Chapter Three- Bar Della Luna After Midnight

After midnight, Bar Della Luna belonged to a different city. The early crowd, loud money, careless laughter, people who still believed the night was something to spend—thinned out first. They left behind half-empty glasses and the echo of themselves. What came next was quieter. Sharper. People who spoke with their eyes more than their mouths. People who didn’t ask questions they didn’t want answers to.

Jamie felt the shift in his shoulders before he noticed it anywhere else. His posture changed without permission. Straighter. More alert. Like his body knew the rules even when his mind pretended it didn’t. He wiped down the counter slowly, dragging the cloth along the wood until it squeaked. The sound grounded him. His feet ached. His lower back throbbed. He was past tired now, into that strange hollow where exhaustion turned everything slightly unreal.

The clock behind the bar blinked 12:17.

“Almost there,” Mara murmured as she passed him, her voice low. She didn’t say home. None of them did. It felt like tempting something. Jamie nodded. He checked his phone under the counter.

EVAN: text me when ur off

JAMIE: yeah

EVAN: i don’t like this place late

JAMIE: neither do i

He slid the phone back into his pocket and exhaled. Adrian was still there. Corner booth. Same position. Same stillness. His glass had been empty for a while, untouched like it didn’t matter. Jamie tried not to look. He failed in small, stupid ways, glances caught in reflections, the pull of awareness like a thread tugging at his spine. It wasn’t just Adrian. It was what surrounded him.

The men who came in after midnight acknowledged Adrian without speaking. A nod. A pause. A careful choice to sit somewhere else. Jamie noticed because he noticed everything. It was how he survived. Luca stood near the wall tonight, arms folded, gaze sweeping the room in slow arcs. When Jamie’s eyes flicked to him, Luca met them briefly. Not threatening. Not friendly. Assessing. Like Jamie was a variable in an equation he didn’t understand.

Jamie looked away first. A customer waved him over. Whiskey, neat. Another one. Jamie poured, slid the glass across, accepted cash. The customer’s fingers brushed his. Lingering. Jamie pulled back.

“Hands,” he said quietly. The man smirked. “Relax.” Jamie didn’t smile. “Hands.” The smirk faded. The man withdrew, muttering something under his breath. Jamie felt it then—that tightening in the room. Not anger. Attention. Adrian’s gaze had sharpened, focus narrowing to a fine point. He hadn’t moved. Didn’t need to. Jamie finished the transaction quickly and turned away, heart thudding. He told himself it was nothing. It always was. Tonight just made everything feel louder.

By 12:43, the bar was down to its bones. Mara stacked chairs on tables at one end. The manager disappeared into the office. Music dropped another notch, bass low and steady, like a pulse someone was trying to hide. Jamie wiped the counter again. Slower this time. He counted the bottles. Straightened coasters that didn’t need it. He felt Adrian before he heard him.

“Jamie.” His name, said softly. Like it had weight. Jamie turned. Adrian stood beside the bar now, close enough that Jamie could see the faint crease between his brows, the scar cutting through one eyebrow like it had been drawn there on purpose. “Yeah?” Jamie said. He hoped it sounded normal. It didn’t.

“You’re finished soon.” It wasn’t a question. Jamie glanced at the clock. “Ten minutes.”

“I’ll wait.” Something in his chest tightened. Again. “You don’t have to.”

“I know.” Jamie swallowed. “Why are you still here?” Adrian didn’t answer right away. He leaned one elbow on the bar, relaxed but contained, like a predator choosing patience over speed. “Because after midnight,” Adrian said, “this place forgets how to pretend.”

Jamie frowned. “Pretend what?”

“That it’s safe.” Jamie let out a quiet breath. “You make it sound worse than it is.” Adrian’s gaze flicked to the door. Then back to Jamie. “You don’t see everything.”

“Neither do you,” Jamie shot back before he could stop himself. Adrian’s mouth curved slightly. Not amused. Interested.

“Fair,” he said. Silence settled between them. Not awkward. Charged. A man at the far end of the bar laughed too loudly. Another voice hushed him. Chairs scraped. The door opened and closed. The city pressed its face to the glass, then moved on. Jamie gathered glasses from the tables closest to the booth. He felt Adrian’s attention track him, steady and unhidden. It made his skin prickle. He didn’t know if he liked that or not. Probably not. Definitely not.

When he returned to the bar, Adrian’s glass was still empty. “Another?” Jamie asked. Adrian shook his head. “No.” Jamie raised an eyebrow. “Then why are you still sitting there?” Adrian stood. The movement was unhurried, but it drew every eye in the room. He crossed the space between them in a few long steps and stopped at the bar, close enough now that Jamie had to tilt his head slightly to meet his gaze.

“Because I wanted to talk to you when you weren’t surrounded,” Adrian said. Jamie felt his pulse in his throat. “I’m still working.”

“For ten more minutes.” Jamie opened his mouth to argue, then closed it. He hated that Adrian was right. Hated that it felt like losing something small but important. “Fine,” Jamie said. “What do you want to talk about?”

“You.” Jamie scoffed. “That’s vague.”

“Intentionally,” Adrian said, echoing him. Jamie snorted despite himself. “You can’t just….” Adrian leaned in slightly, lowering his voice. “You walk home.” Jamie stiffened. “So?”

“So someone followed you last night.” The world narrowed.

“What?” Jamie said. Too fast. Adrian’s gaze didn’t waver. “Not close enough for you to notice. Close enough for me to.” Jamie’s stomach dropped. “That’s not funny.”

“I’m not joking.” Jamie glanced toward the door, then back at Adrian. His chest felt tight, breath shallow. “You don’t know that.”

“I do.”

“How?” Adrian straightened, giving him space again. “Because I pay attention.” Jamie laughed, brittle. “You’re a stranger.” Adrian’s eyes darkened. “Not for long.” That should have scared him. It did. A little. But there was something else under it. Relief, maybe. Or the dangerous comfort of being seen.

“Even if that were true,” Jamie said carefully, “I didn’t ask you to watch me.”

Adrian nodded once. “I know.”

“Then don’t.” Silence stretched. Adrian exhaled slowly, like he was choosing restraint over something else. “I won’t stop.” Jamie’s jaw tightened. “You don’t get to decide that.”

“No,” Adrian agreed. “I get to decide what I do.” Jamie stared at him. “That’s the same thing.” Adrian’s mouth twitched. “It often is.” From the corner of his eye, Jamie saw Luca shift, attention sharpening. Lily Grant stood near the doorway now, coat still on, eyes fixed on Adrian with something like disbelief. Then anger. Jamie didn’t know her name. He felt her presence anyway, like static in the air.

“Jamie,” Adrian said quietly. “Finish your shift.”

“I am,” Jamie snapped. “You’re in the way.” Adrian stepped back, hands lifting in a gesture that looked like surrender but wasn’t. “I’ll be outside.” Jamie hesitated. “You said you’d wait.”

“Yes.”

“That doesn’t mean….”

“I’ll stand,” Adrian said. “So I’m not in your way.” Jamie stared at him, then turned sharply, anger buzzing under his skin. He finished closing duties too fast, movements jerky. Stacked glasses clinked louder than necessary. Mara shot him a look.

“You good?” she asked.

“Yeah,” Jamie said. “Just tired.” Mara studied him for a second, then nodded. “Go. I’ve got the rest.” Jamie untied his apron, folded it carefully, and hung it on its hook. He grabbed his jacket and hesitated near the staff door, heart pounding. Outside, the night was cooler. Quieter. The streetlights cast long shadows that felt too intentional. Adrian stood near the curb, hands in his coat pockets, posture loose but alert. The car idled a short distance away. Luca leaned against it, gaze sweeping the street. Jamie stopped a few feet away. “You didn’t have to wait.”

“I said I would.” Jamie rubbed his arms, suddenly aware of how exposed he felt. “You don’t know me.” Adrian stepped closer, just enough to be felt, not enough to trap. “Then walk with me.”

“Where?”

“Home.” Jamie laughed, short and sharp. “That’s insane.” Adrian’s gaze softened, just a fraction. “It’s midnight.”

“And?”

“And you’re tired,” Adrian said. “And someone followed you.” Jamie swallowed. The city felt too big suddenly. Too empty. “Just tonight,” Jamie said. Adrian nodded. “Just tonight.” They started walking. Jamie kept his hands in his pockets, shoulders tight. He was acutely aware of Adrian beside him, the way his presence seemed to push back the darkness at the edges of the street. He hated how much that mattered. “You don’t owe me anything,” Adrian said quietly.

“I know.”

“You can tell me to stop.” Jamie looked at him. Really looked. The scar. The control. The restraint that felt like it was holding something dangerous in check. “I don’t want you to stop,” Jamie said, then winced. “I mean….” Adrian didn’t smile. He didn’t gloat. He just nodded, like that answer fit into something he’d already decided.

“Good,” he said. Behind them, unseen but aware, La Corona Nera watched. And after midnight, Bar Della Luna closed its doors, keeping its secrets, for now.