Chapter 23

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• Only in Vegas   Chapter 44

  Mia slid silently back into the booth, every step heavy like weights strapped to her ankles. Daniel looked up, concern softening his handsome features. “Everything okay?” he whispered. Looking around the bar wondering what had bothered her so much. She swallowed hard. “I’m fine, don’t worry” she lied, wrapping her fingers around the cold glass in front of her. Fine. A lie even to herself. She watched Axel move through the crowd, laugh at something Amber said, Amber’s red hair catching the light as they became one moving shadow. He was gone. He’d made his choice. Anger ignited in her chest—bright, scorching, consumed the hurt. She clenched her jaw. He doesn’t get to do this to me. I won’t let him break me. He ran straight back to her as she expected. “Not fine,” she admitted, voice low and rigid. “I need to get out of here.” Daniel’s brow furrowed. “Do you want me to take you somewhere?” “Yeah,” she said briskly. “Come back to my place, my rental apartment. Lauren’s not in

• Only in Vegas   Chapter 43

  Mia slipped into The Lone Wolf with the kind of cautious grace she’d forgotten she possessed. The bar had a quiet hum to it—low orange lighting, clinking glasses, and leather booths dimly lit by flickering sconces. It felt warm, anonymous, far away from penthouses and polished marble and the smell of cigar smoke she associated with Axel and Slade. She found a booth tucked into the corner. Dark. Private. Safe. Her hands were still trembling. Not from fear—well, not entirely. It was the adrenaline. The giddy, anxious buzz of being outside again. Alone. Free. Every step outside that casino felt like reclaiming a piece of herself. Then she saw him—Daniel. He hadn’t changed much. Still that same crooked smile. Sandy hair tousled like he’d just run his hands through it after a long day. The way he walked—lazy, confident, familiar—made her throat tighten. “Mia?” he grinned, sliding into the booth. “Shit, you always look so beautiful, it’s leaves me stunned.” Her lips curved int

• Only in Vegas   Chapter 42

  The Vegas air was dry and bright, the sun painting every building in the golden evening heat. For once, Mia didn’t feel it smothering her, she no longer felt suffocated. She stepped through the automatic glass doors of a tech store tucked off a back street, her fingers trailing the edges of sleek displays until one phone caught her eye. A rose-gold smartphone, simple and clean—untouched by ghosts. She bought it in cash. No ID. No contract. Just freedom in the form of pixels and glass. A way to communicate with her old life again. As soon as she sat on the stone bench outside, her fingers trembled slightly as she typed in Lauren’s number. She closed her eyes to remember the last few digits, her memory of her former life had slowly started to slip away like it never happened. It rang once. Twice. Then a click. “Hello?” said a voice. Sharp. Cautious. Mia’s heart stuttered. “Lauren?” A pause. Then— “Who is this?” Mia swallowed. “It’s me. It’s—Mia.” Silence

• Only in Vegas   Chapter 41

  Mia waited in the shadows by the doorway until she heard Axel’s footsteps fade down the hall. The weight of the last few weeks—a suffocating mix of betrayal, fear, and heartbreak—sat heavy in her chest, but under it all bubbled something new: defiance. Freedom. She exhaled and pressed her thumb flat against the scanner. It clicked green. Something about that felt like a quiet victory. He had changed it—updated it after everything—to let her into the apartment. She scoffed at his high hopes for her to come back. She was finally done with chasing a shadow. She slipped inside, the door closing with a soft hiss behind her. The apartment felt hollow without him, too still for the storm she carried inside. Mia moved quickly now, opening drawers with a quiet kind of desperation. She pulled a few changes of clothes into a carry-on, including the black dress she hadn’t worn since the night she first met Axel, then paused at the safe under the dresser. Her hands didn’t shake as she punche

• Only in Vegas   Chapter 40

  The apartment door creaked open like it hadn’t been touched in days. Like it knew the weight it now carried. Mia looked up from where she sat on the floor, back resting against the cold marble near the wall of windows. She hadn’t moved in hours. Maybe not since morning. Time had melted into something useless—something cruel. A joke of a concept when all her body knew was hurt. Then she saw him. Axel stood in the doorway, shadowed and hesitant. His usual confidence—no, his dominance—had drained from him entirely. What remained was a man wearing guilt like a second skin. She could feel it before he even stepped inside. Her breath stuttered in her chest. She said nothing. He said nothing. He just walked forward, slow and heavy-footed, like each step was penance. His jacket came off and landed on the back of a chair, his hands running through his hair before he leaned against the counter. Silence stretched between them like a blade. “You went,” she said softly, u

• Only in Vegas   Chapter 39 - Axel POV

  The ballroom was too bright, too loud, too fake. Laughter rang out like static in his ears, clinking glasses and glittering gowns blurring into meaningless noise. Axel sat at the edge of the crowd, back stiff, jaw clenched as he nursed a glass of something he hadn’t tasted in months. Whiskey. Across the room, a man in a gold-seamed suit held up a ridiculous beach hat to auction with exaggerated flair. “Private island getaway! A full week of paradise. Bidding starts at ten thousand!” Axel raised his hand before the number even left the announcer’s lips. He didn’t blink. Didn’t look away from the stage. He didn’t care how much it cost. It didn’t matter. Not when he was trying to buy the smallest scrap of peace for Mia. For the girl he had failed. Yet again. He’d already failed to keep her safe. And now, he didn’t even know how to hold her. The holiday wasn’t for him. It was a desperate offering, a way to reach the girl locked inside that apartment with dead eyes and pol