<b>Chapter </b>621
BG Pouchers
Up ahead was arge bar, its open doors revealing shing lights and crowded tables. Tourists of all kinds gathered at the <b>entrance</b>, while inside peopleughed and drank, men and women clustered together. On stage, beneath spinning beams of light, a sultry woman swayed to the music, her movements bold and provocative.
As they passed, Caitlin suddenly stopped in her tracks, Sebastian, seeing her pause to look toward the bar, <b>assumed </b>she wanted to go inside for a drink.
“Want to go in?” he asked.
Instead, Caitlin tilted her head toward the stage.
“Look at that dancer.
“Nothing worth looking at. She’s not half as pretty <i>as </i>you.”
Sebastian’s survival instincts were sharp–he knew exactly what a good husband should say.
“No. I mean…” Caitlin trailed off, then tugged at his arm. “Let’s <b>go </b>in for a bit.”
Hand in hand, they stepped inside. A few men turned their heads, their gazes lingering far too long on Caitlin until Sebastian wrapped an arm around her waist, silently warning off every wandering eye.
James and Tyler followed. Since they were the only ones without dates, they instantly became targets.
“Hey there, handsome, want some <b>fun</b>?” A woman slid her hand across James’s chest.
Startled, James practically bolted behind Tyler.
Tyler chuckled, “Rx. They won’t eat you.”
Caitlin and Sebastian found a table near the stage, close enough to clearly see the dancer’s face. Caitlin stared hard, even raised her phone to snap a picture, but the dim lighting blurred the features.
Sebastian frowned. “What exactly are you looking at? She’s just another nightclub girl. Women like her dance for strangers every night. There’s nothing special there.”
“That’s not it,” Caitlin said softly. “She looks <b>familiar</b><b>. </b>Even under all that heavy makeup… <b>even </b>dressed like that. I could <b>swear </b>I know her.”
“<b>Familiar </b><b>how</b>? Who are you thinking of?”
“Alicia.”
“No way.”
At her words, Sebastian looked again but shrugged. He had never really known Alicia, so he couldn’t see it.
“The more I look, the <b>more </b>it seems like her,” Caitlin murmured. “What if it really is?”
When the dancer’s set ended, whistles and shouts rose from the crowd. She ignored a few men who invited her for drinks, took her pay from the manager, stuffed the bills into her pocket, and slipped out through a
side exit.
“Come on. Let’s follow her, Caitlin urged, already heading after her.
They <b>trailed </b>her through the bar and out into a narrow back alley. There, two rough–looking men stepped in
her way.
“Hey sweetheart,e have some fun with us.”
The girl blew a bubble <b>with </b>her gum and smirked. “I don’t think you can afford me.”
The <b>voice</b>–it was nearly identical. Caitlin’s pulse quickened. She was halfway convinced.
The two men reached for her, but she moved fast–knee, fist, elbow. Within moments both were groaning on <b>the </b>ground.
“Told you
you you couldn’t handle me. Serves you right.” She spat at them and kept walking.
Caitlin followed until the dancer spun suddenly, eyes sharp. “What’s with the sneaking around? Come you’ve got guts!”
Caitlin stepped into the glow of a streemp. Her voice was gentle but urgent. “Alicia.”
e out if
The woman froze. For a heartbeat, shock shed in her eyes, but she quickly masked it with augh. “You must have me confused with someone else, prettydy.”
She turned to leave.
Caitlin rushed to block her path. “It’s me, Caitlin! You’re Alicia, aren’t you? You’re alive. How are you here?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m going home to sleep. Leave me alone.” She shoved past Caitlin. but stopped short when Caitlin called after her.
“I know you hate me. But think about Zeke. He thinks you’re dead. He’s been shattered without you.”
The woman hesitated, then came <b>back </b>a step, her eyes hard. “Listen carefully. My name is <b>Ava</b>. Not Alicia. You’ve got the wrong person. This ce isn’t safe at night–go home. Goodbye.”
And with that, she <b>was </b><b>gone</b>, swallowed by the shadows of the street.
“Alicia.” Caitlin whispered, watching helplessly as the figure disappeared.
Sebastian appeared at her side. “That wasn’t Alicia. If it were, she would’ve recognized you. You must’ve been mistaken. Come on, let’s go.”
Though she followed him back to the hotel, Caitlin’s mind wouldn’t rest. Was that <b>woman </b>really Alicia?
Later, she couldn’t keep it to herself. She called Zeke.
“What? You <b>saw </b>Alcia? Are you suT77-
His voice shot up, disbelief and hope tangled together. The thought that Alicia might be alive and here, on Ebonreach Isle–was almost too much to take in.
“… I can’t be sure. She looked so much like her, but she denied it. She wouldn’t acknowledge me.” Caitlin’s tone carried regret. “If it really was her, she’d never ept me anyway. She hated me too much.”
1
“I don’t <b>care</b>. I have to see for myself. I’ming.”
For Zeke, her words struck like lightning in a storm. The ashes of his heart red alive again.
As soon as he hung up, he had <b>Lightwing </b>arrange a private jet. That very night, he was <b>on </b><b>his </b>way to A Country.
By the next morning, before Caitlin and her group could even set out, Zeke called. His voice crackled over the line. “I’m on the ferry to Ebonreach Isle. I’ll be there soon.”
Sebastian frowned. “If that girl isn’t Alicia, he’ll just end up crushed all over again.”
Caitlin shook her head. “Better he sees with his own eyes. If she isn’t, then at least he won’t spend the rest of his life wondering.”
Still, she prayed it was her. That Alicia was alive.
?