.
“I don’t give a fuck what you knew,” Zane snarled, grabbing himy the collar and slamming him back against the wall so hard I heard the man’s skull crack against the concrete. “You toughed what’s mine. You put your fucking hands on my girl.”
“Zane,” I said, my voice shaking, barely able to get the words out
His head snapped toward me immediately, and for a second his expression softened, but the fury was still there, simmering just beneath the surface like a volcano ready to erupt.
“Did he hurt you?” he demanded, his eyes scanning me frantically, looking for injuries.
No. I’m-I’m fine,” I said, though my hands were shaking and my heart was still racing and I felt like I might throw up.
Zane looked back at the man, his jaw clenching so hard I could see the muscle ticking. “You’re lucky she’s fine. Because if you’d hurt her, I’d kill you. Right here. Right now. And I would lose a second of sleep over it.”
He let go of the man, who slumped to the ground, groaning, and then Zane was crossing to me, his hands gentle as they cupped my face, such a stark contrast to the violence he’d just displayed.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked, his eyes searching mine, looking for any sign that I was lying.
“I’m fine.” I said again, my voice steadier now. “I just-how did you even know I was here?”
“I always know where you are,” he said simply, and something about the way he said it-so calm, so matter-of-fact, like it was the most obvious thing in the world-sent a shiver down my spine.
Then his expression changed. Darkened.

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