(JUST MY PREVIEW ON WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN IN THE BOOK!)

The house pulsed with music, the kind that made conversation impossible. The air was thick with vape smoke and alcohol. Vaughn stood near the kitchen counter, his back to the wall, a glass of whiskey in his hand. His ex-girlfriend was speaking to him, her voice slurred but insistent.

“It didn’t mean anything,” she said.

He didn’t answer. His eyes were fixed on the space just past her shoulder, where a few people were dancing under a strobe light that made everyone look like they were flickering in and out of existence. He felt detached, as if the party were happening on a screen in front of him.

Then the door opened and Yulian Dimetriv walked in.

He was late, as always, carrying his motorcycle helmet and wearing that same black jacket that looked like it had been ripped from a movie set. The noise in the room seemed to bend toward him. Vaughn’s fingers tightened around his glass.

Yulian noticed him immediately. Their eyes met across the room. For a moment, no one else existed.

“Didn’t expect to see you here,” Yulian said when he reached the kitchen. His tone was casual, but his eyes were not.

“Not small enough of a world, apparently,” Vaughn replied.

His ex stepped back, sensing what was about to happen. Vaughn didn’t look at her.

“You’ve got some nerve showing up,” he said.

Yulian set his helmet on the counter. “It’s a party. I was invited.”

“By who? Her?”

Yulian shrugged. “Does it matter?”

“It matters to me.”

Yulian tilted his head slightly, studying him. “Still angry?”

Vaughn laughed without humor. “You fucked my girlfriend, Yulian. I’d say that’s a good reason.”