Chapter 45
Two guys are busy making out with each other outside the bathroom. When they see me, they simply wink my way, then get back to practically mauling each other off.
Well, then.
I push open the ivory door next to them and step in, but stop when I see Colton. He’s washing his hands in the sink, and a couple of girls are fixing their makeup next to him.
He glances up, and our eyes meet through the mirror in front of him. He smiles at me, then turns around and faces me.
The girls, engrossed in a conversation among themselves, walk by me without even looking at Colton and I, and when the door closes behind them, he shoves his hands into his jeans pockets and gives me another smile.
“You’re Cignette Adler, right?” he asks, then scratches the back of his neck as a sheepish look takes over his features.
“I saw you earlier but didn’t know how to walk up to you.
I mean, you’re you, and I just…” He chuckles, and it’s so innocent that it’s a little hard to believe that he’s someone who raped a minor only a week ago.
“I’m making an ass out of myself, aren’t I?” he says, and I realize I’ve yet to speak.
I run my fingers through my hair and purposefully mess them up in a way that makes Colton swallow. He drags his eyes over the length of my body, then shifts on his feet, clearly affected by what he sees.
“I am,” I finally say, then bring one of my legs in front of the other. “And, you’re not making an ass of yourself. It’s totally normal to be…nervous.” I lick my red lips, and his gaze zeroes in on them.
“You wanna go over to my place?” he questions boldly, a little out of breath – his shy-guy act totally forgotten. “I’d love to show you a good time, baby.”
Baby.
He’s not even looking at my face; he’s too busy ogling everything below my chin. And that, right there, showcases his true personality to me.
“Is that what you promised Bryce’s sister before forcing yourself on her?” I say.
His head whips up, and he finally meets my stare. I smile at him, and his complexion pales. He all but staggers on his feet in a haste to create more distance between us, and his brows furrow as he now looks at me with a completely different sort of expression.
Fear.
“Wh-wh-what are you talking ab–”
The bathroom door opens, followed by four pairs of footsteps walking in. There’s a click of the lock being secured, and then, a familiar arm wraps around my waist.
“Now, now, sweetheart; you’ve terrified the poor bastard,” Dorran says to me, and when I look up at him, he chuckles, making me do the same.
“There were a couple of guys outside when I came in,” I tell him.
“There was no one there when we got here.”
I sigh. “Good.”
He smirks. “Relax, will you?”
“I’m trying,” I tell him. “I’m more worried about us being found out than I am of watching the asshole die.”
Dorran chuckles again. “Everything’s okay. Don’t psych yourself up; enjoy the thrill of the moment.”
“The thrill?”
He grins. “It’s intoxicating,” he provides. “It’s buzzing through me right now, and I love it.” His eyes gleam, and he looks so dangerous that someone with a sane mentality would want to run away from him. But I – I can’t stop thinking about kissing him until I can’t breathe.
“Pity you have to die,” Alex says to Colton, and his words pull me out of my thoughts. “You’re…I don’t know, cute, I guess.”
Colton moves further away from the 5 of us. “Who are you?” he asks as he frantically glances between us. “Let me fucking go, okay?”
Jayce sighs. “Could you be any more of a cliché?”
Varsha folds her arms across her chest. “Cooperate with us and we’ll make it quick, because you and I both know you’re not leaving this bathroom alive. So, don’t waste our time, alright?”
Colton stumbles, then falls. “Please…” he begs, and when none of us say anything, he fucking bursts into tears. “Please let me go. Please.”
Dorran leaves my side and crouches next to him, then roughly grabs the collar of his grey t-shirt before hauling him forward.
“Is that how Harper pleaded with you when you raped her?” he sneers at him, making him shake his head.
“She must have, but you filthy piece of shit – you didn’t fucking stop, did you?
Not until you got what you needed.” He gropes Colton’s crotch, making him scream.
His face is strained and sweaty, which shows how painful Dorran’s grip is.
“Please…” Colton whispers. “I’ll do anything…I’ll give you anything you want. Just…just please…”
Dorran clicks his tongue, clearly annoyed, and moves his hand away from between Colton’s legs. I watch with bated breath as he slithers the same hand under his leather jacket, then slides his switchblade out from the back pocket of his jeans.
Jayce sees it too, and kneels in front of Colton before holding down his legs, while Alex and Varsha move behind him. I step closer, but stay on the sideline.
Colton is flat-out horrified now, and starts screaming and thrashing. He tries to push Dorran off him, but Jayce punches him in the jaw. “Fucking stay still, dimwit.”
Dorran clicks open his switchblade, and when Colton sees the weapon, he screams even more.
“Someone help me!” he shrieks. “FUCKING HELP ME!”
Chills run over my entire body when I hear the desperation in his voice, see the fear on his face, and the helplessness in his eyes.
“Fucking shut up,” Dorran hisses. “And try not to flail too much. It’s a new jacket, and my Little Swan seems to like it a lot.
So let’s not stain it with your blood, shall we?
” He bunches the top of Colton’s hair and pushes his head back, then brings his switchblade forward and slices Colton’s throat open in a single sweep.
His eyes widen as sprays of blood flow out of the cut, and he starts gurgling on some of it as well. His body convulses and jolts for a few seconds, and then, it stops. He stops.
Jayce and the others get to their feet, but Dorran remains crouched next to Colton’s body. He twists his switchblade this way and that, then brings it to his mouth before licking the thick line of blood off the sharp edge of his blade.
There’s something about that little act that makes fire burn under my skin.
Maybe it’s the way the blood taints his tongue red, or maybe it’s the way his lashes touch his cheeks when his eyelids flutter before he swallows.
I don’t know what it is, but it’s almost hypnotizing, and all kinds of arousing.
He’s so addictive to watch – a symphony of madness and deviance. A variation from normalcy, and a good-looking one at that.
My beautiful freak.
“How’s it taste?” Jayce asks Dorran.
He grins. “Like dead frat boy.”
The crew laughs, and I can’t help but join them.
Dorran stands and walks over to the sink, then runs his switchblade under the water. While he does that, he also fixes his jacket and hair, which were already immaculate to begin with.
Varsha takes a picture of Colton’s corpse, then types something on her phone before looking at Dorran. “Proof sent.”
He nods, then glances at Jayce. “Text Eddie.”
“Did that already,” Varsha says.
“Perfect.” Dorran pockets his blade and makes his way over to me.
“Need a gum?” I ask.
His lips twitch as he tilts his head at me. “And here I was, about to ask if I could kiss you.”
“In your dreams, Ledger.”
He laughs. “Fine, I’ll take the gum, then.”
I open my clutch and hand him a couple of mint strips, and right before he takes them from me, Dorran quickly leans in and gives me a brief kiss on my lips.
I gasp and try to push him, but he steps back and pops the gum into his mouth before giving me a rogue smirk.
I must admit, though: the smell of blood on his mouth, and his breath, turned me on, but I’ll be damned if I tell him that.
“Let’s get outta here, guys,” Alex says, then gestures at Colton. “That dead face of his is starting to get real unattractive, and I’m so not digging the vibes.”
“Yeah, let’s,” Dorran concurs, then takes off his leather jacket before moving behind me. “Raise your arms a little,” he tells me.
I shift my clutch from one hand to the other as he slides the sleeves of the jacket in through them. He then pulls it up and over my shoulders, and I wrap it snugly around my front. When he circles back to me, I raise my brows at him in silent question.
“It’s cold outside,” he says easily, then clears his throat. “And I wanted to see you wearing my jacket.” He looks me over with a burning gaze. “It looks better on you than it did on me,” he remarks, then winks at me before leading the crew and I out of the bathroom.
We pass through the crowd – now thicker than it was before – and exit the club.
Once outside, we take a left and enter an alleyway parking area.
There are buildings on either side of the expanse, with rusted bicycles chained to poles that are decorated with half-torn flyers and random phone numbers.
The air in here is stale, and smells of smoke, piss, and something pungent I can’t exactly put my finger on.
Our footsteps echo against the quiet, and gravel crunches under our feet, amplifying the eerie silence around us a little too much.
A cat mewls somewhere, startling me. I swallow and stay close to Dorran as he leads the crew further into the alleyway, and release a relieved breath when I spot Jayce’s Jeep and Dorran’s Harley parked next to a graffiti wall on the far right.
“Dorran Ledger?” comes a voice from behind us, making us stop. We turn, and find 7 men standing before us, barricading the alley’s entrance. In our case, our only exit.
Dorran steps forward, then places a hand on my hip and pushes me behind him. “Who’re you?” he assesses the men with calm calculation.
Jayce and Alex flank his left and right respectively, and Varsha comes to stand beside the former.
“Stay away from Cignette Adler,” one of the men says.
Dorran lets go of a surprised chuckle. “What the fuck kind of joke is this?”
“It’s a warning,” another guy states. “One we suggest you don’t take lightly.”
Dorran shakes his head. “You punks seriously think you can threaten me?” he sneers, and I notice his posture stiffening against his evidently building anger.
I suck in a breath and look over his shoulder. The crew seem just as confused by the strangers as I do, and rightfully so.
“You think my mom sent them?” I ask Dorran, then glance at the men again. “They don’t exactly seem like the kind of people she’d have any sort of association with, though.”
“After my threat to her, I don’t think Miranda has it in her to play tricks on me,” Dorran responds. “She knows I don’t take kindly to bullshit.”
The men fidget and look among each other – agitated.
Dorran sighs and spits the gum he was chewing, on the ground. “Are you morons going to do something, or should we leave?”
I make a sound in the back of my throat, while the crew simply laugh.
Goddamn psychos, all of them.
At Dorran’s question, the gang of 7 pull out a series of weapons from under the hoodies they’ve got on – knifes, sharp-edged knuckle rings, metal rods, and even a couple of guns.
My chest tightens in fear, and I quite literally can’t feel my legs.
“Now we’re talkin’,” Dorran says, excitement clear in his voice.
“It doesn’t have to come to this,” the guy in the middle – probably their leader or some shit – says. “Leave Cignette Adler here, and you can go without getting hurt.”
“Really?” There’s so much amusement in Dorran’s tone that it makes me smile a little.
“And what exactly will you do with her if I leave her here?”
“Deliver her to our client, of course.”
“And I’m assuming you won’t tell me who this client of yours is?” Dorran asks.
The guy in the middle scoffs. “Do I look stupid to you?”
Dorran clicks his tongue. “Positively, yes.” He quickly pulls his switchblade out of his pocket, and the blade all but glints against the hovering moonlight. “And you’re about to find out just how much of a dumb fuck you are for even suggesting I leave Cignette with you.”
The men step forward, and I brace myself for what’s about to happen.