Chapter Text
The weather was perfect that night in Las Vegas, warm enough to keep the desert chill at bay, yet dry and crisp under the neon glow. Michelle had come to the city for the weekend, determined to experience the legendary Electric Daisy Carnival and, in particular, the performance by Above & Beyond. From the moment she stepped into the festival grounds, it was everything she had imagined and more.
The crowd was electric, a living sea of moving bodies pulsing in rhythm with the music. The electronic beats floated through the air, vibrating through the ground beneath her feet, wrapping around her like a physical force. Laser lights danced over the mass of festival-goers, slicing through the smoke and fog, painting streaks of green, blue, and purple across faces lit with excitement and abandon. Michelle could feel the energy of the night surging through her veins, and for the first time in a long while, she felt completely alive.
She allowed herself a small smile, realizing she couldn’t regret a single second of this trip, flying to Las Vegas just to immerse herself in the chaos, the music, and the sheer spectacle of EDC was worth every moment. The city lights behind the festival seemed to echo the music, neon reflections blending with the strobe glow, creating a sense of magic that made her forget everything else, almost…
Not only was she enjoying this moment, but she was completely by herself, free from the usual obligations and expectations, with no one to bother her, no one to please, as she didn’t need to plan anything for anyone else. For the first time in a long while, she could simply follow her own rhythm, make her own choices, and enjoy life exactly as she wanted.
Of course, the main reason for her trip to Las Vegas was the EDC event, the music and the lights calling her in a way that had been impossible to resist, but she had also planned to spend the next few days exploring the area, visiting the Grand Canyon and other remarkable sites at her own pace. She could wake up whenever she wanted, take detours when something caught her eye, and linger wherever she felt drawn.
No permissions to ask, no one else to satisfy, just herself and the endless possibilities that lay ahead. It was a rare feeling of complete freedom, one that made her chest swell with anticipation, excitement, and even a touch of relief, as though the weight of all the years and responsibilities she had carried had finally lifted, if only for a little while.
“Ride at Dawn,” a new electronic hit from Above & Beyond, shook the crowd as it began blasting through the dry desert air of Las Vegas. The music wrapped around the festival-goers like a living, vibrating force, pulsing with light and energy. Even though Michelle was not the type to enjoy parties or the usual nightlife, she had always been drawn to musical events like this one, where sound and rhythm seemed to wash over everything else. At thirty-eight, she had promised herself that she would continue attending experiences like this for as long as she could, letting the music and the crowd remind her that life was still alive and full of possibilities.
Taking the last sip of her Red Bull and vodka drink, she glanced around at the sea of dancing bodies, the neon lasers slicing through smoke and night air, and realized that this would be the final night of the EDC festival. She had come to enjoy it fully, with no one to answer to, no plans to schedule, and no one else’s expectations to meet. For once, the world belonged entirely to her, and she savored the feeling of freedom.
What Michelle did not know, however, was that the night would end far sooner than she expected, and not because of work emergencies, exhaustion, or lack of money, but because a face from the past had reappeared, cutting through the careless crowd with an intensity that made her chest tighten.
Fifteen years had passed since she last saw Aleksander Richard, yet the memory of him was as sharp as ever. She remembered his pale blue eyes, the way his short blonde hair had framed his somewhat handsome features, and the hard, unsettling presence he carried. Of course, time had changed him; Alek was now in his late fifties, his face marked by years and experiences she could not know, but there was no forgetting the man who had kidnapped her when she was just twenty-three. The man who had haunted her memories, and whose sudden appearance now made the neon lights of the festival feel smaller, more threatening, and impossibly close.
Even though the music was blasting loudly around her, it was as if Michelle could no longer hear it, as if every beat and bass drop had been swallowed by the sight of Aleksander. The plastic cup in her right hand slipped through her fingers and clattered to the ground, unnoticed, while her pale blue eyes remained fixed on him. She could see that time had changed him slightly, that he had aged, but there was no mistaking him, she knew it was him, the same man who had haunted her memories for fifteen long years.
Her breath came faster, shallow and uneven, and her heartbeat pounded violently in her chest. A part of her, a small, foolish part, felt a flicker of something almost like excitement at seeing him again, but the stronger, sharper instinct told her danger, told her that he only meant trouble.
She tried to back away, to put some distance between them, but the crowd was massive, pressing in from all sides, bodies bumping against hers, leaving her with no clear path. Panic rose like a tide in her chest, hot and suffocating, and she forced herself to push through, weaving and shoving through the mass of festival-goers, each step urgent, desperate. Tears pricked her eyes, blurring her vision, and she could feel them rolling down her cheeks as she struggled to escape, the noise, the lights, and the careless movement of the crowd only amplifying her fear and her helplessness.
She pushed forward as quickly as she could through the massive crowd, moving with urgency, even though running was impossible with so many bodies pressed around her. Every step felt like wading through a thick, shifting current of people who had no idea that her world had just stopped. By the time she finally reached the event exit, her chest was tight and her pulse hammering. She turned around, hoping she had imagined it, but Aleksander was no longer in sight.
Her breathing came in rapid bursts, as if she had just finished a marathon. Her hands shook uncontrollably, her nerves stretched thin under the rush of adrenaline. Michelle fumbled with her small backpack, trying her best to remember where she had placed her shuttle pass, but fear clouded her thoughts and the tears blurring her vision made everything harder to see. Her fingers kept slipping, brushing against random items, and every second she failed to find it made her panic rise higher.
Overwhelmed, she crouched down and flipped her bag upside down, letting everything spill onto the ground, makeup, receipts, her phone, loose change, all scattering across the pavement. She dropped to her knees, desperately sifting through her belongings, her breath catching in her throat as she searched faster and faster.
“Come on, where are you? Please, please tell me I didn’t lose it,” she whispered, her voice trembling with frustration and fear.
When she finally found her shuttle pass, Michelle gathered her scattered belongings with trembling hands, placing each item back into her backpack as quickly as she could manage. Her breath hitched in her throat the moment her iPhone screen lit up with a new notification. For an instant she froze, her heart pounding so violently that it almost drowned out the noise of the nearby crowd.
She lifted the phone with hesitant fingers, slowly sliding her thumb across the screen. She opened the message carefully, as if the words themselves might strike her if she moved too fast. A knot formed in her stomach as the text appeared before her eyes.
“Enjoy your freedom while it lasts, you have some old enemies from your past coming for you.. I’m here to warn you.”
Alek’s name was signed at the bottom, clear and deliberate, as if he wanted her to know he had been watching her closely enough to reach her whenever he wanted. Michelle stared at his name, her vision blurring with a mix of fear and disbelief. How did he even get her phone number? The thought sank into her like ice.
More frightened than ever, Michelle slowly pushed herself to her feet. At five foot two, she felt unbearably small, swallowed by the shadows of the terminal and the distant echo of footsteps. The crowd that had once annoyed her now felt threatening, every face a stranger who could be one of the people Alek was warning her about. She hugged her backpack to her chest, her pulse still racing, and for the first time in a long while, she genuinely felt hunted.
Now her only goal was to reach the next shuttle bus on the camp grounds, the one thing that could take her back to the Las Vegas Strip where she believed she would be safer. All she could think about was getting inside her hotel room at the Aria Resort and Casino, closing the door behind her, and sinking into the one place that still felt familiar. Her pulse throbbed in her ears as she scanned her surroundings again, hoping she had somehow imagined Alek’s presence, yet knowing deep down that she had not. The message on her phone confirmed that every terrifying second had been real.
But the fear that twisted inside her was not only about him. A heavier question lurked beneath it, sharp enough to make her chest tighten. Who could still be after her? And why now?
Michelle tried to steady her breathing as she made her way toward the shuttle loading area. She had moved to Nevada years ago, choosing distance and anonymity over the chaos her old life had carried. She had settled quietly in Elko, poured everything she had into her small perfume boutique, and kept her head down. She avoided trouble, avoided attention, avoided the past. She had done everything she could to build a life that belonged to her alone.
She had even stopped searching for her father, a decision that had cost her more than she liked to admit. Once she understood what the truth might force her to confront, she had simply let the trail go cold. Walter Skinner had warned her to stop digging, his tone firm and almost pleading, and she knew he had been right. Especially after Aleksander had kidnapped her in 2009, a moment that changed the course of her life completely. That night had made everything perfectly clear. Whatever had happened to her father, whatever secrets he had vanished into, they were far beyond what she could uncover or survive.
And now, as she clutched her backpack against her chest and moved toward the bus, she realized something else. No matter how far she had run or how carefully she had tried to rebuild her life, the past had found her again.
The shuttle finally pulled up with a hiss of brakes, its interior lit by soft blue lights that made everything look slightly unreal. Michelle stepped inside quickly, her hands trembling as she tapped her pass and moved toward an empty seat near the middle. She hugged her backpack against her chest and forced herself to breathe slowly. The doors closed with a dull thump, and the bus began to roll forward, leaving the festival grounds behind in a blur of neon and dust.
For a moment she allowed herself to believe she was safe.
Then she felt it, that subtle shift in the air behind her, like a shadow settling across her shoulders. The scent of a man’s perfume, the essence of Most Wanted by Azzaro mixed with something darker and disturbingly familiar, drifted toward her. Before she could turn her head, a low voice spoke right behind her ear, firm, stern, and impossibly calm.
“Do not turn around, Michelle, stay still.”
Her blood turned to ice. She froze, gripping her backpack so tightly that her fingers ached. She knew that voice, it was impossible to forget.
“I am not here to hurt you,” he continued quietly, his tone controlled and almost detached, “but you need to listen. There are people looking for you, and they will not warn you the way I am warning you. You are not safe, not here, not anywhere unless you come with me.”
Michelle swallowed hard, her heart pounding so violently she feared he might hear it. The lights outside flickered across the windows and gave her a faint reflection, just enough to catch a blurry silhouette behind her, tall and completely still. There was no way she would go with him, she was far too smart to follow the man who had once kidnapped her.
He leaned forward slightly, still keeping his voice low. “When we reach the Strip, you will stay seated until I tell you otherwise. There are people you must avoid, and if you panic again, you will make things worse.”
She wanted to scream at him and demand answers, she wanted to tell him to stay away from her forever, but she remained perfectly still, her breath shallow and uneven. His calmness made everything worse. It reminded her too much of the night she had been taken, the way he had spoken to her then, never raising his voice, never losing control. And that masculine scent clinging to him, it was infuriating that it smelled so good.
“You really think I am going to follow you? Should I remind you that in 2009 you kidnapped me, holding me against my will in the backseat of your Dodge Charger?” She tried to sound firm, but the tremble in her voice was impossible to hide from Aleksander.
Sitting behind her, Alek smirked when she mentioned the night he had held her against her will in the backseat of his Dodge Charger. She was sharper than she let others believe.
“If you think being kidnapped by me was your worst nightmare, you are not ready for what is coming your way, Missy.”
She fumed the moment he called her Missy. How dare he?
Fifteen long minutes passed before the shuttle finally began to slow, the rising glow of hotel lights shimmering across the windows. Michelle’s pulse quickened when the towering shape of The Stratosphere Hotel came into view. Her muscles tightened on instinct. She knew better than to step off here. Not with him behind her. Not with her heart beating so loudly it felt like it might betray her.
The doors opened with a soft sigh and a handful of festival goers spilled out, laughing, drunk, oblivious. Michelle stayed frozen in her seat. The Aria Resort was still far beyond The Stratosphere. She needed to get closer, close enough to The Venetian or The Palazzo, somewhere crowded, somewhere bright, somewhere she could disappear.
From behind her, Aleksander’s low voice cut through her thoughts.
“You think you are safe in Elko? You being close to Walter Skinner is not something that brings you anything good. So was your father, he was one of Skinner’s best friends.”
Michelle frowned, confusion weaving through the fear. She did not understand why he kept bringing up Skinner. The last time she had seen the man was five years ago. He had visited her in Elko, wished her well, and walked away like a ghost from a past life.
“I stopped looking for my father. Why would anyone be after me?” she asked quietly.
Aleksander did not answer. She felt the silence press against her back like a heavy wall.
After a moment he spoke again, his tone calm, almost clinical. “I will explain someday. We will get off at The Mandalay Bay Resort. I do not recommend returning to The Aria.”
Michelle nodded slowly, pretending to agree, pretending she would follow him wherever he wanted. “Fine, I will follow you,” she murmured, careful to keep her voice steady.
But she stayed perfectly still, watching the digital display as the shuttle rolled past The Palazzo, then closer to The Venetian. Her chance was coming, she could feel it, a pressure rising in her chest.
Two festival goers stood up, swaying slightly as they prepared to exit. The moment their movement created the slightest distraction, Michelle acted. She shot to her feet, stepping in front of them before they could react.
She did not wait. She launched herself down the aisle, her backpack thumping against her chest, her breath breaking into fast, panicked bursts. She pushed past the second man and stumbled through the opening doors, hitting the sidewalk harder than she meant to.
“Michelle,” Alek’s voice carried out of the bus, sharper now, but still not loud enough to draw attention. The two festival goers were still blocking him, confused, looking back and forth between the two of them.
She did not look back.
She ran.
She ran as if something unseen was clawing at her heels. She pushed into the flow of tourists, slipping between laughing couples and glowing feathered performers. Her lungs burned, her throat tightened, and tears blurred her vision, yet she kept going, forcing herself forward.
Only when she had blended fully into the noise and neon wash of the Strip did she dare to slow. She pressed a hand against a cool metal railing and tried to catch her breath, her entire body trembling.
She glanced over her shoulder, terrified she would see him stepping off the shuttle at last, scanning the crowd for her.
But there was no Aleksander.
Only lights. Only strangers.
For now.
Aleksander finally stepped down from the shuttle bus, his teeth clenched and his jaw tight as the reality sank in. Michelle had slipped away from him. The night air felt heavy against his skin while he scanned the endless stream of tourists flooding the sidewalk. People laughed, argued, drifted past in glittering clothes and neon wristbands. Any one of them could have hidden her, swallowed her into the chaos.
He turned slowly, searching for even a glimpse of her copper brown hair or the flash of blue in her eyes. Nothing. There were too many bodies, too many shadows. All it had taken was the smallest distraction, a brief moment of movement, and she was gone, out of his reach like smoke slipping through his fingers.
A sharp breath pushed through his nostrils as he forced himself to stay calm. Losing control would help nothing. He reached into the pocket of his black jeans and pulled out his phone, the screen glowing against his palm. His thumb hovered a moment before tapping a number he knew by heart.
The call connected. A man answered immediately.
“She escaped me,” Aleksander said, his voice low and irritated, although he fought to keep it steady. “I am near The Venetian and Palazzo area. She is around five foot two, she has copper dark brown hair in a sidecut, longer on the left side. Blue eyes. She is wearing blue jeans and a black t shirt. Text me if you see her anywhere. Do not approach her. She is extremely suspicious by now.”
He paused, listening to the man breathe on the other end, the Vegas noise buzzing faintly behind him.
“I will keep my eyes open,” the man replied. “If she passes by, you will know.”
“Good,” Aleksander muttered, ending the call in a sharp motion.
He stared out across the Strip for several long seconds. Lights blinked and strobed across the buildings, music boomed from nearby balconies, and the crowd seemed to move in every direction at once. Michelle could have slipped into any hotel, any alley, any taxi. She could already be blocks away.
But Aleksander was patient. And he was determined.
He slid his phone back into his pocket, his gaze narrowing as he began to walk along the sidewalk. He would find her. It was only a matter of time.