Soulless Angel (Gods of Ravencrest University #6)

CHAPTER ONE

CLOVER

“We have to leave. Now.” Blaze’s voice in my ear sent a tremor of relief through me.

I grabbed onto his arm, letting him pull me back the way we’d come. After what I’d just seen, I couldn’t possibly get away fast enough. If anyone caught us back here, we were screwed. And not in the good way.

We hurried toward the door. I was pretty sure nobody in that room had known I watched. They were all too caught up in their stomach turning activity. The Sinners had been right. There was something really horrible going on here.

Blaze yanked open the heavy door. Thankfully, we didn’t need a swipe card to open it from inside. He shoved me through ahead of him, staying close behind me.

As we stepped from the back area, we ran straight into a staff member. A waitress carrying two champagne bottles and four glasses. Her eyebrows shot up as she noticed the heavy door swinging shut behind us.

“Did you go in there?” she asked, her voice creeping up a few notches.

Not knowing what else to do, I pretended to trip over my own feet. Falling to the floor, I burst into drunken giggles.

Blaze caught on quickly. Rolling with it, he said, “No. She saw someone go through the door and thought it was the restrooms. I caught her before she could get lost. She’s had a bit too much to drink. Sorry about that.”

He picked me up off the floor, doing his best to keep me upright while I swayed drunkenly. Grabbing his face, I pulled him in for a sloppy kiss, still giggling.

The woman eyed us for a moment before nodding. “Yeah, you should probably take her home. This area is staff only. The restrooms are back that way.”

“Right. Thanks.” Blaze shoved me along down the hall. Tension emanated from him in palpable waves. When the woman disappeared through the VIP door, he let out a long breath. “That was too fucking close.”

“We have to get out of here.” Urgency drove me. I wanted to hightail it for the door and leave this place far behind.

“We can’t. Not yet. If we rush out of here, we might draw attention. After being seen near the back entry, we need to play it cool. Act like we saw nothing. We know nothing. Come on.” Taking my hand, Blaze led me back to the play zone where everyone was getting their freak on.

We went to the bar where we each did two shots in an effort to get our nerves under control. As the liquor burned my throat, I tried my best not to appear suspicious in any way. The people in charge of the back room crimes were willing to kill for entertainment and money. No doubt they wouldn’t hesitate to kill in order to keep their secret.

“Think anyone will notice if we leave?” I asked, leaning in close so only Blaze heard.

He covertly glanced around, his gaze darting down the hall. “I think we’re safe. Let’s take our time though. No rushing.”

Finished at the bar, we headed upstairs to the party floor where people mingled and danced. Nothing too naked or over the top. We danced to a few songs, doing our best to seem like we were enrapt in each other and oblivious to everything else. When I spotted a group of people moving toward the exit, I nudged Blaze and pulled him along.

Leaving in a small crowd felt safer. Nobody paid us any attention as we exited the building. It took everything in me to keep from running to the car. With every step, I expected someone to chase us down.

Inside the car, I promptly locked my door. “God, it feels like I can breathe again. That was intense.”

Blaze ran both hands through his hair, his head falling back against the headrest. “That was way too close. We got lucky.”

Starting the car, he cast a glance back at the club before driving away. He kept an eye on the mirrors, making sure we didn’t have a tail.

“I can’t believe the Sinners were right,” I said. “What the hell is wrong with some people? How could anyone get off on that shit? She killed him… and he never saw it coming.”

I shook my head in disgust as the memory of what I’d witnessed replayed. There were people out there happy to pay for that content. People who were happy to provide it. This was a sick and twisted world.

“Something tells me that’s not even close to the sickest thing that goes on in there. I’m just glad nobody saw you. That was risky. You shouldn’t have gone back there.” Blaze reached over to grasp my thigh. “Please, don’t ever do something like that again.”

“I know. That was dumb. I wish we could’ve planted a camera. We still don’t have the proof the Sinners want. I have no idea how we’ll get their footage.” I assumed they wanted video surveillance in order to identify those involved. Owing them a favor really sucked.

“This is probably a stupid question, but are you hungry or anything? Do you want to make any stops on the way home?” Blaze glanced over at me as we rolled to a stop at a red light.

The thought of food made my stomach turn. “Ew, no. Nothing for me.”

“Would you think less of me if I said I could kill for some chicken nuggets?” He offered me a sheepish grin.

Despite the night we’d had, I couldn’t help but laugh. “Go for it. All the power to you.”

Without even trying, Blaze had managed to lighten the mood. Still, I kept seeing that woman slash the throat of the man beneath her. Over and over.

Once we pulled up to the house, I hurried inside. It had become my safe space. My retreat from the horrors of the world. Blaze followed me in, a bag of fast food clutched in one hand.

The sound of the door and doorbell camera alert drew Daire. He peered around the corner from the living room, a brow raised. “You’re back. How did it go?”

I groaned. “Well, we made it out alive. So that’s a plus.”

“What the hell does that mean? Start talking.” Daire barely let us get inside and take our shoes off before bombarding us with questions and demands.

We joined him in the living room where Cash sat on the couch staring at his phone. He looked up when we sat down, eager to hear what we had to say. Blaze shoved a chicken nugget in his mouth, motioning for me to speak.

“The Sinners were right,” I began, settling back in the armchair. “They are definitely making snuff films in that place. I saw it for myself.”

Cash and Daire hung on my every word as I told them about our visit to Paradise. Of course they wanted details about the kind of activity that went on there and what Blaze and I had done to fit in. I didn’t like the wicked glint in Daire’s eyes when I mentioned the many ways to tie a person up in order to sexually torture them.

“You saw a man get his throat slashed?” Cash asked, making me repeat that part of the story. “And you’re sure nobody knows you saw this?”

“I don’t think they’d have let us leave if they knew,” Blaze pointed out, dipping a nugget in honey mustard. “We’re all good. The problem is that we have to go back. We didn’t plant any cameras.”

“I don’t even know how that’s possible without being seen,” I added. “Even if we got back there again, we’d never get into one of those rooms. We could plant a camera in the hallway outside the rooms I guess, but we’d need to get in, do it, and get out without getting caught.”

Daire pulled a joint from his pocket and lit up, taking a long drag. “How do we know they don’t already have cameras of their own back there?”

“The Sinners don’t seem to think so,” Cash said. “They’d have hacked into them by now. These people most likely know that’s a risk. It would also provide evidence to be used against them if they were caught.”

Daire took another hit off the joint before passing it over to me. “I don’t want you going back in there. It’s too dangerous. The Sinners are on their own for this shit.”

“We owe them a favor,” Blaze reminded him. “They’re not going to give us an out on this one.”

“Too fucking bad. They can go fuck themselves. I’m not risking Clover for their shit. It’s not worth it.” A muscle twitched in Daire’s jaw. Veins stood out on the back of his hands as he clenched them into fists.

“Maybe we should call them,” Cash suggested. “Tell them it was a bust. That we’re out.”

I sucked on the joint, hoping it would help me relax. The tension had yet to completely leave my body. Maybe a hot bath would help. I doubted the Sinners would let us out of this so easily. While Daire pulled out his phone to make the call, I crossed my fingers.

He put it on speaker phone so we could all hear the conversation. It rang a few times before Riot O’Hare answered.

“Hey, Riot, we have a little problem here.” Daire launched right in, not bothering with small talk. “They are definitely making snuff material at Paradise. Clover saw it herself. I’m not sending her back there. We’re done.”

Sounding annoyed, Riot snapped, “We will discuss this in person tomorrow. Jesus Christ, get a burner phone, dumbass.”

He ended the call before Daire could reply. Daire stared at his phone, his expression darkening. “That motherfucker.”

Although I wasn’t going to say so, Riot had a point. Openly discussing this stuff might be dangerous. We had to take precautions.

“We’ll find them on campus tomorrow. Let’s call it a night.” Crumpling his empty food bag, Blaze stood up. “Care to join me in the shower, Rainbow? I need to wash that place off me.”

Rising from my seat, I passed the joint over to Cash. “Me too. I feel filthy, and not from the sexy stuff.”

I caught myself yawning as I ascended the stairs behind Blaze. This evening had sucked me dry. I hoped we were able to convince the Sinners to let us out of this favor when we saw them tomorrow, but I wasn’t holding my breath.