MAYA

The car slowed to a stop before a building with the name The Gilded Rose etched boldly across the stone in gold. A valet in a crisp tuxedo stepped forward immediately, pulling the door open for Silas.

Silas stepped out, letting the cool city air rush into the car. He turned back and extended his hand toward me, his fingers steady and waiting. The gesture felt more like a command disguised as an invitation.

I stared at his open palm. A surge of rebellion rose in me, a sudden, sharp desire to ignore him and step out on my own. But the warning in his eyes stopped me. It...