Total pages in book: 45
Estimated words: 43787 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 219(@200wpm)___ 175(@250wpm)___ 146(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 43787 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 219(@200wpm)___ 175(@250wpm)___ 146(@300wpm)
Anger flares in my chest. “He’s the only family I have, Chux.” My voice wavers saying his road name, and I hate the way it sounds. Small. Vulnerable. He’s the one who told me Chux is hard and right now he’s being Chux. But I can’t stop the words from coming like I’ve opened some flood gates. “He raised me. He was there when no one else was. And now—now I don’t even know who he is anymore. He’s keeping things from me, and those things are getting me in danger. So, yeah. I need to talk to him. I need to understand why.”
Damian studies me, his expression unreadable. Then, after what feels like an eternity, he exhales and shakes his head. “You wanna see the truth?”
I blink. “What?”
“You wanna know what all this means? What he’s been a part of?” Damian takes another step closer, his gaze burning into mine. “Then you gotta be ready to face it, Alaina. All of it. Not just the pieces you think you want to see.”
A shiver runs down my spine. “I don’t have a choice, do I?”
His jaw tics. “No. You don’t.”
A beat of silence stretches between us. My pulse pounds in my ears.
Finally, I exhale and nod. “Then show me.”
Damian’s lips press into a thin line, but he nods once, like he expected my answer. “Alright,” he says. “But once you see it, you can’t unsee it. Once you step into this world, there’s no turning back.”
I hold his gaze, my hands trembling at my sides.
“I’m already in it, Damian,” I say softly. “Whether I want to be or not.”
His expression darkens, but he doesn’t argue. Instead, he jerks his chin toward the door.
“Then let’s go.”
And just like that, I step into the unknown. A short motorcycle ride and we are at my grandfather’s business.
The air is thick with smoke and tension the moment we step inside The Velvet Hall. The dim lighting casts long shadows across the walls, the scent of whiskey and leather mixing with something darker—power, danger. The room is filled with men in cuts, their eyes tracking Damian and me as we make our way deeper inside.
This isn’t just a strip club—it’s a throne room. And Konstantin sits at the head of it.
My grandfather is standing near the back, his arms crossed over his broad chest, his expression carved from stone. His graying hair is slicked back, his sharp eyes scanning me first, then Damian. He doesn’t look pleased.
Scratch that—he looks furious.
His voice cuts through the tension like a blade. “You had no right to call this meeting, Chux.”
Damian doesn’t slow his stride, doesn’t falter. He walks right up to Konstantin, stopping just short of being in his space. The tension between them crackles like a live wire.
“She has questions,” Damian says, nodding toward me. “You’re gonna give her answers.”
Konstantin’s gaze shifts back to me. For the briefest second, something flickers in his eyes—something I can’t name. But then, his expression hardens.
“And if I refuse?” His voice is calm. Too calm.
Damian doesn’t hesitate.
He pulls a hand gun and presses the barrel under Konstantin’s chin.
The room erupts in murmurs and males reacting. The strippers keep dancing not missing a beat like this is normal while I gaze around seeing how outnumbered we are. Yet, Chux stands here without even a tremor in his hand.
Guns are drawn—Konstantin’s men reacting instantly, weapons raised, aimed at Chux. The click of safeties being flipped off echoes through the space like a countdown to something deadly.
I can’t breathe.
But Chux?
He laughs. Manically.
Low and dark, like the sound of a man who’s been waiting for this moment. He doesn’t move the gun from Konstantin’s chin. Doesn’t so much as flinch at the barrels now aimed at him.
“You might end me,” Chux says, his voice laced with something lethal, “but my club will end every one of you before you hit the parking lot.” His finger flexes against the trigger. “And I don’t care to live as long as I take this fuck out first.”
The silence is suffocating.
My heart slams against my ribs, my breath stuck in my throat.
Konstantin doesn’t move. His gaze flickers between Chux’s gun and his eyes, calculating.
“You willing to die for this, boy?” Konstantin’s voice is measured, like he’s testing the weight of every word. “Because one of us isn’t gonna survive it.”
Chux doesn’t blink. “I don’t fear death. But you?” He tilts his head slightly, the barrel of the gun pressing harder against Konstantin’s temple. “You fear losing.”
Konstantin exhales through his nose, something dangerous shifting in his expression. Then, after what feels like an eternity, he lifts a hand—a silent command.
His men hesitate but lower their guns.
“You gonna answer her questions?” Chux challenges presses the gun into his chin.
“Within reason, yes.”
Chux shakes his head.
“I don’t have secrets with Alaina, you don’t either.”