“Do you know how much the buy-in is?”
“10K.” She shrugs, like it’s nothing. And maybe to others, it is nothing.
But to my friend, that's a crazy amount of money. After Caden’s dad left, his mum really struggled. Dad worked with Linda for years. He confided in me when I naively invited them to our skiing trip to the Dolomites. I have been careful not to bring it up with him, even when I confront his toxic gambling addiction. But I know for a fact the only way he bought into this game is if he didn’t. Someone else did.
Is he nuts? Borrowing money from the actual mob? What the fuck is wrong with him?
I jump to my feet, knocking over my empty beer bottle.
“And where do you think you are going?” Thea demands as I run into my room.
“99.”
My feet slap against the pavement, my short, pointy heels slipping on the uneven stone with every other step as I trek across long cobbled streets. I tug on the hem of my dress, left, then right, then left, as if somehow symmetry will cure the pricking unease crawling up my skin.
I underestimated how far away this stupid secret club actually is.
99 seems to be hidden behind tall abandoned buildings, at the deep end of the dodgy side of Fort, where I have never been before.
No shit. I can’t even go to the salon without Jack or one of the guards following me, let alone a place like this. The Uber driver would only drop me off a few streets away, so I have had to walk through shady back alleys to get there.
Alone.
In the dark.
Wearing a short crimson Versace dress.
I would have rather worn something that would make it easier to blend in, but when Penny said red was the theme for tonight, I didn’t have a choice.
Cold air freezes my breath, all the way down to my lungs, as I slowly make my way, looking at the phone for directions and getting weird looks from rowdy strangers. I have been complaining about my protection detail for so long that I’ve forgotten what it’s like to find yourself walking alone in the middle of the night in strange places.
My fingers tug on the curls of my hair-do that Penny did in a rush before she slapped a criminally red lipstick on my lips to match my dress. Thea stood by the door with her arms crossed, silently begging me not to go.
But what was I supposed to do?
Caden wasn’t picking up his phone. I had left seven voicemails without a reply. And Jack wouldn’t take me. He shut me down before I finished talking. He’s not allowed inside theseclubs. And if he can’t come in, there’s no way he’s letting me near the place.
“It’s your security I’m responsible for,” he said. “Not every stray you collect by the minute.”
Apparently, my friends’ safety and wellbeingisn’tpart of his job description.
Well, screw him. It’s part of mine.
Finally, I turn the corner of the alley and find myself in front of the neon-red sign.
99.
My steps falter as I stare at the daunting building, set back from the road, which resembles a gatehouse of an estate, hidden behind tall gates. A place that could shut down its iron doors if the police accidentally show up.
For a moment, self-preservation washes over me. “Am I really doing this?” I mutter to myself.
Behind me, a car horn blares, jolting me into motion. And then it’s too late. I’m standing outside the silver gates, facing the bouncer, who stands outside the entrance, thick arms folded over his muscular chest, face carved in stone, eyelids half-closed in permanent boredom.
“Invitation,” he growls.
He measures me curiously as I fumble for the red envelope Mason gave the other day, hoping desperately it’s still valid. When I finally find it, he scans the barcode.
The machine beeps green, and I let out a sigh of relief.
