Chapter 36 The Bite #2
I turned the corner and made my way down Tressle Lane.
It was a narrow concrete alley, built for pedestrian traffic only.
At the end of the lane, a line of people stood outside a door in a profusion of slender, bare, feminine limbs and just a couple of taller male figures.
The door opened, the line began to move, but no thump of music resonated. Strange for a club.
Turn back now.
I pulled at the front of my top, lowering it a little—not that I had much cleavage to show. I held my head high and popped a bit of the swagger Grace and Jodie were so good at into my hips, and prayed they’d let me in.
Two burly bouncers stood on either side of the single red door.
One fair haired, one dark, both built like gigantic tree trunks.
Huge muscles housed tattoos on bulging arms. They’d be strong, impossible to tackle, but probably slow.
Their eyes held the friendliness of stone as they scanned two girls, wearing black miniskirts with legs for miles.
“Invite?” the darker-haired bouncer said in a deep voice that matched his burly frame.
“I forgot it,” one of the girls said.
The bouncer raised a brow. “Leave now, girls.”
“Oh, come on.” The girl smiled, twirling her hair with her finger. “My friend said to meet her inside.”
The light in the bouncer’s eyes dimmed as if he’d heard that one a thousand times before. “Oh yeah? What’s her name?”
The girl paused just a split second, but it was enough to safely assume her friend was a figment of her imagination.
“Katniss,” she spluttered.
I stifled a laugh.
“Everdeen, right?” the blond bouncer said with mild amusement.
“You ladies should head elsewhere,” the stone-faced bouncer ordered.
“Oh, come on, please?” she whined.
The look he gave them was enough that the girls didn’t argue anymore. They turned and strutted away, both girls the kind of stunning I could never be. My chances of getting in went from slim to none.
Stone man scanned my attire. “Invite?”
“I don’t need one,” I answered with a cool confidence that surprised myself.
“To get in you do, lady.”
“I have a friend inside who told me to meet him here.”
“A friend,” he turned to the blond bouncer. “She’s got a friend in there!”
“I’d like a dollar for every time some pretty young thing told us that,” the blond said.
“A dollar,” stone man agreed. “We’d be rich.”
“Millionaires.”
Then they turned back to me with twin looks of boredom. The blond said, “Go away, love, and get your kicks elsewhere.”
“I could go away, but unlike the girls before me, my friend is real.”
Stone man sighed. “Really? What’s your friend’s name?”
“Well, it’s not Peeta.” I attempted to lighten their mood, but it didn’t work. “Karson Worthington.”
Both of them perked up, a subtle movement of bodies straightening and eyes coming alive.
Stone guy tilted his head. “And he told you to meet him here?”
“He did. You can check if you like—my name’s Amelia. But he’s probably going to be as happy as your mother was when you got that awful tattoo that you disturbed him.” I looked pointedly at a badly drawn faded skull on his forearm with Death written across its lopsided forehead.
Apparently, the comment touched a nerve. If he’d crawled up the ass of an elephant, the look Stone guy gave me would have been darker.
“And,” I added, sensing my precarious situation, “he wouldn’t like me being left outside in the cold. He is quite the gentleman like that. Rather old-fashioned.”
They exchanged unsure glances. It didn’t matter whether they let me in or not now; if they went to check, it meant he was there. If he came out, great, and if not, I’d wait for him to emerge later. Standing outside wasn’t my preferred option, but either way I’d get to see him.
“Amelia, who?” the blond asked, eyeing me off as if taking my measure.
“Just Amelia.” I lifted my chin. “I told you—he is expecting me.”
There was a long pause, then he stepped aside and opened the door. “Go through.”
I stepped into a long, thin, dimly lit hallway.
The walls and ceiling were painted black.
The only lighting came from two dim single bulbs above, placed about twenty feet apart.
I should have felt safe enough, the bouncers were only a few feet away, but instead I felt a strange sense of apprehension.
As if I was walking through a haunted house at some sideshow alley.
I half expected a skeleton to jump out from the wall, or a hand to reach out and touch my shoulder.
My adrenaline spiked, and every sense was on high alert. My boots clicked on the hard floors like the second hand on a clock—tick, tick, tick. For a reason I couldn’t understand the sound made my shudder. I hurried down the corridor and shoved a red door open.
A dance beat that wasn’t apparent from the hallway vibrated heavily.
The club must be soundproofed, probably to stop complaints.
A plume of hazy mist surrounded the room.
It was darker than a normal nightclub. Strobe lights flashed randomly, a kaleidoscope of red, white, and blue.
People, silvered by the mist, moved around like a city of ghosts.
My nerves rolled. No, not nerves, it was more than that. It was a gut-twisting apprehension.
Turn back.
I stepped inside and glanced around, searching for Karson. The dance floor was full. Scantily dressed girls and men who looked like they had a fondness for violence writhed against each other.
There were three dance poles set on a stage, with naked girls moving suggestively against them, and I caught a glimpse of the insides of a woman I didn’t need to see.
A man stared at me, nudged his friend, and said something.
A group of four men, all ridiculously handsome, turned and stared like I was a strange creature entering their world.
I ignored them and skirted cautiously around a stream of young barely clad adults.
So much black, a hell of a lot of leather, tattooed limbs, and heavily made-up faces.
A society of beautiful people all in one nightclub.
A blond-haired girl had her heavily tattooed arms wrapped around the neck of a dark-haired guy.
A tattoo of a dagger on her forearm shimmered.
I was sure it wasn’t ink, but metal she’d had poured into her skin.
Her lips were fastened to his neck, her left leg hooked around his waist. Her tight black skirt had nowhere to go but up, and she wore no underwear.
His hand wasn’t on her behind but at her front, minus a few fingers—which were buried inside her.
Two girls were French kissing beside them, and no one—not one person—took any notice, except me.
Frazzled, I tore my eyes away. Mackenzie had warned me to expect to see Karson with a girl, but I never would have guessed I’d find him in a place like this.
It was enough to tie my already knotted stomach into vice-like clenches.
I ducked around the back of a couple engaged in a deep kiss and headed toward the bar.
If Karson was here, he’d be in the corner that gave him a full view of the room.
I eased my body sideways through a narrow gap behind two men, and one stepped back, bumping into me.
He swung around, and he was incredibly gorgeous, with dark hair and breath-stealing eyes.
“I’m so sorry,” I rushed out.
His lips curled up, and he spoke with a low, sexy, accented drawl. “You can bump into me anytime, gorgeous.” He leaned forward and breathed me in. “You smell delicious.”
A vague feeling of uneasiness swept down my spine. I gave him a limp smile and fought not to step back.
“Oh, um, it’s Coco.” He smirked, like my perfume choice was funny. I lowered my head and took a step to move away. He grabbed my arm and swung me back. His fingers were ice cold and firm.
“Going so soon? But we haven’t danced yet, sweetheart.” His voice was silky—beautiful and friendly. And yet, a slow-moving cold rolled through my veins, turning my blood to slush.
A light glanced off his irises, giving the appearance they held their own weird glow. “You will dance with me.” It was a statement, not a question. I tensed, but before I could not so politely decline, a rough hand grabbed my other arm.
I gasped. Dahlia had hold of me. Confusion and unease spread through my entire body. Why would Dahlia be here? Perhaps she’d heard I was looking for Karson, and they were a couple—she certainly appeared angry.
“She’s Karson’s girl. Touch her, and I don’t need to tell you what will happen.”
That ruled my last theory out.
The guy held up his hands as if she pointed a gun at him and took a step back.
How dangerous is he?
“Please give Karson my apologies.” He darted his eyes over my neck and down my arms so fast I thought I’d imagined it. “I was unable to determine if she was spoken for.”
“Yeah, well she is, asshole, so I suggest you keep your eyes to yourself.”
She yanked me forward, and we surged through the crowd.
“What are you do—”
“Shut up,” she hissed. Her gaze shifting warily around the room. “Stay by my side, and don’t fucking speak, or you will get us both killed.”
At no point did I think she was joking. I looked around wildly, but I could see no obvious threat. Still, with her voice and her demeanor, I wouldn’t put it past her to kill me herself, so I allowed her to tug me awkwardly through the crowded room.