I adjusted the hem of my dress the best I could while sitting in a moving car. Cleo, Caspian, and Xavier were engaging in some random conversation and occasionally kissing while I remained quiet.

All three of them tried to make sure I wasn't feeling left out though and that was sweet, but it wasn't needed. Fourth wheeling would be a decent experience as long as Xavier was happy.

The driver of the limousine lowered the partition. "ETA is three minutes."

"Thank you Lucius," Cleo said as the man pressed a button to raise the glass. Cleo glanced at Caspian and Xavier and gave them a proud nod. "You two look hot. Hot as fuck."

That was a fact I couldn't contest. They were both wearing matching black suits and looked amazing. The only difference in their outfits was that while Xavier was wearing a white button up underneath, Caspian wore nothing. He claimed it would be a crime to cover up his body. It was unconventional...but that was him, and he looked amazing.

Cleo turned to me and shook her head with a smile on her face. "And you!" She exclaimed. I nervously looked away from her with a shy grin on my face and crossed my arms. Everyone's eyes were on me and the attention made me so uneasy that I wanted to vanish.

"You look amazing," Caspian said with a wink.

Xavier nodded in agreement and Cleo beamed at him. "I know right! I knew that dress would be perfect for her."

Cleo had bought me tons of dresses as gifts and they were all more her tastes than mine, but I wasn't complaining. I was wearing a short black dress that had a cross over design on my breast and left my back completely exposed.

It was a lot more revealing than the things I usually wore, but I had to admit I felt confidence like I had never felt before. The leather material of the dress made it have a glossy effect that complemented the bold makeup look Cleo had done for me.

The car came to a slow and our conversation died down at the chatter outside the door. What is that? Cleo took a deep breath and nodded. "Let's do this."

Do what?

As soon as she opened the door all I could hear was screaming and cameras clicking. She stepped out with Xavier on her arm with ease and my eyes widened. Here I was paralyzed in my seat, yet she seemed completely unfazed.

Caspian smiled and held out his hand for me. "No need to be nervous, all we have to do is walk into the club." With a nod and a deep breath, I accepted his hand and we stepped out of the car together. As soon as our feet hit the floor we were bombarded with questions and psycho paparazzi. There were guards holding people back, but it was absolute chaos.

"Mr. Deveaux have you and your wife divorced?!"

"Who is this woman?!"

They were all screaming multiple questions and I felt a man grab my arm and shove a mic in my face. "Any comment on your relationship with Caspian Deveaux?"

I tried to ignore his question and move my arm away, but he kept a firm grip on it. When Caspian noticed why we weren't walking he moved to the man and punched him square in the face making him stumble backward. "There's your comment," he said as he gently took my hand and led us through the crowd.

After the punch, the crowd went into a manic frenzy. "Is the bad boy of Juva back?!"

"Mr. Deveaux have you returned to your old ways?!"

What are they talking about? The screaming questions persisted until we finally made it into the club, their loud voices being shut out by the booming music inside. "Are you alright?" Caspian asked as he looked down at me.

"I'm fine. Thank you." He winked down at me and squeezed my hand, making me look down at his bruised one. "Is your hand okay?"

He glanced at it and shrugged. "It will heal in a few seconds. Where did they go..." he said as he searched the large club. I helped him look around and finally saw a section in the club where Cleo was sitting on Xavier's lap. I pointed it out to Caspian and we made our way over to them. As we got closer I could see the angry expression on Cleo's face.

"What's wrong?" I yelled so she could hear me. The music in the club was so loud that I could feel it making the building vibrate.

"Everything," she said as she crossed her arms. "This place looks amazing." Xavier let out a small chuckle and kissed her cheek, making her smile a bit.

Caspian looked around the building a bit as if he was studying it, and then his attention turned back to us. "Do you think you're still winning?" I teased.

He grinned and shook his head. "I admit it looks good...but I look better." I rolled my eyes at him and laughed. I didn't know how the man's ego was able to fit through the door.

Taking a look around I nodded in astonishment. It was a pretty amazing club. It was dimly lit and the ceiling had neon chandeliers that complimented the rave-styled aesthetic of the club. There was a disco dance floor and a large bar area that a crowd of people were occupying.

There were strippers on stage dancing and bottle girls walking around socializing and passing around drinks. What amazed me the most were the dancers in cages hanging from the ceiling.

"How did they get up there?" I asked and they all looked up to where I was pointing.

"Maybe a ladder?" Xavier asked with a shrug.

"There are ladders that high?" I asked as I tilted my head. It had to be a good fifty feet from the floor. Maybe they were that high up so that the second level of the club could see them. There were also dancers wearing close to nothing dangling on silk ropes. How the hell did they manage to do that?

"Oh fuck us," Cleo muttered. "Everyone smile."

"Hey y'all!" A cheery and high-pitched voice said.

"Hi, Anna!" Cleo yelled back enthusiastically as she stood up. Anna and Cleo hugged and kissed each other on the cheeks and I held in my laugh at Cleo's obvious disgust.

When they pulled away from one another Anna's eyes landed on me. She looked me up and down from head to toe and I tried my best not to give her any attitude for staring.
"Hi. I'm Anna," she said as she gave me a toothy smile. I didn't know if it was because of the bad things I heard about her or just her vibe, but I was aware she and I weren't going to get along.

"I'm Queen," I said.

"Nice to meet you, Queen," she said as she winked and waved her hand at me. She turned her attention to Xavier and it was almost like her whole persona changed. "You are one sexy man."

"Thanks," Xavier muttered.

She took a step towards Xavier and I felt Caspian's hand become tighter around mine. It was like he was crushing my bones. Trying to hold back a wince, I looked up at him to see his jaw set in a hard clench as he looked in Anna's direction. I shook his hand to shake him out of his trance and when he noticed, he grimaced. "I'm sorry," he whispered as he let go of my hand and wrapped his arm around my shoulder.

Anna was still talking to Xavier and moved to touch his hair when Cleo stopped her. "He's taken, Anna," she said sweetly.

Anna pouted and turned her attention back to me. "So...are you one of Cleo's stripper friends?"

"I'm her friend," I answered.

"You're not a stripper?" She asked as she looked me up and down again. She looked at me as if she could tell who I was, what I did and my entire past by the dress I was wearing and it was gross. There was plenty I could say about her blue dress- if it could even be called that. It covered absolutely everything and if we weren't in a nightclub I'd think she was a premium nun or some shit.

"No, I'm not," I replied.

"I'm glad to see there are still some women who have respect for themselves," she said with a fake grin. Caspian had to have been able to tell that was a diss at Cleo, right?

"Like you?" Xavier spoke up.

"Just like me," she said happily in her southern accent.

"I couldn't tell," Xavier replied. Cleo bit her lip to hold back a smile and I shook as I tried not to laugh at Anna's facial expressions. She looked beyond offended- I could almost see the fumes radiating off of her as her skin reddened. She cleaned her throat and flipped her blonde hair over her shoulders dramatically.

"Hey darling," a man said as he approached her from behind.

My eyes flicked to him and I immediately froze when I saw who it was. It was Cole, the man that kidnapped me and tricked me into letting him go. The man who vowed to see me soon...I scoffed, seeing that his wife was perfectly fine and he did in fact lie to me.

When his eyes landed on mine he momentarily froze before pasting a large grin onto his face. "Who are your friends?" he asked Caspian.

Oh, so that's what we're doing? I was terrified, but it made no sense to run. I'd rather stay here where everyone was instead of being on my own. Honestly, I had a lot of questions for him, but I would've been content if I never saw him again.

"This is Queen," Caspian said as he gestured toward me.
Cole stepped forwards and reached out for my hand. I reluctantly placed my hand into it and he laid a kiss on it.

"Hello, Queen."

"Cole," I said dryly.

"Y'all know each other?" His wife asked from behind him.

We remained with our eyes locked and I quickly took my hand from his as he stood up straight. "Something like that," he replied ominously.

Caspian protectively wrapped his arm around me once again and pulled me to him. I was thankful for the security, but I didn't feel safe at all with the way Cole was looking at me.

"Where did y'all meet?" His wife asked again, suddenly intrigued.

"We just bumped into one another," Cole said. Yeah, right. Cole cleared his throat and took his wife's hand. "We have some people to speak to, but I'll expect to see you all soon."
When he left, I let out the terrified breath I was holding and everyone turned back to me.

"What was that?" Cleo asked.

"I don't know," I muttered.

Caspian led me to a seat on the sectional and I sat down. "Hey." Caspian moved my hair out of my face. "Your heart is beating insanely fast. Who is he to you?"

I wanted to tell them about Cole, but right now wasn't the time. I didn't want them to end up hurt or mysteriously taken like I was. This was my business and I needed to figure it out on my own. I took a deep breath and smiled at him. "No one important. I'm okay."

They all gave me disbelieving looks, but they dropped it. We all talked for the next twenty minutes or so about the club and our plans for the next few days.

"Let's dance," Cleo said as she stood up. Caspian stood up with her and went to her side while Xavier and I glanced at one another.

"You want to dance?" Xavier asked with a grin. I didn't have the heart to tell him no so I took his outstretched hand and we followed behind Cleo and Cas. We stepped onto the crowded dance floor and somehow the music was a lot louder than it was before. Cleo along with Caspian and Xavier began dancing easily and I smiled at them.

Cleo winked at me and made her way toward me and grabbed my hand in an effort to get me to dance. It was silly but it worked. Not before long I was dancing on my own and enjoying myself. When I opened my eyes I could've sworn I saw Syn, but as I looked longer I realized he wasn't really there. I missed him more than I wanted to admit.

All of a sudden my mind was filled with thoughts of him and I didn't feel like dancing anymore. Fucking feelings, just ruining everything. "I'm going to get a drink!" I yelled to the trio. They nodded at me collectively while dancing and I pushed through the crowd to go to the bar.

The bartender grinned at me when I sat down, and he leaned his arms against the counter. "New here?"

"Isn't everyone?" This was in fact the opening of a new club.

"It is, but you're supposed to answer and then we start flirting," he said as he leaned onto the bar.

I laughed softly and shook my head. "Maybe the next girl will get it."

"Or maybe I'll ask you next time you come." He was no doubt hot, but I wasn't really in the mood for any guys. The guy I truly wanted wasn't available, in fact, he hated me. Not knowing what to say, I hummed to the song playing with a shrug sent his way and he bit his lip."What can I get you?"

I squinted my eyes as I looked at the array of bottles behind him. I didn't know shit about alcohol. "What would you recommend?"

"For a girl like you," he turned towards the drinks, looking for something, "something sweet." He turned back to me with a bottle and took out a glass. Putting a few ice cubes in it, he poured a clear liquid drink into the glass with a sliced lemon on the corner.

"What is it?" I asked as I eyed the drink and picked it up.

"Try it," he said. I took a sip and winced in preparation for the burn, but as soon as it landed on my tongue I was surprised by the sweet taste. "It's called Don Julio Blanco, straight from Earth."

"Cool." I said softly as I continued drinking from the straw.

"Let me know if you need anything, love."

I gave him a small smile and relaxed on the bar chair. I pulled out my phone, absentmindedly scrolling through it. My heart fell as I didn't see a call or text from Syn, but it wasn't like I expected it. That was just wishful thinking on my part...

...so much fucking thinking about him.

Before I could think anymore I felt a hand on my back and someone's breath near my ear. I shivered slightly at the contact and my eyes widened as I turned around and looked at the person.

"Hello, sweetness."