"It's safe," he said simply.
As if to punctuate his assurance, the door slid open without a sound. Inside, the elevator looked as reassuring as the outside. Relatively clean, but the carpet was so worn, the steel floor was visible in patches.
I didn't want to know what those white stains in the corner were. Or the red ones next to them.
Deciding to throw caution into the wind, and because I had no choice, I stepped into the elevator beside him. In the corner of my eye, I watched him press the down button.
That is to say, theonlybutton. There wasn't even one to call for help if the elevator stopped. I assumed the button would work for traveling upward as well. Or maybe this was a one-way trip.
For a moment, I considered leaping out of the elevator and getting the hell out of here, but then the door slid closed on my thoughts. The elevator started to rattle and squeak as it moved down through the building.
"Sounds like it needs a good oiling," I remarked.
Mr Friendly didn't respond. What a shock. He offered me a faint curl of his lip before looking away, his eyes firmly on the elevator door until they slid open again. He tucked his hands into his pockets and stalked out, leaving me to hurry along behind him down a dingy corridor and into a wide room.
This room was also dingy, but full of people. A few were talking and laughing. The rest seemed lost in their own thoughts.
Some turned to look at me as I stepped into the room. A tall man with a shaved head and ears full of earrings looked me up and down, as if he might swallow me whole.
I managed a smile. "Hi." Being friendly might work with these people, even if it didn't work with Mr Friendly.
"Are you in the right place?" Mr Shaved Head strode over to me like he had all the time in the world.
"Absolutely," I said cheerfully. I held out my hand. "Natasha, but my friends call me Tash."
He looked at my hand. I thought he was going to scoff. Finally, he wrapped my hand in his huge one.
"Logan. You met Sanun." he nodded toward Mr Friendly. I followed his gaze, offering Sanun a smile.
What is it they say? If you see someone without a smile, give them one of yours?
He didn't give one back. Judging by the smooth skin around his mouth, he didn't waste his time on unimportant things like smiles.
Another one of the men stepped away from the group he was talking to and grinned like he was at a garden party.
"Hey, I'm Bruno.” He offered me his hand, and a look like he wanted to make up for Sanun's unfriendliness.
“Hi." I shook his hand quickly. His wasn't as big as Logan's, but he seemed to be a lot more sincere. Which, under the circumstances, didn't matter too much. None of us were here to make friends.
A ripple passed through the room as Hunter Brantley himself strode in, followed by his twin, Parker.
Unless I had them backwards. They were identical, after all.
Dressed in a perfectly tailored suit, Hunter cleared his throat, as if we weren't already silent. He was infamous here in town. The whole family was. Which was why every one of us was standing in the dimly lit room, savouring the smell of fear and old donuts. Why donuts? I had no idea. I might be projecting my hunger.
"Now everyone is here,”Hunter slid me a look like it was my fault that I was late, even though I was five minutes early, "welcome to…TheTournament." He milked the words for every spare scrap of ominous nuance.
After most of us shivered and eyed the exit, he continued.
"Once it starts, there's only two ways out." He paused to increase the tension further. "You win, or you die." He actually rubbed his hands together.
Parker nodded and stifled a yawn with his fist.
A knot of fear went down my spine.
Not that me, or anyone here, was given a choice. All of us had gotten on the wrong side of the Brantley family in one way or another. Me by discovering my ex-boyfriend was stealing from them, and not telling them as soon as I should have. They could have killed me right off. They'd given me this chance instead.
What had everyone else here done?
