Chapter 2

The four guards close in on us, rough about it, and haul Margaux and me straight into an empty private room.

Selene follows us in and shuts the door behind her.

She sees us pinned down and sneers. "Trying to pull something in my restaurant? Then let's see where that gets you."

Margaux is breathing hard. "I'm the owner's mother. I have a stake in this restaurant. Let us go."

Selene laughs. "You poor old thing. You really think 'the owner's mom' is going to scare me?" She snaps her fingers at the guards. "Teach her some manners."

The next second Margaux hits the floor hard. Before she can even get up, two of them start kicking her.

The other two have me pinned, and all I can do is watch.

Then Margaux curls in on herself, gasping in these quick shallow breaths, like she can't pull any air all the way down.

Her asthma's kicking in.

But her inhaler is out in the dining room, sitting in her purse.

"Margaux!"

I try to fight my way loose.

One of the guards grabs a fistful of my hair, yanks my head back, and slams me down to the floor.

My cheek grinds into broken glass and debris, and the pain is so sharp my vision goes black.

Then something gold glints at Selene's throat. I look closer. It's a necklace.

I go still.

Because that necklace is identical to the one Julian had made for our anniversary. He told me back then it was one of a kind, that there wasn't another one like it anywhere in the world.

I point at the necklace on her neck. "Where did you get that?"

Her hand flies up to cover her throat before she even answers. Then she's angry again.

"You're staring at my necklace? Right now? My husband gave me this. It's mine."

"Liar."

Her face goes red. She glances around, then grabs a steak knife off the table and comes at me.

My instinct is to duck, but the guards have me, so all I can do is watch her swing the blade across my face.

The pain rips through my whole body. I can feel the blood running out of the cut, covering my face.

I want to scream at her.

I want to get up and wrap both hands around her throat. But I can't move. The hand in my hair still has me nailed in place. Rage and fear tangle together, and I can't tell which one is shaking me harder, warm blood sliding down my chin and dripping onto the tile.

Margaux's breathing has gone broken and wet and awful, and that scares me more than my own bleeding face.

I push through the pain and force myself up, putting my body between her and the guards.

Fist after fist lands on my back. I grit my teeth against it.

"Stop." I get the word out. "I'm sorry. Please, I'm sorry, whatever you want, we'll pay it. Just call her an ambulance."

Selene looks us up and down like we're something stuck to the bottom of her shoe, and even through the fear, that look makes me feel completely humiliated.

"You do her makeup yourself? She looks young enough to be your little sister." She laughs. "The two of you, dressed like that, showing up in a place like this. I know exactly what kind of women you are."

"It's not like that." I don't even have the strength left to finish defending myself.

"Add another charge. Call it a damages fee. Nobody's leaving until it's paid."

"You can't be serious."

"On your knees. Both of you. Say you're sorry, say the bill is fair, and maybe I'll let you walk."

Everything in me is screaming no, but Margaux's lips are turning a color they shouldn't be, and I don't have any room left to worry about my pride.

My hands are shaking too badly to get my phone out of my pocket at first. I dial without looking down, praying she won't notice, my pulse pounding in my ears.

I don't even get a single word out before she catches me.

"Give me that." She rips the phone out of my hand. The call has already connected.

"I'm on my way."

It's Dante's voice. Relief hits so hard my knees nearly buckle.

Selene presses the phone to her ear, not noticing my reaction at all. "Who is this? Her boyfriend? So she's got some guy on the side she calls to come save her the second there's trouble?"

I can't hear what he says back. Selene's face freezes. Then careful. For one second, my panic loosens.

"You'll regret this," she says anyway, too loud. "My husband won't let this go either."

She hangs up on him. The fear comes rushing back.

Then she smiles and dials another number, her voice going soft and sweet, like she's about to be praised for something.

"Hey, baby. You'll never guess who just showed up at the restaurant."

The second I hear the voice on the other end, my whole body goes cold.

Because that voice is Julian's, and I finally remember where that strange familiar feeling came from.

A few months ago, Julian came home wearing this same perfume.