Chapter 5
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RAYDEN (18YRS)
“Fuck, Rayden, how did you do that?”
“Do what?” I frowned at Zena.
“Get one of the most notorious men out there, to like you. Lorenzo is hardcore and you had him wrapped around your tiny finger like it was child’s play.”
“What can I say? Everyone loves me.” I grinned, earning a punch to my arm. “Anyway, he didn’t look that scary.”
Zena rolled her eyes. “Ever heard the saying looks can be deceiving?” She arched a brow. “Trust me. You don’t know these people.” She wiped down the counter then tossed the rag in the basin at the back.
“What do they do?” I asked, handing a Heineken to a waiting customer. “I mean do they like go around killing people and stuff?”
“And stuff,” she mumbled then turned to look at me. “Promise me that after tonight you’ll stay away from this place. Please.” The pleading in her voice, more so her expression had me frowning. “Please, Rayden.” She gave my arm a gentle squeeze. “I don’t want to see you get hurt and you know what they say about playing with fire.”
“I’ll get burned.” I chuckled, trying to make her smile again.
Instead, she shook her head. “You won’t just burn, Ray, you’ll fucking roast until your skin melts from your body.”
I wasn’t sure if her exaggeration was meant to scare me, but a tiny niggle warned me to listen to her. Maybe she knew something I didn’t.
As if sensing my disbelief, she moved closer. “Have you watched the movie the ‘House of Wax’, the one with Paris Hilton and that town where everything was made of wax?”
“You’re fucking with me, aren’t you?” I cocked a brow, remembering the movie. Austin had rented it because someone told him he’d see Paris Hilton’s boobs. “Are you saying your boss has people covered in wax?” I whispered.
“Worse. They melt people in drums of acid,” she muttered.
“Okay, now you’re like really fucking with me,” I scoffed, and she gave me a small smile. I couldn’t tell if she was joking or not. I’d seen that shit in movies, I didn’t think there were mafia families out there that actually did that shit for real.
“Fine. Don’t believe me. But, promise, you’ll stay away.”
“Okay.” I held up my hands in surrender.
“Now, if you don’t mind, I need these muscles to help me.” She rubbed my arms with a light laugh. “Can you fetch these from the storeroom, please?” She held out a post-it scribbled with cases of beer and wine.
“Which way?”
“Down the hallway.” She pointed to the door leading off from the bar. “At the end, there’s a staircase and when you reach the bottom, it’s the third door to your right. Big sign marked ‘storeroom’ you can’t miss it.” She held out a key.
I took it and headed in the direction she indicated. Unlike the rest of the service areas, the hallway was dimly lit. There was enough light for me to see as I descended the stone stairway leading to the basement below. I checked the doors until I reached the third one. About to slide the key into the lock of the storeroom, a guttural cry echoed down the passage opposite to the stairs.
I froze. The hairs at the back of my neck stood up and my shoulders tightened. Another cry tore through the air and had the blood in my veins running cold. “What the fuck?” Immediately Zena’s warning about the owners had me nervous. I might be brave to some, but I’d be lying if I said those cries didn’t scare the fucking shit out of me. Debating whether to stay or get the fuck out of there, I jumped when another cry bounced off the walls. “Screw this,” I muttered and turned to walk away when my cell rang. “Shit.” My heart pounding, I yanked it out of my pocket and cut the call, not bothering to check who called.
Rooted to the spot, my hands fisted at my sides, my back ramrod straight, I cocked my ear to listen, hoping whoever was down there hadn’t heard the phone. Nothing. It was only as I took a step forward did the idea that Zena might be fucking with me, stalled my movement. I opened my mouth to call out her name then clamped it shut. What if wasn’t her? Raking a hand through my hair I wavered. I could literally hear Austin’s mocking laugh in my head. He’d call me a pussy when they heard about this shit. “Fuck that.”
Shoving the phone and key into my jeans pocket, I headed down the passage in the direction of where the sound had come from. Despite my bravery, my heart raced faster than a fucking speeding bullet. And tripled in velocity when several abrupt howls echoed in repeated succession and had me pinning my body to the wall, a part of me yelling to get the fuck out of there. The anxiety coating my clammy skin made that decision unreachable. Perhaps it was downright stupidity, but my feet kept moving forward, yet my mind wanting it to be Zena. Keeping my body flattened against the wall, I inched further down. With each step, my breathing sped up, my blood heated, gushing through my veins and making my skin clammy.
The further I moved away from the club, the darker the place became. A sudden turn had me rounding the corner with tentative steps and into a sudden blast of hot air. “Fuck.” It stank. I gagged as a nauseating stench of vomit, piss and a vague coppery smell burned my nose. My stomach lurched with the need to hurl its contents. Taking several deep swallows, I pressed an arm to my face to block out the odor. The move was futile, the smell overpowering. Dropping my hand, I scrunched my nose and took another two swallows.
“There’s no fucking way Zena planned this,” I muttered into the silence.
My father would kick my ass for not only serving alcohol but taunting a man that Zena thought was an evil boss and then coming down here. Craning my neck, I searched the darkened hallway as far as the shadows allowed me to. When nothing stirred, I moved again, passing three closed doors until another howl of pain cemented my feet. The sound came from inside the room behind the next door. Fighting the need to turn tail and run, I moved closer and leaned in until I could peek in through the crack the open door created.
I yanked my entire body back, the back of my head hitting the wall as an ice-cold chill slithered down my spine. It took conscious effort not to let rip the yell hovering at the back of my throat when I grasped what was happening inside.
