The men parted reluctantly, creating a path to the door. Pervis placed a gentle hand on Alicia’s arm and guided
her toward the exit.
“Mr. Tyler,” Luke called out as they reached the door. “I hope there are no hard feelings?”
Pervis glanced back with an expression that gave away nothing. “We’ll see.”
They walked out of the private room, down the hallway, through the crowded nightclub, and finally out into the cool night air. Alicia didn’t say anything until they were a full block away from Club Velvet.
Then she stopped walking and turned to face Pervis, her usual cold composure cracking completely.
“Thank you,” she said quietly. “I don’t know what would have happened if you hadn’t… if you hadn’t stepped in.
Despite her efforts to maintain control, Pervis could see her hands shaking slightly. The woman who had seemed so unflappable in the office had been genuinely terrified.
“You don’t need to thank me,” Pervis replied.
“Yes, I do,” Alicia insisted. “Linda abandoned me without a second thought. Roden set up that entire situation deliberately. You were the only one who…”
She trailed off, seeming unable to find the right words.
“I couldn’t just leave you there,” Pervis said simply.
Alicia studied his face in the streetlight, her expression curious. “That call you made–and then what happened with Luke’s boss… Do you have some kind of powerful background?”
Pervis considered how to answer. “Just luck, really.”
“Luck?” Alicia’s eyebrows rose skeptically.
“I was prepared to grab you and run if things went badly,” Pervis admitted. “The phone call working out the way it did was fortunate timing.”
It wasn’t entirely the truth, but it wasn’t entirely a lie either.
Alicia looked at him for a long moment, clearly trying to decide whether to believe him. Finally, she wrapped her arms around herself, suddenly looking vulnerable rather than intimidating.
“I’m still pretty shaken up,” she said quietly. “Would you… would you mind walking me home? I don’t think I can handle being alone on the street right now.”
Pervis was slightly surprised by the request–this was the same woman who had maintained icy composure even when Roden was berating them earlier. But the vulnerability in her eyes was genuine.
“Of course,” he agreed.
They walked through the city streets in comfortable silence, the nighttime sounds of traffic and distant music filling the spaces between their footsteps. Alicia’s apartment building was in a modest but well–maintained
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CHAPTER 35
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neighborhood about twenty minutes away.
When they reached her door, she fumbled with her keys for a moment before getting them into the lock.
“Thank you again,” she said, turning to face him. “Not just for tonight, but for being decent when everyone else…”
Before Pervis could respond, Alicia stepped forward and pressed her lips against his in a brief, soft kiss.
It lasted only a second or two before she pulled back, her face flushing bright red.
“That was just… just to thank you,” she stammered, her usual composure completely gone. “For helping me. Nothing more.”
“Alicia-” Pervis started, still processing what had just happened.
“Goodnight!” she said quickly, practically diving through her apartment door and closing it firmly behind her.
Pervis stood in the hallway for a moment, staring at the closed door with mild bewilderment.
From inside the apartment, he could hear Alicia’s footsteps retreating rapidly, as if she were trying to put as much distance as possible between herself and what had just happened.
A slight smile tugged at the corner of his mouth as he turned and headed back down the hallway.
Today had been one of the strangest days of his life–arrested, exonerated, threatened by criminals, and now kissed by a colleague he barely knew.
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Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
