A gunshot.
Sharp. Loud and real as fuck.
The music downstairs cut off instantly. Screams followed. Chaos erupted as people surged toward exits, bodies colliding, voices rising in panic.
I froze.
My heart slammed against my ribs as another shot echoed...shouting, then the unmistakable rush of security flooding the room.
Zane was on his feet in an instant.
"Stay where you are," he ordered, already moving.
The world tilted.
Whatever this night was supposed to be had just shattered.
The second gunshot was closer.
Not downstairs this time. Not muffled by distance or music. It cracked through the VIP floor sharp enough that my ears rang.
Zane moved before I did.
His hand closed around my wrist and he pulled me backward, hard, my heels skidding against the floor as bodies surged around us. People were shouting now. Someone screamed. Glass shattered somewhere to my left.
"Stay with me," he said, low and controlled.
