Torn Between The Shadows

~Emily Pov~

The stem of the champagne flute was slick against my fingers. My grip tightened on it as if it were the only thing grounding me in the whirlwind of this evening.

The kind of ballroom filled with murmured conversations and polite bursts of laughter felt hollow like the people making it.

Chandeliers hung high above, casting a golden glow over the room and their brilliance almost masked the undercurrent of menace that seemed to hum in the air.

I leaned back against the wall, watching. Waiting. Trying to ignore the weight of the stares over me like unwelcome touches.

This wasn't my world, and everybody here knew it.

Men in suits so sharp they could cut glass filled the room, eyes appraising, and predatory. Women draped in jewels, their smiles painted on, like the makeup caked over their perfectly chiseled features.

The swirling conversations around me were laced with the unspoken currency of power—some in hushed tones, others loud enough to project dominance.

I didn't belong here.

But I had a purpose.

Focus, Emily. This is your shot. Don't blow it.

I threw my head back and pasted on a smile, the one that said I was confident, untouchable. It felt artificial, frail. I raked my gaze through the room, scouring the sea of people for someone or anyone who might be open to me. Instead, what I got was everything from dismissal to disgusting lecherous looks.

The latter turned my stomach almost making me vomit.

A couple of older men standing near the bar openly sized me up. One of them, his face sagging under the weight of too many years and too much sex, leaned toward his friend and said something. Both of them laughed as they looked at me, the sound of their laughter crawling under my skin. I turned away, heat flushing up my neck.

One woman, in particular, drew my gaze, she had on a gown that hugged her like liquid gold. Her lips curled in something that was not quite a smile before she turned to whisper something in the ear of the woman beside her. I did not need to hear the words to know they were not kind.

Let them judge. Let them sneer. I wasn't here to make friends.

I was here for the lucrative projects, a luxury tower so bold, it was almost impossible.

Winning any contract here could launch my career, forever cementing me as the most sought-after architect in this city. That would be validation, a giant middle finger to everyone who'd ever told me I couldn't make it.

So I smiled. I mingled. I forced their cutting glances and whispered insults not to bother me, even as my patience grew thin.

"Miss Ross, isn't it?"

The voice was gentle, too damned sweet, and I turned to find a woman in a scarlet gown so over-the-top. Her smile wasn't like her voice, it was razor-sharp, and her eyes were cold.

“You must be very brave, coming here alone,” she said, her voice dripping with condescension. “Or perhaps… naïve?”

My smile didn’t falter. “I prefer determination.”

Her lips twitched, as though she were debating whether to laugh or sneer. She settled for a frosty smile before walking away, her perfume lingering in the air like a taunt.

Deep breath, Emily. You’ve dealt with worse.

Still, my composure was slipping. I sipped my champagne, though it tasted like nothing, and wandered along the rims of the room. My heels clicked softly against the floor as I checked my watch for the third time in five minutes.

Just a little longer. Smile, nod, don't stab anyone with your stiletto.

I was about to slip away when the lights flickered once, twice and then cut out entirely.

Gasps filled the room, followed by the high-pitched clink of a glass hitting the floor. The sudden darkness was oppressive, heavy on my shoulders like a physical weight.

"Wha—"

"Is this a joke?"

There were rumbles from the crowd, nervousness and razor-edged. Someone jolted me, and I jumped, reaching out for the table beside me to keep my balance.

Calm down, Emily. Don't freak out.

The room was filled with noise. Feet shuffling, whispering, and one woman let loose a scream into the darkness. My pulse was hammering in my eardrums now. I was breathing short and fast.

I had to get out of here.

Hands out, I felt the wall, trying to go quiet as the heel clicks echoed louder than intended. The air was heavy with scent, it felt stifling as if all the oxygen had been pushed from space.

"Excuse me," I muttered, bumping into someone, but they hardly noticed me.

Then Somewhere to my left, a man yelled, "Everyone, be calm!"—but the panic only grew stronger.

I saw a door frame and slid through while the chaos reigned on the other side of it. This hallway was still as dark, but at least was silent. I pressed a palm to my chest, trying to calm my runaway breathing.

Almost there. Keep going.

I took another step and another—until a hand reached out of the darkness and clamped onto my arm.

I screamed, the sound torn from my mouth before I could bite it back. My clutch bag hit the floor as I squirmed in the iron grasp that had me pinned in place.

"Let me go!" I panted, my voice trembling.

The hand didn't budge. It yanked me into a shadowy room where the faint light from an emergency exit sign could cast eerie shadows over the place. My back hit the wall, and I looked up, panting, into the face of my captor.

He was big with broad shoulders blocking what little light there was. His face was all sharp angles, his eyes burned like cold fire.

"Who are you?" he demanded, his voice low and lethal. "And what the hell are you doing here?"

"I—I'm not—"

"Don't lie to me," he cut in, his voice like a blade. His fingers wrapped around my arm were unyielding, but not causing pain, the strength was certainly there, though.

Panic rose, but I stamped it down, clinging to the tatters of defiance still keeping me on my feet. "I don't know what you're talking about," I said shortly. My voice was sharper than I felt. "I'm just trying to leave, that's all."

He narrowed his eyes at me, sweeping his gaze across my face as if searching for fissures. "You're not family," he muttered to himself, or out loud, more to himself than to me. "Who sent you, then? Some rival family? Cops?"

"Are you insane?" I hissed, struggling against him to get loose. "I'm an architect. I have a meeting here. Let me go!"

His lips curled into a faint, humorless smirk. "Cute story. Got another one?"

I glared at him, mixed my fear with anger. "Do I look like a spy to you?"

His eyes stayed, slow and deliberate, and under the look my skin prickled. "You look out of place," he said finally. "And people who don't belong usually have a reason."

" You're unbelievable," I muttered, trying once again to pull free.

"And you're either stupid or brave," he threw over his shoulder to me, grinning wide. "So which is it?"

"Let me go, or I'll—"

"You'll what?" His voice dropped; his face was an inch from mine, and I could see light stubble on his jawline. "Scream again? Be my guest. See how far it gets you."

I'd opened my mouth to fire a retort at him, but a sound behind us halted both of us mute. Footsteps, light, but growing closer.

His hold on me tightened, and before I could get another word in, he bent and kissed me.

My mind went blank, and shock sucked the air from my lungs. Firm, and unyielding, his lips shut me up with a kiss that was more like a command than anything gentle. My heart thundered, my body rigid against his.

When he finally pulled back, I stared at him, eyes wide, breathless.

"What the hell—

"Quiet," he commanded, his voice a rough whisper.

Fury spun within my breast, and I shoved against him, hands finding the unyielding wall of his chest. "You— scoundrel!"

He closed easily over my wrists, face expressionless. "Stop struggling."

"You kissed me!" I spat.

"And you're still alive, aren't you?" I stared at him, too angry to formulate anything worth saying.

"Keep your voice down," he went on, infuriatingly unrattled. "Or do you want to draw a crowd?"

I glared at him, fists clenched as he finally let me go. "You're disgusting," I spat.

His smirk came back, sharp and cutting. "And you're annoying."

Before I'd come up with a retort to that one, he was already turning on his heel and stalking off toward the darkness of the building. His broad shoulders disappeared amongst the shadows.

I stood there, frozen, shaking with mingled rage and something else I didn't understand, and stared after the place where he'd vanished into the shadows.

"Jerk," I muttered under my breath, the sound echoing through the empty hall.