Chapter 20
CHAPTER
TWENTY
NOLA
“The eagles have landed, I repeat, the eagles have landed!” Callie says into the phone.
“What?” My brows furrow.
She lets out a huff. “The guys are in the hotel room. Are you even looking at the camera feed?”
Pulling up the feed on my phone, I see exactly what she told me. Jasper rolls up his dress shirt sleeves as he walks across the room. He stops in front of the drapes, throwing them open.
“Looking for a show?” Sylas chuckles, already pulling his shirt off. I swear that man would be naked all the time if he could get away with it.
Not that I’d complain. Although it would add a ton more names to my list, with the amount of women who would be looking at him. Again, not that I’d complain.
“No one can see from this room.”
“You sure about that?” Wesley steps up to the window. “All of those buildings could have people inside them.” He points out the window. “What if they have binoculars?”
“Why the fuck would they have binoculars?” Jasper asks.
“People are freaks.” Wesley grins.
Jasper huffs, aggressively closing the curtains.
“I thought you’d be into a little voyeurism,” Sylas teases.
Jasper just flips him off. “Where’s the drugs? Let’s get this started.”
“That’s what I’m talking about. Someone's excited.”
Jasper continues to glare at him. “This better be worth it. Are you sure there’s nothing to worry about?”
“It’s going to be fine. I saw a few of the testing videos. The testers looked like they were having the time of their lives. Let loose and live a little. If that stick up your ass goes any higher, I’m going to be able to make a human stake out of you.” Sylas grins, pulling a baggie from his pocket.
He hands a pill to Jasper and Wesley before grabbing one for himself.
“How long will it take to kick in?” Wesley asks.
“About a half hour.”
“The girl should be here in ten. Maybe we should wait.”
“Why?” Sylas asks. “We’ll have enough time. Trust me. Just take it now, so we don’t have to keep her around longer than needed afterward.”
“I don’t like this,” Jasper grumbles.
“Too bad.” Sylas downs his pill. “Eat up.”
With a huff, Jasper pops his pill, then Wesley does the same.
“Okay, they’ve taken the pills. Do you see the girl?” I ask Callie.
“Ummm,” she hums. “Not sure? It could be anyone. It’s not like I know who they picked to come here.”
“Shit,” I groan. “I’ll go up and wait. What about the security camera feed?”
“The guys don’t allow it when they stay here. So it should be shut off.”
“How do you know all this?” I ask.
“I just know stuff,” she mutters. “Just trust me, okay? I’ll take care of any cameras for the back entrance. Just slip in through there, head up to the penthouse floor from the employee elevator. I’ll meet you there.”
“Roger that,” I reply.
“Hey!” she huffs. “So you do understand walkie-talkie talk.”
“I’ll see you in a few,” I laugh.
I’m parked behind the building. This time I used my dad’s truck because I don’t want to risk anyone seeing my Jeep.
Just in case, I keep my head down and rush towards the back entrance. As Callie said, the back door is unlocked. Opening it, I slip inside. I can hear voices, but after a quick check for people, I hurry down the hall, looking for a sign for an elevator.
A person comes around the corner. “Shit,” I whisper, finding the nearest door and opening it. I slip inside and bump against something. I grab my phone and turn the light on. It’s a cleaning trolley. Huh. This might come in handy.
I open the door, checking to see if the coast is clear before pushing the trolley out.
I find the elevator, pressing the up button, and pray that no one is on the other side. I let out a sigh of relief when the doors open and find it empty.
Once I’m inside and the doors begin to close, I press the button for the penthouse suite.
As I pass each floor, my heart starts to race with both exhilaration and anxiety.
I’m so on edge. So many things with this plan could go wrong.
It’s not like we’re out in the open where I can slip in and out, leave a body, or snatch it to go.
I’m about to do something crazy.
Okay, crazier than anything else I’ve done.
I’m about to take their blood while they’re unconscious, as well as murder the girl they’re about to fuck.
“There you are,” Callie says as soon as the doors open. “Okay, so the girl just went inside. How long do you think until they’re…” She wrinkles her nose. “Finished.”
My stomach rolls just thinking about everything they’re about to do to that girl inside that room.
“I don’t know. If their past encounters are any indication, it could be a half hour to two hours.”
“Two hours!” Her eyes practically bug out of her head. “Oh my god. Who wants to fuck for that long? Wouldn’t you go numb down there or something?”
“How would I know?” I shrug. “I’ve only had sex once, and it was like five minutes because of the ritual. Trust me, nothing was numb down there.” I shiver at the memory. “Only mind-numbing pleasure.”
“I’ll take your word for it,” Callie says. “What’s that?” She points to the cleaning trolley.
“Thought this would be an easier and a more discreet way to carry her body to the truck.”
“Oh, that's smart.” Her eyes light up.
“So what do we do now? Just wait?”
“Looks like it.” She shrugs. “Wanna wait on the couch?” She points to the small couch.
“Should we be sitting out in the open like this?” I ask, looking around. “What if they come out and see us?”
“There’s an emergency exit there.” She points to a door. “It’s locked on the other side, so no one will come through, but if we hear the guys come out, we can duck inside.”
“Okay.” I nod. “So, you're sure the cameras aren’t working?” I look up at the black one, pointing right at their door and at us.
“Promise. We’re good. I’m good with computers.”
We leave the trolley by the elevator and head over to sit on the couch.
“Check your phone,” Callie whispers. “We can keep it on mute, but we need to know when it’s time to make our move.”
“Your brother is going to be naked. You sure you wanna watch?”
“Good point. You watch and let me know.” Callie grimaces, making me chuckle softly.
I pull up my feed. All three guys are standing around a blonde girl. She’s leaning over, signing something that I presume is a contract.
I’m not sure what they’re saying, but when the girl turns around, I gasp.
“What?” Callie hisses.
I turn the phone to her, and her eyes widen. “Oh my god, she looks almost identical to you.”
My jaw grinds as I look at the girl who could be my twin. My hair is much lighter and a little longer.
As she takes off her clothes, I see that our bodies are different. She has smaller boobs, a belly ring, and a few tattoos.
“That’s fucked up,” Callie mutters. “It’s one thing to call the girls they’re sleeping with by your name, because they wish it was you. But to go out and find someone who looks so similar.” She shakes her head.
I bite my lower lip, my heart racing for new reasons. I’m mad. So fucking mad. If they wanted me that fucking badly, then just take me!
I’m right here, willing and wanting to be theirs.
My brows furrow as I watch Jasper sway a little bit. He blinks a few times, shaking his head.
He goes and takes a seat on the couch.
Sylas steps close to the girl, saying a few things to her. I watch as the girl’s brows furrow, her lips moving.
Wesley joins Jasper on the couch, rubbing at his face.
Sylas says something to the girl again, and she nods, taking off out of sight of the feed.
Sylas heads over to the couch. He closes his eyes, a big grin on his face.
Jasper looks pissed. He’s talking to Sylas, but Sylas just laughs harder.
“What is going on?” Callie asks. “And why does Wesley look like he’s ready to pass out?”
“I’m not sure,” I murmur, continuing to watch.
The guys lean their heads back, closing their eyes.
“Huh,” Callie says with a laugh. “Looks like they’re not handling that new drug very well because I think they all just passed out.”
“Really?” I ask. “Maybe they’re just waiting for the girl to come back?”
“Babe, look at them,” Callie snickers.
“Let’s just wait.”
We watch for a few moments longer, and the girl walks back into the room.
She stands in front of the guys, and I watch as her mouth moves. She waits, but the guys don’t do or say anything.
She goes up to Wesley and nudges his shoulder. He doesn’t move. Then she does the same to Sylas and Jasper.
“Shit. Do you think they’re dead?” Callie asks, voice filling with panic.
“No. They’re fine,” I tell her, but my own panic starts to rise. “I’m sure they’re just passed out.” I look up towards the door, warring with myself on what I should do.
“We should go check, just in case.”
“What if they wake up and see us there?” I ask.
“We’ll just say I needed Sylas, we came looking for them and found them like that. And you were with me.”
Chewing on my lip, I debate on it. “Okay.” I nod.
“What about the girl?” Callie asks. “Do we just let her go?”
“No,” I snort. “Fuck, no. She might not have been touched by them, but she came here with that very intention. She still dies.”
“Sounds good to me.” She grins. “You got the stuff.”
I nod, holding up my purse. It’s got gloves, alcohol wipes, a tourniquet, blood tubes, a tube holder, and the needles. Placing it on my lap, I pull out a bottle and a rag.
“What’s this?” Callie asks as I hand her the items.
“Chloroform.” I close my purse. “I need you to knock her out. I don’t want to kill her here because of the blood. We’ll bring her to the park a few streets over and do it there.”
“Smart.” She nods, then grins wide. “I’m so excited!”
“I thought you’d like to be more involved,” I chuckle.
“I do. And you’re delivering. I appreciate that our friendship means so much to you.” She gives me big puppy dog eyes and sniffs. “I love you so much.”
“I love you, too.” I laugh, shaking my head. “Now, let’s go get this done before they wake up. If I can avoid them fucking this chick, that would be nice.”
“Right. Let’s go.”