“I didn’t sign up for this shit. Did you hear what he said?” He slams the door behind him, and I hear the lock engage. I don’t really think that would keep anyone out, but if it makes him feel better… The engine turns over and he screeches off without another glance in the direction of my house.
Once he’s fled, I step out onto the grassy strip near the side of the road. My feet are a little achy now that all the excitement is over. I wince, thinking about how much it’s going to suck putting my heels back on.
On the walk back to Betty, my mind spins with the different ideas of what pact Grim could be talking about, and who the Berserker is. Gunnar comes to mind. The plot thickens.
Now, I don’t just have to figure out what Gunnar is up to—I need to add Grim to that list as well.
* * *
It’s Saturday night,and the line to get in is wrapped around the corner. Girls in skimpy dresses are huddled close, trying to keep warm in the evening chill, while guys have their hands shoved into their pockets, attempting to look unaffected.
I saunter up to the entrance, and Reggie’s eyes scan me from head to toe. “Looking good,” he purrs. I don’t recognize the man with him.
“Hey, Reggie, busy night?” I cock out my hip a little to exaggerate my curves.
“Full house, but we always have room for you.” His dark eyes scan me again.
“You’re so sweet.” I give him a seductive smile and step a little closer. The new guy unclips the red rope he’s standing behind and steps to the side, allowing me to pass.
I look over my shoulder and notice the expression on Reggie’s face has shifted. The flirty smirk is gone, and it’s been replaced with a look of concentration as he brings his fingers up to his ear. I watch his lips move in a mumble, but I can’t hear what he’s saying.
The new guy jabs Reggie in the arm with his elbow when he sees me watching. Reggie pulls his hand down and tightens his lips into what I think he’s hoping is a smile, but the effort is wasted. It’s easy to see how forced it is, which makes me super suspicious.
I enter the dark hall where the once-blue lights are now a deep purple. The music is loud enough so that I can already hear and feel the bass hitting with each beat of the song through the floor and walls. Another security guy reaches for the door handle of the club as I approach. “Welcome to Rumors,” he greets me.
He pulls the handle before I can respond, and the noise drowns out any reply I could have given him, so I nod my head while passing him.
Instead of heading to the bar like usual, I skirt the edge of the club. It’s so packed tonight that I can’t even see the dance floor through all the bodies clustered around the edges. I need a better vantage point if I want to look for Gunnar. With my luck, he won’t even be here.
The veritable buffet of sins wafting my way is distracting me, though. Every person I walk past seems to be riddled with misdeeds, tempting me to stop and taste them.
A heaviness settles over me, almost like someone is pushing against me. I shove against the sludge-like oppression and find myself in a nearly empty section of the club. Several heads turn in my direction.
Vanessa is seated among a group of people. They look human, but the darkness seeping from them tells me they’re far from it.
“Sorry to crash your party.” I wave my hand, noticing Gunnar emerging from a hallway. I let my eyes skip over him quickly, as if I don’t recognize him. “Private event?” I purse my lips patronizingly.
“How are you even over here?” Vanessa stands up slowly and two beefy men rise with her.
“Pretty sure I just walked.” I look over my shoulder to see if there’s anything there that should have stopped me, but don’t see anything.
“Are the wards not working?” She glares at a woman next to her.
“They’re in place. I checked them myself,” the girl replies quickly, looking at me closely with her head tilted to the side. The wards must have been the sludge I felt.
Vanessa focuses on me again. “You’re Deanna, right?” She bars her arm across the man next to her as if she’s holding him back. She knows exactly who I am. She’s lying about not knowing my proper name.
“Close enough.” I don’t bother correcting her. “I can see this is an invite-only kind of thing.” I give her a condescending wink, telling her exactly what I think of her and her friends. “I have other plans this evening. If you’ll excuse me.” I glance over at Gunnar for a brief second, then give Vanessa and her men a small wave, before I walk right through the middle of their group. I end up on the opposite side I entered from, pushing past the wards like I’m walking through water, and making sure they see I didn’t feel an ounce of resistance.
“Who was that?” a masculine voice inquires.
“No one. Finish your business,” Gunnar spits, abruptly ending any questions.
As soon as I clear the bubble Vanessa called a ward, that section of the club is obscured again. However, it only takes a scant bit of concentration before the whole group of them come back into focus. I make a point of looking around as if I’m looking for someone. “Hey!” I wave my hand and move a little farther into the crowd like I’m greeting someone. Once the bodies fill in around me, I turn to watch the warded section.
Gunnar marches up to Vanessa. I can see his jaw ticking as he grinds his teeth. I watch his mouth to see if I can make out the words he’s saying, but I’m not able to read his lips. He delivers a fierce glare to the small group around Vanessa, before storming back toward the hall he came through.
“Somebody’s in trouble,” I singsong, looking around to find a place from which I can watch them without being detected, until I’m ready to find Gunnar again.
