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ears and a growl rose in my throat. I wanted blood or sex or—
    “Okay, we’re leaving.” Dan spun me around and yanked me forward.
    Motion broke the spell and as the lust for blood drained away, panic flooded in to take its place.
    With a sob, I dodged around the vamp and plunged into the crowd, redoubling my efforts to get through the bodies, shoving at people blindly, almost running through the doors once I got clear of the worst of it. The sudden volume drop as I hit the street was like going deaf.
    Thankfully the bloodlust vanished too, leaving me feeling battered and suddenly exhausted like the downside of an adrenaline surge. Worse than the exhaustion was the lingering sense of fear and disgust. God.
    Esteban had done this to me. Controlled me and the whole club without breaking a sweat. And I’d agreed to work for him. I was going to have to face him again. Return to his world again. Put myself within his grasp. What if I couldn’t handle it, couldn’t stay in control under his influence?
    Dizziness swept over me. I bent down, bracing my hands on my knees and trying not to throw up as I breathed in traffic fumes and the smell of wet tarmac, the drizzling rain forming a cold film over my heated skin.
    Behind me, I heard Dan push his way through the line of people waiting to be let into the club. I straightened as he stopped next to me. His eyes, usually silver, were a flat stormy color in the glow of the streetlights.
    “Are you okay?” he said.
    “I’m fine,” I said between breaths. My heart still pounded furiously, and the pain in my head bit in unison with each pulse. I knew Dan could smell the fear rising from my skin but I needed the lie to convince myself not to have a total meltdown.
    “I told you this was a bad idea.” His voice was as flat as his eyes.
    “I know you did.” My knees wobbled. I looked around for something to lean on, but there was nothing unless I wanted to sit in the gutter. Not a good plan if the whiff of rotting food and dirt rising up from the puddles at my feet was anything to go by. What I really wanted was for Dan to put his arms around me and tell me everything would be all right.
    Which was about as likely as me growing wings and flying through the darkness. My head throbbed again as he glared at me. “It’s just a job.” Maybe if I said it enough I’d convince myself.
    “You still think you can handle this?”
    I forced myself to stand up straight, ignoring the rapidly increasing wobbly feeling in my legs. “He needs a forensic accountant. He can get me for free thanks to Marco. End of story.”
    Talking made the pain spike deeper into my head. I dug my fingers into the back of my neck where the muscles were doing a pretty good imitation of granite. “I’m under Marco’s protection, Esteban can’t hurt me.”
    “He just did.” Dan lifted my arm. My hand trembled. I snatched it back, hugging myself to try and get warm.
    “It’s not Esteban, it was that place. The whip....” I trailed off before my brain could start showing images of Tate. “I’m fine now.”
    “Until the next time you go near him. Why do you think I didn’t want you to come? He’s dangerous,” Dan said, the words half snarled. “Christ, Ash. Do you think I can’t smell what he did to you? That isn’t safety. Marco can’t help you if you agree to do whatever Esteban wants.”
    “I wouldn’t,” I whispered.
    “Really? How can you be so sure? I could smell you while I was outside his office. You wanted him. You weren’t thralled and he got you wet. If he tried harder, he could’ve had you.” His voice was spiked with anger and fear, roughened and hard. He grabbed my shoulders, his grip hard enough to bruise and I started shivering. He was usually so careful with his strength.
    Silver eyes burned into mine. “Don’t you understand? He’s strong. He could make you do anything. And he’d enjoy doing it. I’ve heard the stories. And a lot of them aren’t just stories. He