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“And what about you? I need you to stay safe too.”
“And I will, Jess.” I hate making a promise to her that I can’t possibly keep. “Look, I need to go. I’ll call you in a few days.”
“Fuck! Okay, make sure you do, and you need to tell me everything.”
We say our goodbyes, and exhaustion washes over me as I drop the phone to the sofa beside me.
From the moment Jess and I met, I knew we would be great friends. It took us both a while to realise we could trust one another. After that, there were no secrets between us.
When we shared our stories, we both agreed to help each other get answers and justice. For Jess that has finally become a reality. I’m still chasing mine.
This shit with Maddox and Zak couldn’t have come at a worse fucking time. The answers Jess had been seeking for so long came with the biggest bust of human trafficking in history. The fact that I was involved and have now been accused of corruption is not good. I’ve done everything I can to ensure that what’s happening now doesn’t jeopardise that case. I just have to hope it’s enough.
I’m restless and need something to do. Getting up, I head to the kitchen to grab another drink, but as I go to pour it, I pause. No good can come of sitting here drinking myself to oblivion. Usually, I have work to distract me or I go for a run or even a night out. All of that is impossible right now.
I’m meant to be lying low, letting the dust settle after the news report, but I need to do something before I go crazy.
Slamming the bottle back on the counter, I stomp back to the lounge, snatching up my phone. I fire off a message to Noah letting him know I’m heading out for a while.
I know he’s going to be pissed, but right now, I couldn’t give one fuck.
Besides, there’s no harm in a little reconnaissance. What trouble can I possibly get into just sitting in my car and watching?
I’ve been sat outside Rogue for the last hour with nothing of the least bit of interest. Obviously, if I was a guy then I’d be more than happy thanks to the fact that nearly every woman—some hardly that—is wearing a skirt barely covering their arse. Oh, how I wish I could bleach my eyes after one bent down to adjust her shoe, giving me a completely unrestricted view of her vajayjay. Needless to say, there were a number of toots from cars passing by.
I check the time on my phone, ignoring the message I know is from Noah, to see it’s almost midnight. I’ve seen no sign of Maddox or Zak. Needing some fresh air, I open the glove box and take out the pack of fags I keep in there. Climbing from the car, I lean up against it and take a cigarette out as I watch a couple come stumbling out of Rogue. I place the cigarette between my lips as they disappear round the side of the building, not completely out of sight, and begin to make out.
I look away, enjoying the taste and scent of tobacco on my tongue. I don’t smoke anymore, but I like to reminisce occasionally.
Movement across the road catches my eye, and I look over to see another guy has joined the couple round the corner. They pull her away from the wall before sandwiching her in between them both, hands roaming all over each other, and a small wanton moan carries on the night air.
Not going to lie, it’s hot. My libido is awake and fully alert. I’m so engrossed in the trio, that I don’t notice the guy approaching me from the left.
“You open for business,” he slurs, almost losing his balance as he falls against the car next to me. Startled, the fag falls from my mouth to the ground. He reaches out a hand to my arm, and I knock it away.
“How about you go home, hey,” I tell him, dodging his wondering hands and trying to direct him off down the road without drawing attention.
“How ‘bout…you come with me, huh? A hot little th-thing like you’s probably got a sweet cunt,” he groans, grabbing at his crotch and thrusting his hips. The movement causes him to totter clumsily further into the road. I roll my eyes at the drunken moron.
“Seriously? You can barely stand, let alone get it up,” I mumble, stepping forward to stop him from falling over completely. The screeching of tyres has my head snapping to the right as a car skids round the corner before heading straight for him. The headlights make it difficult to see, and I blindly throw out a hand trying to catch hold of him. My fingers brush something, but before I can get a grip on it, it falls away. Then everything happens in slow motion.
The car slows a second before gunfire lights up the street, and I watch as bullets meet flesh. A bouncer outside Rogue, a young girl in the line and the trio at the side of the building. All of them rear back from the impact before falling to the ground. There’s a thud as the car passes me by, and I catch a glimpse of the back of two men, the driver and his back seat passenger, each with their arm out the window and firing guns.
As the car screeches off down the road, I grab my phone from inside the car and call it in. With my phone to my ear, I step forward only to stop when I see a figure sprawled out in the road. Walking towards it, I watch for any movement or signs of life but there are none. I place the call on speaker, telling the operator what I need as I turn my phone torch on and direct the beam of light to the man.
Crouching at his side, the light from my phone glints off a pool of blood beneath the man’s head. I place two fingers on his neck, seeking the pulse that should be there. Not finding one, I let out a sigh and rise before jogging across the road.
As people pour out of the building and see the carnage and bodies littering the floor, several screams rent through the air. I look to the bouncer who is slumped on the ground holding his hand to a wound in his shoulder. Seeing he’s still breathing, my eyes trail to the young girl from the queue. She’s not moving, and as I move towards her the reason becomes obvious. Her eyes are lifeless and staring up to the night sky, and there between them is a bullet hole. I step back, preparing to check the trio from the side of the building when I’m jostled from behind as more people emerge from inside now that the threat seems to have passed.
Sirens blare in the distance, and I begin to move everyone to the other side of the road before making way back to check the other victims. Just as I reach the side of the building, a hand latches onto my arm and yanks me back.
Spinning around ready to smack the fucker, I meet dark stormy eyes that tell of a thousand deaths. He pulls me to the entrance and inside, then through another door and into an office, slamming the door behind him. He releases me instantly like I burned him and stomps away from me.
“What the fuck are you doing here, Roxanne?”
ChapterEight
Zak
