The rain in New York finally stopped at dusk, replaced by a muggy and damp mist.
Reed held a bouquet of white Eustoma in his hand, their petals still adorned with glistening water droplets. This bouquet cost him two days' salary, but in his eyes, it was worth more than the rent of any high-end apartment.
"Hey, look at that idiot, going to send flowers to that stripper again."
"Listen, Walker, the whole downtown knows who Lila got into her car with last night, only you're still like a saint guarding your little shack."
As he passed the back alley of "The Rusty Heart" bar, a few chain-smoking security guards let out harsh laughter. Reed ignored them, his steps steady as he walked through the muddy street.
He didn't care. Lila worked in a place like that to make a living—she had a mother who was chronically ill and a younger brother in high school. Although Reed had never met her family due to Lila's insistence, he had seen the light in her eyes when she spoke of her brother. That light was the purest thing he had seen since crawling out of a pile of dead bodies.
He calculated the savings in his pocket, plus the wages he had scrimped and saved for the past six months, and... his entire severance pay from the military. Lila kept all that money; it was their ticket out of this rotten city.
One more month, Reed thought silently, and then we'll go to Montana, or anywhere with forests.
As he rounded the corner, nearing Lila's dilapidated apartment building, a Cadillac Escalade, as black as ink and exuding the scent of expensive leather, suddenly stopped by the roadside, like a behemoth that had stumbled into a slum.
Reed's heart inexplicably skipped a beat.
The heavy iron gate of the apartment building opened, and Lila walked out. She was wearing a red silk slip dress he had never seen before, her makeup exquisitely applied, making her look like a stranger. A man wearing sunglasses and a sharp suit naturally put his arm around her waist, his large hand sliding provocatively over her curves.
"Lila!"
Reed's roar shattered the silence of the street, the Eustoma in his hand slightly misshapen from the excessive force.
Lila's body stiffened for a moment. She slowly turned her head and looked at the disheveled Reed from more than ten meters away. Those eyes that had once looked at him so gently were now as indifferent as a dry well.
"Darling, who is that?" the man in sunglasses asked playfully, a hint of disdain in his eyes.
Lila calmly averted her gaze, tightened her grip on the man's arm, and her voice, though not loud, pierced Reed's eardrums clearly: "I don't know him. Probably some crazy person."
The car door slammed shut. The Escalade let out a low growl, spewed out a puff of acrid exhaust, and instantly disappeared down the long street.
"No... no!"
Reed chased after it frantically, his leather shoes splashing through the dirty water. He felt something collapsing in his chest, a despair greater than the failure of his infiltration mission back then. He desperately waved to flag down a passing yellow taxi.
"Follow that Escalade! Hurry!" He slapped a hundred-dollar bill on the dashboard, his eyes bloodshot.
The taxi circled the bustling city center three times. Reed watched the neon lights recede outside the window, his palms covered in cold sweat. Finally, that black behemoth stopped outside "Olympus," the most luxurious and exclusive private club in New York.
The car door was closed, and Lila and the man had already vanished.
Reed stumbled out of the car, intending to rush through the magnificent golden doors.
"Stop! This is no place for people like you."
Two bodyguards, nearly two meters tall, dressed in black, blocked his path like two walls. Their eyes were cold and professional, and the bulges around their waists reminded Reed that this was no longer an underground bar where he could solve problems with his fists.
"I'm looking for Lila! Let me in!" Reed roared, like a cornered beast.
The bodyguards sneered and shoved him hard: "Get lost, bartender. A bottle of water here costs half your monthly salary. Don't force us to get rough."