Chapter Five
Mel
As I turned down the hallway leading to the club’s restrooms, Gabriel’s eyes were hot on my back. The alcohol in my system had turned my legs into noodles, which did not help my already terrible coordination. Before I’d disappeared from his sight, I almost tripped and fell flat on my face. I didn’t have to look at him to know he wore that teasing smile on his perfect lips, his cerulean eyes lighting up with endearment.
My heels were heavy beneath my feet, and I almost had to put a little extraoomphin each step to peel my soles from the club’s sticky linoleum floors.
This place made me feel a bit uneasy, and I couldn’t tell if it was the club, the alcohol, or my nerves.
My heart sank as I registered the long line of girls waiting for their turn into the ladies’ room. I leaned against the wall and heaved a sigh before allowing my eyelids to flutter shut. Crap. I was beginning to feel light-headed. At least the pulsating music was faint here, away from the dance floor and the sweaty tangle of people.
Some place, Jess. At least the devil’s club would have been less smelly, right? Probably less loud too. Sheesh, how bad did a place have to be to make a titty bar owned by the supposed devil appealing?
The bass thudded in my head, matching the rhythm of my pounding heart.
Thump. Boom. Thump. Boom.
My overwhelmed senses disoriented me, and all my limbs turned to jelly. I was a sloppy, drunken mess of quivering nerves because I knew what Jessica was saying to Gabe. She didn’t outright say she was going to tell him about my feelings, but I knew that devious glint in her eye when I’d excused myself from the table.
My stomach roiled and rocked with my rioting mess of nerves. Maybe I was going to be sick.
The hallway started to spin like I’d just gotten off a shoddy carnival ride. A girl in line asked me if I was alright, and I nodded, though it was a lie.
I needed some fresh air.
Through the dark of the club and the pulsing and the booze, my senses felt like they’d been tossed in a blender and handed back to me in a jumble. My vision swam, but I felt a faint rush of fresh air from an opening door as someone exited into the alley outside.
Sweet salvation.
I needed to go outside, just for a minute and hurried for the door. The fresh air might help clear my head.
As I stepped out into the ally, I found it was raining. The alley smelled of metal and wet pavement. The door clicked shut behind me. I inhaled, and cool air rushed into my lungs.
Sweet relief.
Nearby voices drew my attention to three men standing at the end of the ally. They were smoking and laughing, and they looked a little drunk themselves, going by their vulgar language and the sway of their bodies like they just got off the metaphorical carnival ride with me.
My gut tightened, and little alarms started blaring in my head, telling me to turn back into the club. I inched back toward the door, but my heart dropped to my stomach as I tugged on the handle, only to find it wouldn’t open.
Locked.
It was locked from the inside! Probably to keep people from sneaking into the club from the rear without paying the cover.
“Hey, what you doing out here all alone, baby?” one of the men called out to me, his voice slurred from liquor.
I looked up to find three sets of eyes on me. My skin crawled under their attention.
This wasn’t good.
They began walking toward me. They were big, muscular men dressed in a way that told me it was a bad,badidea coming to this part of town, to this club, and to this alley alone.
Shit. Fuck. Shit.Fuck!
My short ass had no hope of fighting them off. Especially with my coordination skills.
It would take a miracle, and I didn’t really believe in those, which was why I typically packed a knife and pepper spray. Too bad my backpack was inside, sitting next to Gabe.
Gabriel.He’d wanted to escort me to the bathroom. It was like he had a sixth sense for these kinds of things.
