~ Author ~

The laughter of the receptionist at this point sliced through the boutique like a shard of glass – icy and biting. Her head went back, her chin bobbing as she found the warning from Adeline to be the funniest thing she'd heard all day.

"Bluffing, are we? How original. Security!" she cries, her tone rising with command. Two beefy men in dark suits emerge from the back of the shop, their faces impassive but their bodies tense and ready for battle. They approach Adeline cautiously, ...