You sat on the curb across from the entrance, your carefully styled outfit now damp at the hem, mascara threatening to streak. In your shaking hand, the empty pockets of your jacket were proof enough—no ticket. Gone. Lost somewhere between the hotel and here.

The last of the stragglers trickled past you, laughing, flashing their passes at the security guards. One girl glanced your way, pity flickering across her face before she shrugged and disappeared through the glass doors.

Then the doors shut. Quiet. Just the buzz of the streetlights and your own sniffles.

A black SUV rolled up slowly, engine barely audible, and stopped right in front of you. The tinted rear window hummed as it lowered, revealing a figure leaning against the leather seat—lazy posture, sharp jaw, a faint smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.