Panicked, I looked at Dani—the person who’d become my friend in the last couple months. With cross in hand, she smiled at me, but the smile turned sad. “I really like you, Ryder. I’m sorry it came to this.”
Before I could ask what it had come to, Dani’s hand whipped up. I released a whimper as something sharp pricked my neck.
Everything went dark.
Chapter 28
Ouch.
This was the worst hangover ever. Forget a knife through my skull—someone was jackhammering against my head. I made an attempt to swallow, but it only hurt my parched mouth. Blinking took even more effort. My eyelids felt like they had weights holding them down. Slowly, the room came into focus. I was lying on something hard. I tried to move, but my arms wouldn’t listen to my brain. After several attempts, I gave up. The most I could manage was wiggling my fingers. Exhausted, I closed my eyes for a moment, and darkness swept in to claim me once again.
I wasn’t sure how much time passed before I came to. My head was still foggy, but significantly less so than it had been the first time. My throat was so dry that I worried I’d tear something if I tried to swallow. This time, I was able to make my arms move—though it required immense effort.
I was in the supply closet of the bar, lying in the middle of the floor. I pulled myself into a sitting position and pressed my palms against my temples in a desperate attempt to ward off thepain. I looked up once my eyes focused, and instantly regretted it. The fluorescent light bore down on me, aggressively bright.
What the hell happened?
Soft voices filtered in through the door, and my memory started to return. My argument with James, then drinks with Dani…
Dani.
My first thought was that I’d had some alcohol-induced dream where she’d drugged me and confessed to hunting James. Cut me some slack: it’d been a rough week.
It all came back to me, though. She had the same necklace as Luke. Were they part of some cult? I refused to accept that vampire hunting was an actualcareer.
Where was James?
Fuck that—they’d probably drugged me to lure him here. I needed to get out on my own.
I’d like to say I scrambled to my feet, but with my legs feeling like jelly, a baby giraffe had more grace. I eventually found my bearings and took slow, shuffling steps toward the door, trying to make as little noise as possible. I rested against the door as quietly as I could, pressing my ear to the wood. I couldn’t hear individual words, but I determined there were two people talking.
Closing my eyes, I sketched out a plan. I was in the storage closet, which was across from the employee bathroom next to James’s office. If I managed to get out of the closet and dart into James’s office—assuming the damn thing was unlocked—I could likely clamber out the window.
I paused, my hand on the doorknob. Leaving the closet could very well get me killed. Then again, staying there would get me killed anyway. I held my breath and turned the knob, easing the door open. I cautiously poked my head into the hallway. The voices were clearer now, and came from the direction of the baritself. I couldn’t see anything from my position, but since I’d heard a second voice earlier, I had to assume someone might be hiding around the corner.
I looked both ways, then stepped out. I could see into the main room, but had no idea where Dani was positioned—or if she could see me. Daylight poured through the glass in the front of the bar, which meant that I’d been out all night. I took step after careful step, hoping the floor didn’t creak under my weight.
“This wouldn’t have happened if you’d taken him out when you had the chance!”
I froze halfway to James’s office.
“This wouldn’t have happened if you could keep your dick in your pants!”
“Hey, I didn’t plan to get a crush on the guy’s mate.” That second voice belonged to Luke.
Wait… did he saymate?
“We’re not throwing around the ‘M’ word,” came Dani’s reply. “As far as I know, they’re just sleeping together—will you focus? He couldn’t have been that good in bed.”
“Shut up!” Luke again. “I thought I heard something.”
“I gave him enough sedatives to keep a horse under—you shouldn’t hear anything.”
With the last few words, Dani’s voice came closer. My heart rate skyrocketed, and I darted across the hall to James’s office door, shoving at the doorknob. My heart sank when it didn’t turn.
It was locked.
I spun, rushing back to the storage closet, but I wasn’t quick enough. Dani called out to Luke as I stepped over the threshold and into the room. Footsteps thundered across the space and down the hallway. I swung the door shut behind me, grimacing as I heard a grunt and someone crashed into it.Judging by the way they easily bounced off the wood, it was Dani.
