Chapter 26

The city lights passed by in a blur, the neon a stark contrast to the tumultuous storm raging inside me. I had to get away, to find myself again. To remember what it was like to live without fear, without the shadow of Hartwell and his twisted games looming over me.

But as the taxi pulled up before a shabby hotel, a part of me knew I'd never really ever get away. The club, Alex, and the tangled web of lies and deceit were burned within my soul, staining me with their darkness. Alex's world was not mine, and I could not live within it. But I could start again, find my own life here within the Big Easy.

The hotel lobby was dimly lit, the air thick with the scent of stale cigarettes and cheap perfume. The clerk looked at me with a mix of curiosity and disdain as I handed over cash for a room. He didn't ask questions, and I didn't offer any. I just needed a place to hide, to think.

The room was sparse, the bed nothing more than a lumpy mattress with a threadbare comforter. But it was safe