Regret Came Too Late

The guy's eyes lit up. "Whoa, gorgeous, you've been there too? I've been telling these clowns, but they don't believe me. They just keep going on about no gambling."

"Yep, I've been there. I even ran into him once."

"He's scary as hell, right? After he said 'Get rid of him,' he looked down at me and asked the other dude, 'What's this good-for-nothing doing in here?' I swear, my knees almost buckled."

Grace couldn't help but laugh. What was with this overly dramatic talk?

Clearly, this guy was just some lucky stiff who had gotten into The Obsidian once. She shifted in her seat, wanting to sleep, but she still left a final comment.

"But if you saw him and he didn't kill you, doesn't that suggest he's not quite as indiscriminately violent as you're describing him to be?"

The man's expression hardened instantly. "That's because I'm leaving out the important part. I opened the door to the bathroom, and there were seven or eight bodies inside. They were all brutally murdered. Their faces were unrecognizable, like they had been beaten to death alive. I was so terrified that I stumbled back, nearly peeing my pants."

He had indeed peed himself a little, but in the presence of such a beautiful woman, he was trying to maintain some composure. But the memory seemed to grip him, and his face lost all color.

"That would explain the blood on his hands! He had just finished killing them. The way he looked at me then was like I was nothing more than trash. I was paralyzed with fear. He felt like a soulless creature, a true monster.

"When he called me a good-for-nothing, I genuinely felt insignificant, like he could crush me with a mere flick of his finger."

Grace's eyebrow arched slightly, and she pushed her unopened water bottle toward the man.

man's lips were pale; he was

one time, I swore I'd never go back. It was all gold and glitter inside, real fancy, but the world of the rich is beyond anything we can imagine. Better to just go back home

probably true. Here, drink some water. Your lips

my bad. Didn't

She had another quick dream that was set in the same place—that pool in the club.

mask, and her eyes

she snapped awake,

must have gotten to her.

that

quickly got off with

hotel, she booked

county town. It wasn't huge, but it had a great spot right on the coast. Plus, the country across the sea had just amounced that Eldorians didn't need a visa to travel to Eastoria, so this

was building hotels and malls here was definitely hitting the jackpot with that neighbor's new

dropping off her luggage, she called Tim to

Ethan had been silent since they left,

the