Chapter TwoLaila’s POVThe door didn’t open.It came off the wall.One second Rico was leaning over me, phone in hand, red camera light blinking. The next, wood cracked and the whole door swung back so hard it bounced off the shelf and sent three bottles crashing to the floor.The man who walked in wasn’t tall in a way that made you think model or athlete. He was tall in a way that made the room shrink. Big through the shoulders, a black jacket sitting on him like it was built for his frame. A cigar burned between two fingers, smoke curling lazy and slow like he had all the time in the world.He looked at Rico first.Then he looked at me.His eyes moved over the room fast. The broken glass. My torn skirt. My face. He took it all in and something behind his eyes went very, very flat.Rico straightened up and tried to look unbothered. “Private business, man. Walk away.”The man took one long drag of his cigar. Blew the smoke out slow . Set the cigar carefully on the edge of a shelf lik
Last Updated : 2026-06-26 Read more