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“I know that crowd.”
Seyla glanced up at the deadly calm in his voice, then dropped her gaze to her lap. A shard of laughter shot from her diaphragm. “She said Toby wanted to go on a date with me. Except, I was interested in somebody else.”
Did he know it was him?
“Despite that, she insisted I go on this date with him. That it would make me more popular.” Seyla gritted her teeth. “So I agreed. I didn’t know the area at all, since I hadn’t lived in the Hillbrook subdivision long. Tracy and a couple of her friends assured me she’d talk to him. Later in the day, she told me to meet him outside town at ten o’clock. At the Maroni Club.”
Jax released a harsh breath at the mention of the place.
Apparently, she’d been the only one who hadn’t known its reputation at the time. She’d been so naïve. “Even on a Friday night, my parents wouldn’t have allowed me to go anywhere thatlate. I had to sneak out and get a cab. When I got to the place, it was…not in the best area.”
“That’s an understatement.”
“Yeah. Tracy told me after school that Toby would meet me near the stage up front and handed me a fake driver’s license so I could get in. She said to wear the glittery red top she’d seen me wear once. That way, he’d be able to find me in the crowd.”
“No.” The word rushed from him.
So he knew what that color represented, too, to the gang operating out of the Maroni Club. If only she’d known. “I had a tough time making it to the front. By the time I got close, I was scared. The atmosphere was chaotic. The people were older than me, and some of them stared at me in a weird way.”
“Oh, Seyla—”
She put a hand up. “I know now. Unfortunately, I didn’t know then. The band announced a new song, and I skirted around a red velvet barrier into a thick crowd near the front. I remember the push and pull of the crowd worsening…and then…hands and fists hitting me. I felt myself falling. After that, I remember…pain.” Seyla’s voice cracked on the last word. She released a shuddering breath.
“Did anyone call the police? How did you escape?”
“The next thing I knew, a security guard had scooped me into his arms and carried me outside. He said he’d call the police. I was in shock, and my thoughts centered on how much trouble I’d be in for sneaking out. How disappointed my parents would be. I crawled to a bush and hid when he disappeared inside.” She scraped her fingers up her other forearm, avoiding his eyes. Avoiding his pity. “My phone was gone. My keys were gone. All I had left was some change in my pocket, which I thank God for, because I used it later to call a cab from an old pay phone in front of the building.”
“How did you press the buttons? Your hands…”
Seyla shrugged. “Like I said, I was in shock.”
“Did anyone actually show up? Because that would be a miracle in itself, considering how dangerous that area is.”
“Yeah, although the cab driver who arrived clearly wished he hadn’t once he exited the car. For a couple minutes, he paced back and forth, wringing his hands and whispering to himself. He glanced over at the club and huffed a breath, then hustled me into the car and drove away from the place with the headlights off, his eyes flicking from me to the club in the rearview mirror.”
“He took a huge risk showing up there. If they’d seen him, they would have killed you both. That’s M190 territory, a gang that’s beyond violent.”
“He didn’t ask me for money, which was good because I didn’t have any more. Once he got to Matt’s house, he dropped me off and left without saying a word. I think he wanted me out of his cab but couldn’t think of another way to keep his name out of any dealings with M190 without interacting with them. Anyway, I crawled up the steps. That’s all I remember until you opened the door and picked me up.”
She’d been so humiliated.
“Did you tell your parents what happened?”
“Yeah. They called the police. Some officers came to question me while I recovered in the hospital. The prosecutor worked hard to convict Tracy for her part in it. Unfortunately, the jury acquitted her. Lack of evidence of intent to harm. The Maroni Club got shut down shortly after that, though. They did a sting operation and found a lot of illegal activities going on there.” Seyla’s shoulders dropped in relief. There. He knew. Now what?
“Is that why you left?”
“I had to go through a year of operations to repair the broken bones after the doctors removed the sutures. They think one of them cut me with a broken bottle during the attack.”
“Did anything else happen?”
“No. Their plan was to kill me. I have no idea who that security officer was. All I know is he saved my life.”
“I don’t doubt it.” Jax shook his head. “So that’s what happened at the fair. Crowds trigger those memories.”
“Right.” Seyla ran her hands along her shorts and the tops of her knees. Even the thought of a throng of people made her stomach twist. “Crowds and the smell of alcohol and sweat.”
“Were they able to repair the damage?”
