Camilla's POV

It felt like something was sucking all the oxygen in the room, and I was gasping for air.

This had to be a dream, the kind you woke up from and thanked the sky it wasn't real. Because this couldn't be real.

He rose from the red cushion in all his majestic glory, and I felt the pull tighten and stretch between us. If he recognized me, he didn't show it.

With confident strides and sturdy long legs, he covered the distance between us.

I forgot that I was still clutching the dancing pole for balance, and when I tried to move backwards, I lost footing and fell flat on my buttocks.

No, no, no. This was not the time to fall. But panic was clawing its way deep into my core and I lost the energy to rise back to my feet.

He lifted one foot clad in an expensive velvety shoe that cost more than the club's net-worth and placed it on the stairs.

An electric song immediately pierced through the silence already bearing down on us, and I just wished I could scream.

Even twelve years after that unfortunate night, he was still the most beautiful sight I had ever set my eyes on.

His jaw, chiseled to perfection, was set and there was a muscle ticking there. His pointed nose was slightly crooked, as if he fought once in a deadly fight and broke it.

His raven black hair curled over his forehead, and God, he was even more beautiful when he leaned over me, watching me intently.

Don't be stupid like that time now, Camilla. Run!

But just like twelve years ago, I couldn't resist the pull. There was an otherworldly force about him that weakened my defenses.

“Get out." He said in the deepest, rudest baritone I'd ever heard.

“What…” I could only manage a tiny squeak.

He narrowed his eyes and climbed up to the stage.

I held my breath, my chest rising and falling. From fear, anticipation, uncertainty. He tightened his lips and shut his eyes, hiding his icy green gaze.

When he opened them again, those eyes darkened and he snarled at me.

“Get. Out." The heavy emphasis on each word was crystal clear.

I scrambled backwards and got to my feet. I ran out blindly, my heart thudding, my whole body vibrating from fear and shock.

What was Carlos Rain doing here? Of all the nights he had to visit the club, it had to be tonight when I'd just upgraded to the VIP suite?

I half-ran all the way to the costume suite as soon as I jumped out of the elevator. I needed to sit and think about what the hell had just happened in the VIP suite.

I pushed the door of the costume suite to meet the next biggest shock of my life yet tonight.

The assistant club manager was holding up my handbag, and when his eyes locked with mine, they were full of fury and hate.

“She stole the cash! I saw her put it in her bag!" Sasha, one of the girls on my list of envious-coworkers said, pointing an accusing finger at me.

My eyes widened at the bold accusation, at the outright lie.

“I didn't touch any cash. I didn't -"

Another girl cut me off. “No need to lie, Cami–liar, we saw you." Both her lie and the twist of my name into camiliar stung deep.

I shut the door and tried to handle the situation. The assistant club manager was glaring at me, and I had the feeling that this would escalate into something worse if I didn't prove my innocence.

“Mr. Sanders, I didn't touch any cash. I don't know how it got into my bag. I'm not a thief. I swear!” My eyes were tearing up already, and I was losing hold on my confidence.

"Oh, shut up. They all said they saw you. You know what? You're going to jail.” Mr. Sanders raised the huge package of cash. How much was that? That was a lot of money!

“This will teach others a lesson. Perhaps, after a few months in prison, you'll come to your senses. Grab her!” He said to Sasha, who was grinning like a Cheshire cat in satisfaction.

"Prison? No! I didn't touch any cash, I swear. Mr. Sanders, please, listen to me…” But nobody was listening to me.

I looked around for help, but the other girls who weren't accusing me were minding their business. More out of fear of Sasha, actually. I had no doubt she was the one behind this.

She'd mentioned my stretch marks earlier. She was the unhappiest at the news of my upgrade to the VIP suite.

She grabbed my right arm and another girl grabbed my left.

“You set me up. Mr. Sanders, she set me up. I didn't steal from you, I swear it. Please, just listen to me." But they were already leading me outside the costume suite.

There was no way out of this mess. Mr. Sanders didn't like my guts, Sasha and her clique hated my luck.

“Mr. Sanders, please, this is a setup. I don't want to go to prison! Don't take me to prison!" Tears were streaming down my face now, and my arms hurt from where Sasha and the other girl were gripping my arms.

It was like they were more interested in snapping my bones than simply taking me away.

“Shut up, you thief. I've been suspecting you for a while now, I always knew you were a street thief. You think I don't know you steal from our clients?" Mr. Sanders yelled, throwing me an angry look.

He was lying about the last part. Now, everyone was coming out from different suites and watching the spectacle.

I would never recover from this. The shame, the embarrassment, the loss of my dignity, it was all too much.

Sasha whispered in my ear as she tightened her grip on my right arm.

“I'm finally getting rid of you, bitch. You're an overweight, wannabe Doja Cat. There's no place for you here. You can rot in prison for all I care." She snarled, and it was right then I knew I was screwed.

“Get her into the elevator!" The assistant club manager ordered.

“Please, Mr. Sanders. I didn't touch that cash. It was -"

“Jokes on you if you think I'll actually listen to that bullshit. You're a thief, end of story. And you're going to prison." The mean expression on his face was sharp enough to slice through cloth.

This was the end of everything. After working so hard to get out of poverty, this was how the universe would steal everything from me? I used to live in my car, for days, I wouldn't shower.

When I finally got this job despite my body type, it had felt like my ninety-nine problems singing bye-bye-bye. I wasn't so sure right now.

Just as Sasha pressed the elevator button, I felt a tingling sensation shoot down my spine. The same kind I'd felt back in the VIP suite.

“Let her go." A familiar deep voice ordered.

We all turned, Mr. Sanders included. There were four vampires flanking him, two on each side. They looked deadly, but Carlos looked deadlier, but in a brutally beautiful way.

Oh God. As if this couldn't be any worse, Carlos Rain had to be one of those who witnessed my last moments before I went to jail for a crime I didn't commit.

What was he even doing here?

Mr. Sanders immediately lowered to one knee and bowed his head. Sasha and the other girl did the same, forcing me to the ground.

Wait, what was this?

“She stole from me, she deserves to go to jail." Mr. Sanders said, still kneeling.

Carlos didn't even pay him any attention. I doubted he'd heard him, even though I knew we vampires had incredible hearing.

“How much?" Carlos asked in a cold voice that both sent goosebumps rising on my skin and caused my body to react in a traitorous manner.

Why was my body betraying me this way? This was the person who ruined my life.

Mr. Sanders’ lips curled into a smile at Carlos' question as he quickly hid the cash in my handbag.

“Fifty thousand dollars.”

I gasped.

Carlos didn't even blink or show any reaction.

"Let her go and I'll pay you five times what you claim she stole.” I hated the way he said it, what you claim she stole. Why was he intervening?

I still couldn't wrap my head around why he was here.

“Hundred." Mr. Sanders said.

If Carlos was pissed off, he didn't show it.

He simply gestured to one of the vampire-guards behind him and murmured something.

In less than thirty seconds, he drew a check and flung it at Mr. Sanders who scrambled to catch it. It was humiliating to watch, even for me.

“Take your hands off her." He ordered Sasha and the other girl, and they both moved away from me. Sasha tugged her top down, and I rolled my eyes as I rose up to my feet.

I massaged my arms where the girls had been holding me as if I was a hardened criminal.

“Let's make a deal, Camilla. You owe me now, and there's only one way to pay it off.” He sounded detached, but the sensuality in his voice tugged at something deep inside me.

What? I didn't ask him to intervene on my behalf!

“You follow me, or I take my check back and you go to jail."

What?