Chapter 5
FIVE
FENRIR
PRESENT
I shove open the internal door to the bathroom. Two women by the sink scream and grab their handbags as if they’re shields.
Willa is by the end cubicle, appearing to be talking to the door, probably trying to explain to Hayami about the code red. She’ll always try and use words first, but I don’t have time for words.
“Move away from the door!” I shout, drawing my gun as I kick the flimsy lock, the door swinging open.
Fury explodes in my temples. Willa tries to hold me back as I see Hayami pressed up against the far wall, one strap of her dress lowered, as the fucking leech wipes his mouth with the back of his hand.
My anger is frenzied, unbridled, untethered, and I don’t give a fuck about protocol.
I grab the guy by his hair, haul him off Hayami, and drag him out of the cubicle. His eyes are wide, the whites stark as he thrashes about like a flailing animal. I shove the barrel of my gun into his mouth.
“You want something to suck on, motherfucker? I’ll give you something to suck on.”
He makes a choking sound, which only makes me push the gun down further.
“Fenrir, calm down. There’s no need. I’ll deal with this,” Willa urges, trying to contain me.
“What the fuck? What the actual fuck?” Hayami shouts, pulling the strap of her dress up.
Her voice is the only reason I remove the gun. But my anger still rages, and with one blow to the side of his head, the fucker is out cold on the tiled floor.
“You fucking animal!” Hayami spits, her face contorted with powerful fury.
“As I was trying to tell you, Markus has issued a code red, which means we have to get you out of here, now.” Willa tries again with the words.
“A fucking code red!” Hayami shouts “When is there not a fucking code red? What is it this time?” She folds her arms.
“We aren’t sure yet, but we need to get you back to the house.” Willa gestures towards the exit.
Hayami’s eyes flick towards the door before landing back on Willa. “No.” She sounds in control, but I know this is only the calm before the storm as she stares at Willa and then at me. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“Hayami.” Willa draws out her name as if it will help to soothe her.
“I said no. I’m having a good time. Well, I was having a good time until this fucking beast charged in here, so no. No. No.” She’s spiralling, words shooting from her mouth, her eyes stern.
Nausea pulses in my gut, as I know there’s only one way this is going to go.
“I’m not coming with you. I’m not leaving this club,” Hayami continues to vent.
“I’m going to live my life regardless of what you or him or Markus or my father says, because I’m sick of it.
Sick of it. Fucking sick of it all!” She’s shaking.
Twenty years of being on a leash. Twenty years of doing as she’s told.
Twenty years of being shadowed by bodyguards.
“I hear you,” Willa pleads, hands out in front of her, slipping closer to Hayami. “I do. I know what you must be going through.”
“How do you? How do you know? I bet you didn’t have two fucking bodyguards hovering over you every time a woman tried to touch your pussy.”
“Hayami,” Willa warns, but Hayami won’t be silenced that easily.
“And you, Beast.” She turns to me. “When was the last time someone touched your cock? I bet you didn’t have two bodyguards watching from the sidelines… unless that’s your thing.”
I’d love to dwell on the fact that she’s just mentioned my cock, but there’s no time for daytime fantasies. I’m too focused on getting her out of this fucking club alive.
“Confirm location,” Markus’s voice booms in my ear like he’s standing next to me.
“We’re in the Latvia Club,” Willa answers.
“Yeah, that’s what the GPS says, and I gave you a code red almost five minutes ago, so why the fuck are you guys still there? Is there a problem?”
“Hayami was in the bathroom. She’s just finishing up,” Willa explains.
“I don’t care if she has to piss in the fucking car. Get her back to the house now before Devall has all our balls in a vice, including yours, Willa.”
“Yeah, well, I do have the bigger pair.” She doesn’t smile at her joke, just turns her attention back to Hayami. “We have to go, now,” she says, this time with a little more force.
Hayami takes a step forwards. The look in her eyes, the way she holds herself like she’s preparing for the opening of a dam lets me know we’re all fucked.
“Make me.”
Willa glances at me, a sadness in her eyes that it’s come to this, because this isn’t the first time Hayami has refused to do as we ask. Not even a close second.
I take a step forwards and brace myself as Hayami sharpens her gaze.
“Back off, Beast,” she sneers, her top lip curling. Her eyes narrow, and I can’t help wondering who looks more of a beast now, me or her.
I take one more step towards her.
“Here we go,” Willa says as Hayami launches herself at me.
Her nails are sharper than the last time she tried to claw my eyes out, and whatever she’s been doing in the home gym must be working, as her kicks are strong. The only thing that remains the same is the volume of her screams.
“I hate you! You’re a fucking monster!” Her cries bounce off the tiled walls as I pick her up, her fists punching my back, her legs whipping blindly.
I back up from the cubicle to give Willa some room, because we can’t take Hayami out through the club like this. There’s only one way we’re going to get her out, and it kills me to do it.
Willa reaches into the small bag she keeps around her waist and pulls out the sealed packet.
“You got her?” she asks, her face stern, though weariness fills her eyes.
I turn so Hayami’s thigh is facing Willa. “Yeah.”
I hate this, just as much as Willa does.
Hate the feeling of Hayami struggling against me.
Hate her scream when the needle goes in, the way her thrashing slows, her body going limp, how she hangs over my shoulder as all the fight leaves her.
I hold her tightly, wishing I could rub her back, tell her that it’s okay.
“Do you think there’ll ever be a day when she comes quietly and we don’t have to resort to this?” Willa asks, pocketing the needle and heading to open the door for me.
I pull Hayami off my shoulder and cradle her to my chest. She looks like she’s passed out from too much drink, which is exactly what the clubbers will think.
“What about him?” Willa cocks her head at the comatose scumbag on the floor.
“Fuck him,” I say as I carry Hayami out of the club and into the waiting car, relieved we’ve managed to get her out before she did anything she would regret. But my relief is short-lived as I remember the code red.
What the fuck has happened now?