“Who the hell are you and why were you following us?” Connor demanded.
“Relax, dude,” Owen said, holding up his hands in a placating gesture. “We’re HOPD.”
“Is that supposed to mean something to us?” Hale asked from where he was standing on the other side of Trevor.
Jenna quickly stepped in front of Connor and made the introductions before Owen could say anything, explaining they were paranormal investigators.
“Okay, that answers the question of who you are,” Mike said, dark eyes narrowing suspiciously. He was clearly thoroughly unimpressed with the whole HOPD thing. “But not why you were following us.”
“Who says we were following you?” Isaac asked, even though he was wearing the guiltiest expression Jenna had ever seen in her life.
“You drive a dark-blue conversion van with a big yellow ghost decal on the side,” Mike pointed out, crossing his arms over his chest. “You pulled in behind us the moment we left Jenna’s apartment and tailed us all the way here, sticking way too close and running two red lights in the process.”
“And then you followed us from the parking garage before slipping around to that end of the alley,” Hale added, pointing in the direction Owen and the rest of them had come from. “Where you stood in the shadows, watching us like a bunch of weirdo stalkers.”
At least Isaac, Esme, and Maya had the decency to look embarrassed. Owen, on the other hand, snorted.
“We had to follow you,” he said. “Especially after we realized that you know a whole lot more about what happened last night down in the Skid Row district than you were telling.”
“And what exactly do you think we know?” Trevor asked, his expression almost bordering onamusement as he took in all four members of the paranormal investigation crew before returning his attention to Owen.
Owen shrugged. “I have no idea. But the fact that the first place you decide to visit after leaving your apartment is a club that has a reputation for attracting, well…let’s just say…an unusual clientele? You can see why we might be interested in what you’re up to.”
“Throw in the added muscle you’ve brought with you, and it’s a slam dunk you’re up to something,” Esme added quietly, motioning toward Connor, Hale, and Mike.
Jenna couldn’t help but laugh at the description of her brother asadded muscle. Given his size and his recent petulant disposition, it was an apt characterization.
“I hate to be the one to disappoint you guys, especially after all the effort you put into following us, but there’s nothing mysterious going on tonight,” Trevor said. “We’re simply here for a private party to celebrate Jenna’s brother coming out to visit her.”
“Yeah, right,” Owen snorted. “You don’t expect us to believe that, do you? People don’t come to a club like this for a welcome home party.”
“Really? We did,” Trevor said, his expression bland as he returned Owen’s look. “But I guess you’ll have to take our word for it because, like Isaid, it’s a private party. And none of you are on the list.”
To emphasize his point, Trevor glanced pointedly at the big bouncer at the base of the steps. Owen’s mouth tightened angrily. It was clear he wasn’t buying Trevor’s story, and from the look on their faces, none of the other members of HOPD were either. But with the bouncer guarding the door, there wasn’t much they could do about it.
“You may think you’ve gotten one over on us, but don’t think for a minute that we won’t figure out what’s really going on down in the Skid Row district and how you’re involved,” Owen said. “You can take this as a promise—we’re going to be watching you.”
Then he actually did that thing where he pointed two fingers at his eyes before turning them at Trevor. Seriously, he did theI’m-watching-youthing.
“Did that just happen?” Mike asked incredulously as Owen and his crew turned and left the alley. “I mean, people out here in LA don’t honestly say that, do they?”
“Apparently,” Trevor murmured with a shrug. “Come on. We need to get inside. We’re already running late for our meeting with Davina.”
The big bouncer at the door didn’t say a word as they descended the steps and approached him. The muscular blond guy simply reached out andopened one of the metal doors, swinging it wide for them.
“Someone will meet you inside,” he murmured, not bothering to even glance their way before turning his attention back to the stairs, obviously dismissing them from his mind already.
They found another set of stairs inside the club, lit by more brightly colored neon cats that flickered and strobed along the walls on either side of them in such a way to make it seem like the felines were actually moving with them as they walked down the steps. It was kind of cool, Jenna thought. Also kind of creepy. But cool at the same time.
When they reached the double doors at the bottom of the stairs, Connor quickly pushed past her and Trevor to reach for the doorknob before either of them could. Like he thought there was a dangerous monster on the other side. Jenna would have laughed if it wasn’t so annoying. He was still obsessed with treating her like a fragile porcelain doll, ready to break at the first thing.
The moment Connor opened the door, she wedged her way between him and Trevor, not caring that her shoulders thumped into their arms painfully. She doubted whether the two of them even felt it. She braced herself, expecting her brother to say something stupid, but the moment she saw the inside of the club, she forgot there was anyone else even with her.
Jenna had expected the club to be some kind of rave venue, with one large area, like an underground warehouse. Instead, she found herself in the midst of a scene from that movieLabyrinth, with multiple smaller rooms and balconies positioned at all kinds of different levels, each connected with archways, tunnels, stairs, and ramps. It was confusing as hell even with the place fairly well-lit. But when the lights went out—as she imagined they normally were in a place like this—it must be mind-numbing.
It took her a moment to realize that she wasn’t the only one rendered speechless. Trevor, Connor, and their teammates were all looking around the eclectic space in awe, paying special attention to the gigantic highly polished bar along one of the back walls. Only it wasn’t the bar itself the guys were focused on. It was the man behind the bar who was transferring beer from a plastic crate into a cooler unit. In fact, they weren’t merely focused on the guy. They were flat outstaringat him. Even more bizarre, Trevor, Connor, and Mike were all making faces, noses wrinkling like they’d just smelled something bad.
Jenna was about to ask them what that was about—as covertly as she could, of course—when movement out of the corner of her eye made her look over toward one of the staircases on the other side of the immense dance floor. A tall, lithe woman with blue hair and the most startling lavender eyesJenna had ever seen in her life was coming down the steps and heading straight for them.
