Wicked Stalker (Captives of the Onyx Brotherhood #1)

Eight

Eve

Music swells around me, the bass pumping right down into my bones as I sway on the dancefloor. Billie and a few of her art school friends cluster around me, beatific smiles on their faces. They all dropped pills in the toilets half an hour ago.

I didn’t join them, but I have had way more vodka than I usually do. This is another one of those places where no one seems to care about checking my ID, though I think it’s because one of Billie’s friends knows everyone here. We skipped the line on the way in, too.

The beat drops, and everyone throws their hands into the air. I join them, stumbling in my heels and grabbing for Billie. She catches me with a shriek, and we burst out laughing. Sweat plasters strands of hair to my skin, and the air feels too hot all of a sudden. I try to take a drink, only to find I’m sucking on ice.

I point toward the bar—no chance of actually talking—and Billie shakes her head, placing two fingers to her mouth and miming smoking a cigarette. She only smokes when she’s drunk or high. Fresh air does sound good, so we head toward the smoking section, a covered alfresco area at the back of the club .

Billie links her arm through mine as we push through the crowd. The smell of sweat mingled with men’s cologne hangs in the air. Some of these guys must bathe in the stuff. A doorman glances at us as we push through the double doors, into the outdoor area.

The cold air hits me like a knife, and I breathe in deep lungfuls of it. Despite the cigarette smoke in the air, it’s much fresher than inside the club. We find a spot to sit on the back wall, and Billie pulls out her smokes.

As she lights up, I open my glittery black purse and extract my phone. I’ve been checking it obsessively since the Instagram incident, terrified Cole would do something else, like the vindictive asshole he is.

Parker U kicked him out. Rumor has it some wealthy donors got wind of what he’d done and demanded it. Every time I think about it, though, my skin prickles. Something doesn’t feel right. Why would they care? How would they even know?

And then there’s his “apology” on his own Instagram. Billie almost died laughing when she read it, but it gave me the same sinking feeling as his expulsion. Someone obviously hacked his account. But who? None of it makes sense.

It could be completely unrelated to me. Some enemy of Cole’s, making a move against him. But it’s all just a bit too coincidental to add up. Someone hacked Cole’s phone to send me the pictures. It makes sense that same person would have hacked his Insta.

Is it my mystery magician? There’s a good chance it is, and thinking that feels like the jaws of a trap closing in. Some mysterious rich guy looking out for me sounds like a good thing, in theory. But what will the true cost be?

I push away the thought with a shiver and focus on my phone .

Billie leans back and takes a long, contented pull on her cigarette. “This place is fucking awesome. Let’s come here next week, too.”

I don’t answer her, eyes locked on the screen of my phone.

UNKNOWN: You fucking bitch. I know it was you. Don’t think I’ll let you get away with fucking up my life, cunt.

I swallow, hand shaking as I read it again and again. A cold lump settles in my belly.

“Hello? Earth to Eve. You home?” Billie leans closer. “What the fuck?”

She grabs the phone out of my hand, staring. “Jesus fucking Christ.”

I look away from the words. It has to be Cole. I’ve been braced for an angry phone call from him since everything went down, but he’s been eerily silent. It’s almost worse than if he’d confronted me.

The message reeks of crazy. There’s an unhinged note to it that makes even the thinner crowd in this outside area feel oppressive. He could be in here, anywhere in this club, right now.

The thought of going back inside to the tightly pressed throng makes the alcohol roil in my stomach. I press my hand to my mouth.

“Shit. Eve. You okay?”

Billie rubs my back as I focus on not puking all over the tiles beneath our feet.

“Fuck him. It’s all talk. What’s he going to do?”

I take deep breaths as the nausea recedes and grab my phone back from Billie. I look at the message again. “It doesn’t feel…” I chew my lip, trying to explain. “I don’t like it. He doesn’t sound normal. Let’s just go.”

For a moment, I think Billie will argue, but she just nods. “Okay. I’ll let Bella know we’re leaving and sort an Uber.”

She pulls out her phone, tapping furiously.

Five minutes later, we leave through the back door and head to the pick-up zone at the side of the club. It’s quiet—people are heading into the club, not out of it—and we stand in silence as we wait. Billie stares at the screen, watching the minutes tick down on the counter.

My fear seems to have infected her, and she keeps glancing into the shadows. Two very drunk guys argue on the opposite side of the street, but other than them, we’re alone. I look down at Billie’s phone. Four minutes to go.

A car turns into the street. Not ours. We’re waiting for a red sedan, and this is a black SUV. It must be for the drunks. It passes them, however, and pulls up directly beside us.

A cold wash of fear chases away the lingering effects of the booze. I grip Billie’s hand, all the while telling myself I’m being stupid. Cars pull up here all the time. It’s probably someone getting dropped off at the club.

Billie and I lock eyes, frozen, as the doors open and two men get out. I don’t recognize the first one. He’s older and heavily built, with thinning hair and a nasty smile on his face. He eyes us both. “Two for the price of one. Nice.”

The other says nothing but looks at me with a horribly familiar lopsided grin.

Cole.

Both men move toward us, one on either side, cutting off our escape. I look over to where the two drunks were arguing, but they’ve disappeared. No one is coming to help. I grab my phone to dial 911, but the older man pulls out a gun and points it straight at Billie’s head.

“Don’t. Both of you, drop your phones and come over here, nice and quiet. Or I blow her fucking brains out.”

I look at Billie. Her eyes are wide, pupils huge in the harsh street lighting. Surely someone will see what’s happening and call the cops. They have to, don’t they?

“Hurry the fuck up.”

The unmistakable click of him releasing the safety on his gun echoes. I drop my phone, and Billie does the same with a whimper. The man gestures with his gun. “Over here. Against the car.”

Should I run? It might all be a bluff. Who the hell is this guy anyway, and why is he helping Cole? He wouldn’t really shoot Billie, would he?

But what if he does?

Jerkily, I move to the spot he’s pointing at. Billie does the same, and before I can process what is happening, Cole moves. He slams me against the cold metal of the car, yanks my hands behind my back, and fastens them there with something that hurts. A zip tie? Whatever it is, it digs painfully into my skin.

Next to me, Billie gets the same treatment. She twists her neck to glare at gun guy. “What the fuck are you doing?”

Tough words, but her voice is a panicked squeak. He doesn’t answer, just pulls the car door open and shoves her inside, his meaty hand huge on her skinny arm. She lands in the footwell with a yell, and Cole leans down to zip her ankles together. Then he grabs her hair and wraps duct tape around her head, silencing her yells to mumbles.

I’m frozen. Terror sticks me to the spot, and I can hardly breathe. Isn’t it supposed to be fight or flight? My body is opting for neither as Cole stands back up. His eyes meet mine .

“What is this?” I manage, forcing the words past numb lips.

“What you deserve.” His voice doesn’t even sound like him. There’s a wildness to it, a high-pitched ring. It raises goosebumps on my skin. “You ruined my life, you fucking bitch.”

“It wasn’t me!”

He grabs my shoulders, and I struggle, body finally unlocking. It doesn’t do me any good. My feet leave the ground as he throws me into the car, right on top of Billie. Knowing what comes next, I kick out as hard as I can and strike something. He grunts, then grabs my legs in a death grip, forcing them together as he zip-ties my ankles.

I’m immobile. Billie groans underneath me, and I try to move but have no leverage. I’m stuck in place like a mannequin, crushing the life out of my best friend.

“Let’s see what I was missing.” Hands grab the skirt of my dress and yank it up. A hot rush of shame warms my face as he grips my panties and forces them down.

“Stop fucking around. Gag her, and let’s go,” Gun guy orders from the front seat.

Cole lands a hard slap on my ass, making me yelp, then I hear the scratch of tape being pulled out. I fling my head back, but he grips my hair, yanking it at the roots, and wraps the tape around my head several times, sealing my mouth shut.

Terror claws at me as I try to breathe through my nose. In my panic, the air feels too thick and sluggish. I try to focus on breathing, nothing else, as the door slams and the car moves forward.

The lurch of the car throws me to the side, and my head bangs on a metal part of the front seat. Music blasts from the speakers, some stupid country song, and I try to shift myself backward to give Billie more breathing space .

I freeze as Cole turns the music down and speaks in a low, cold hiss. “Didn’t know I had connections, did you, you dumb bitch? You thought you could fuck me over. Here’s what’s going to happen tonight. I’m going to take my time breaking in all those tight, virgin holes of yours while my friend here does the same to Billie.”

He spits her name and gives a flat laugh. “Not that she’s a fucking virgin, of course. But he’ll make do. Then, we’ll swap. We’ll keep going that way for the whole night, until we’re both sick of fucking you. After that, we’ll let you go.”

He pauses as if waiting for a response, though both of our mouths are taped shut with duct tape. “Both of you are going to be good little sluts and keep your mouths shut. No police. If you talk shit, let me tell you what will happen.”

His hand lands on my ass again, fingers probing deep between my cheeks. I struggle but can’t get away as he forces his finger inside me. I scream into the gag as the pain rips me in half, and Cole laughs.

“Talk, and my friend here will pay you another visit. This time, he’ll put a bullet in both your heads. No talking, no chance to escape. Just bang .” He punctuates this by forcing his finger deeper. Tears wet my eyelids at the burning agony.

Noises escape me, frantic mumbling through the tape, and he sighs. “I’m going to enjoy this. I would have gone gentle with you, you know? Now, though?” He pulls his hand free and smacks my ass again, brutally hard. “I’m going to fuck you up so badly you won’t walk for days. You fucking frigid little bitch.”