Chapter 33: A Deal with the Devil

I barely had time to catch my breath before I was thrown into the next nightmare.

The Cobalt Club was a lion's den, filled with criminals who wore expensive suits and smiled like they weren't plotting murder between cocktails. The air was thick with cigar smoke, whispers, and the quiet tension of too much money in one place.

And right at the center of it all—Nicholas Vale.

He sat in a private booth, legs crossed like he owned the world. His icy gaze landed on me the second I walked in, and a slow smirk tugged at the corner of his lips.

"Liam Kingston sends a little fox to my den? Interesting choice."

I slid into the seat across from him, keeping my expression neutral. "He sent me to talk. I suggest you listen."

Vale chuckled, swirling the whiskey in his glass. "Feisty. I like that."

His amusement didn't fool me. Nicholas Vale didn't like anything he couldn't control, and I wasn't about to let him think he had the upper hand.

"Liam wants something from you," I said, leaning forward slightly. "And I want to know why."

His smirk widened. "Ah, but that's the wrong question, darling. The real question is—what are you willing to trade for the answer?"

A chill ran down my spine. This wasn't just a conversation—it was a negotiation. And I was standing on a knife's edge.