Dandy Veers rubbed the back of his balding head and stared down at the painting thoughtfully. “I think it could easily bring between five and ten thousand. This kind of art is in high demand right now. And your talent is unquestionable.”

I almost swallowed my tongue. “Are you fucking serious?” I laughed, hardly able to believe it.

Mr. Veers nodded. “I’m very serious. X—is that your real name?”

“No, my name is Maxx. Maxx Demelo,” I told him.

“Okay then, Maxx, you’ve built quite a following. And street art is huge right now. There are major collectors out there wanting to be the first to discover the next big thing. And you could be the next big thing. I mean, to my eye, you already are.”

Dandy Veers might have been a little quirky, but I liked him. And he was willing to take a huge chance on an unknown artist who had literally wandered in off the street. It was more than I could have hoped for.

“Sure. Yeah, let’s do it,” I said, nodding.

Mr. Veers grinned and held his hand out. I shook it. “Great! Let me go get my calendar and we can talk about scheduling a date.”

chapter

thirty-eight

aubrey

on the drive to Compulsion, the numbness wore off and the anger resurfaced. It felt good to be pissed rather than annihilated.

I waited in line at the old factory impatiently, barely aware of the people around me. When I got to the front, I was surprised by the lack of derision for my anticlub attire. The bouncer, a guy I didn’t recognize, stamped my hand and waved me inside.

And here I was again. Looking for Maxx.

Compulsion had been our beginning. And it had proven our end as well. It was a sad full circle.

I pushed through the teeming crowd, craning my neck to look around. The place was heaving tonight, and I could barely walk two steps without colliding with someone.

There was a strange energy in the air. One that had me edgier than I already was. I made my way to the bar but didn’t recognize the guy serving drinks. I waited my turn, and when the man wearing a tight leather halter top and bracelets up to his elbows came over to take my order, I shook my head.

“I’m looking for X!” I shouted over the music.

Leather halter guy frowned. “Who?”

“X!” I yelled in his ear.

The bartender shrugged. “I have no idea who that is. I’m new, though, so I don’t know many of the regulars. Do you want anything or not?”

“No, thank you,” I responded. I faced the dance floor and scoured the crowd, looking for Maxx. I had a sinking feeling I’d never be able to find him.

“You came!” April suddenly appeared beside me, her now brown hair plastered with sweat to the sides of her face. Her eyes were wide and sparkling.

“Yeah, I was just looking for someone,” I answered dismissively.

“Oh yeah? Are you looking for Maxx?” It annoyed me that I was that obvious.

“Yeah, I am. Have you seen him?”

April shook her head, bouncing on her feet. “I haven’t, no. But I could help you look.”

“No, that’s okay—” There was a loud commotion from the front of the building, and then a tidal wave of people started moving toward the exit.

“It’s the cops!” I heard someone scream. And the club erupted into absolute and total chaos.

“Fuck! We need to get out of here now!” April shouted in my ear, grabbing hold of my hand and wrenching me forward.

I was shoved and pushed from all directions; everyone was in a state of panic as we all attempted to get outside.

“We need to hurry! They’ll start using tear gas! I’ve seen it happen before,” April yelled, throwing elbows as we tried to make our way across the room.

“Tear gas?” I gasped. Oh my God! Where was Maxx?

I tried to look around, scanning the faces, but it was absolute pandemonium. People were shouting, girls were screaming. I saw spotlights trained on the heaving, waving crowd.

“This way!” April yelled, pulling my arm toward the wall. We felt our way along the outer perimeter of the room. It was slow going, and in the darkness I could see police officers arresting people and pulling them outside.

Eventually, through pure luck, we located the fire exit.

“Come on, Aubrey! Hurry up!” April was starting to freak out.

“But Maxx might be in there!” I protested.

“Then he’s fucked. Now come on!” she yelled, giving my arm a vicious pull, and then we were outside.

The insanity breaking loose inside could still be heard once we were out of the building.

“Oh my God!” I gasped, bracing my hands on my knees, trying to catch my breath.

“We can’t stop! We’ve got to go!” April was pulling on me again. We ran along the outside of the building, steering clear of the police barricade that had been set up.

“What’s going on?” I asked when we were finally able to stop. We had made our way back to the parking lot. In the craziness, we had gone unnoticed and were able to escape.

April was red in the face and breathing hard.

“It looks like a drug bust. Check it out,” she said, pointing to the front of the club.

There were flashing lights everywhere. Police officers had swarmed the old factory, pulling partyers out of the club and handcuffing them. Others were being thrown to the ground. The din of the crowd was deafening.

A group of people joined us, others who had made their successful escape from inside. April’s friends were among those who had gotten out in time.

“I heard someone say they were tipped off that there was a huge drug deal going down tonight,” a guy with purple hair said. Blood streaked down his cheek, and it looked as though he had an earring yanked out of his lobe.

Oh my fucking God!

Was Maxx in there? Was he a part of the drug deal gone bad? I left the group of people and moved forward.

“Aubrey, I wouldn’t go down there!” April warned, but I ignored her. I walked to the police boundary and watched as people were thrown to the ground and arrested. I looked for Maxx in every face that was hauled out of the club and put into vans.

I recognized Marco, Maxx’s friend, being led out by police. He was yelling and snarling, and I could see him fighting against the man who held him by the arms, leading him toward a patrol car.

If Maxx had been inside, there was only one way he’d be coming out. In handcuffs.

I knew then that I couldn’t wait to see if Maxx was among those being pulled out of the club. I couldn’t watch as the man I loved was carted away. I stumbled back, barely able to see through my tears.

“Hey! Aubrey!” I heard April yelling behind me. I stopped and turned to her.

“What’s wrong?” she asked when she saw my face.

“Nothing. I’m fine. I’ve just got to go.” I started walking toward my car. She called my name again, but I kept going. I had returned to the numbness. My heart felt like lead in my chest.

I made it to my car and got inside. I sat there for a while, the flashing police lights illuminating the interior of my car. I gripped the steering wheel, unable to turn the engine on. I had really thought this time would be different.

The saying goes, Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

It was the goddamned truth.

I finally pulled away from the club. I should go home. I’m exhausted. But instead I drove back to Maxx’s apartment. My heartache seemed to always lead me there. I slowly walked up the steps and went inside, noting absently that I must have left the lights on when I had left.

I stared around the space, the numbness starting to fade.

Then came the fury. The anguish. The moment when my heart shattered into a million pieces. I screamed. And then I collapsed in a heap on the floor.