“Don’t ever grab me like that again! I don’t know where the hell Maxx is!” I seethed, wincing as my fingers ran over obviously bruised flesh. But clearly my indignation overruled my fear of this scary-looking man.
Gazing around, I didn’t experience the energetic rush that I used to have. Compulsion wasn’t the mysterious and seductive world it had once been. I didn’t care about the pounding beat or the promise of surrender that lay beyond me.
Instead, the place just seemed dark and terrifying. Without Maxx, without his enigmatic but constant presence, it felt cold and lonely. The people swaying to the frantic beat looked desperate and delusional. This place was a lie that they couldn’t see.
It wasn’t an escape. It was a trap. Because none of it was real.
This was the mask that hid an ugly reality. One that had almost killed Maxx.
One that had almost destroyed me.
Marco advanced on me and once again invaded my personal space. “Look, I’m not trying to be an asshole here. I’m just the guy trying to keep your boyfriend in one piece. Because I can tell you, if he doesn’t show up soon, there are certain individuals who would like nothing better than to mess up that pretty face of his,” Marco warned, and I was relieved when he didn’t touch me again.
I pressed myself against the brick, wondering about the chances I had if I kneed him in the balls and ran for it.
Marco braced one hand on the wall beside my head and leaned in close. I could smell the stale cigarettes and mint gum on his breath. It made me faintly nauseous.
“I’ve watched his back for years. And what do I get for it? My ass in a sling. You tell him he owes me. More than he realizes,” Marco said in a low voice. I felt a shiver of alarm.
Marco brushed my hair away from my neck and leaned in close. “He’s put a lot on the line for you. I hope you’re fucking worth it,” he whispered before pushing himself away from the wall.
I stood paralyzed in the darkened corner. Coming to Compulsion had been a very bad idea.
My feet wouldn’t move. I was trembling so badly that I thought I’d fall over. Finally, after I was able to walk without wobbling, I inched my way into the large, open room where the club was in full swing. The lights flashed madly, creating a strobe effect. It made me feel as though I were walking in slow motion.
My eyes scanned the crowd, but I didn’t recognize anyone.
I didn’t feel like dancing. I didn’t feel like getting lost in the throng of moving bodies that pressed around me.
I was done with the whole damn thing.
The mystique of this world was lost on me now that I saw it for what it really was. And in some small way and in spite of my run-in with Marco, it made the entire trip out here worth it.
The tantalizing taste of closure was there, just within reach. And I finally felt strong enough to grab it.
And it was time for me to get the hell out of there.
Before I could make my way through the crowd, someone knocked into me. I lurched forward, my hands coming out in front of me as I collided with the very hard floor.
And just like the first time I had come to Compulsion, I feared that I was two seconds away from being trampled to death.
I was grabbed rather viciously by the arm and yanked to my feet. A far cry from the gentle hands that had helped me once before.
I fumbled to find my footing and then was brutally pushed. I stumbled again and would have fallen if not for my renewed sense of balance. I peered into the murky darkness and recoiled when I caught sight of the last people I ever wanted to see.
April and Evan, the maladjusted couple from the addictions support group, stared back at me. April half smirking, half guilty. Evan sneering and hateful.
I started to back away, not wanting any sort of confrontation, but found that I was boxed in by swaying dancers.
“All alone tonight, huh?” Evan shouted, the light flickering in his soulless eyes. His hand was wrapped around his girlfriend’s wrist like an iron snare.
“What?” I asked, realizing I was saying that a lot this evening. I felt the prickling of instinct telling me to run. Evan gave off the aura of someone who delighted in hurting others. And for some reason, since day one, he had taken a particular dislike to me.
Evan let go of April and leaned in close. I tried to back away, but was again met by a wall of bodies. “Your boyfriend, Maxx. Where is he? I haven’t seen him around for a while, and I have some business to take care of with him.” I blinked in shock. Dideveryonehave freaking business with Maxx? He sure did get around.
And then I realized exactly what Evan was asking me.
Shit.
