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CHAPTER FIVE
Zakary
As I ducked into the club, I repeated the instructions to myself over and over again, my hand in my pocket, wrapped around the tiny plastic baggie. Getting this shit on short notice had cost me, but it would be worth every penny.
I kept picturing Sara’s expression when she woke up, the confusion, the terror, and the barely contained lust. Her eyes would be wide, but she’d be biting her lip and squirming. Practically begging for it.All women are sluts and need men to keep them in line,I reminded myself as I squeezed through the crowd.
The club was sumptuous, an understated mix of gold accents with black walls and stone floors. But it was also too noisy and crowded, the pounding music making me grit my teeth and the smell of liquor on the air too much, never mind all the writhing bodies, inebriated serpents grinding on each other.
I spotted Sara almost immediately, holding court at the far end of the bar, a golden glow around her. She was even dressed in gold, a shorter dress than I’d ever seen her in, and weird shoes that wrapped around her legs like wires. My mouth went dry as I stared at her, and then slowly noticed that other men were also giving her dopey, slobbering looks. Chads and finance bros, hovering around Sara and her friends, looking for an in so they could offer them a drink.
Shit.I had to hurry.
Shoving through the crowd, I got closer, and luck was on my side, because a song came on that had the masses charging to the dance floor, except for Sara. She was leaning back against the bar, her gaze restless and moving through the crowd. As though she were looking for someone, and for a second, I thought her jaw looked tense.
But what the fuck could she have to worry about?
I saw that she was wearing more makeup than she usually did at work and her hair was falling in fake waves around her face.
“You don’t need to do all that makeup, you know,” I said, and she jerked in surprise, doing a double take. “Hey.”
Sara straightened and stared at me, her hand tightening on her drink. She seemed absolutely shocked to see me, even a little fearful, and shook her head.
“What are you doing here?” She blurted out and her other arm clamped around her stomach, her dark eyes wary as she gazed at me.
“I came to get you,” I said, leaning down, and she jerked back again, almost knocking into the guy next to her. “Let’s go get dinner and talk. Please.”
“What the actual fuck, Frole,” Sara spat at me, her face twisting into rage and making her even more beautiful. “Did you follow us here?”
“No,” I lied, heat rushing into my face. “It’s a coincidence.”
“I doubt that,” Sarah said, and sipped her drink. “Fuck off or I’m gonna report you.”
“I know you’ve been dicking around with Iris-Beta,” I hissed at her, a guess from looking at her phone, and Sara’s lips pressed into a flat line. “That’s stupid. But if you agree to dinner—”
“I amnevergoing out with you,” Sara said in an ice-cold voice that stabbed through my gut. “Never. I do not like you. You repulse me, in fact. And you’re fucking pushing me now. Back off or you going to regret it.”
“I think you’re going to regret it,” I said. “Why won’t you go out with me? I always try to be nice to you. I try to help you with work—”
“You are not nice,” Sara said. “You’re a creep and a fucking twat.” Her eyes glittered with a strange rage, and it sparked my own. “Leave me alone, Frole. This is your last warning. I—”
She broke off, her entire body going onto alert, and her gaze zeroing in on something in the club. I wanted to see what she was looking at, but she had her drink resting on the bar, and this was my last chance. I just needed to get her alone, let her sober up, and talk.
I yanked out the bag and opened it with shaking fingers, excitement coursing through me, when I noticed the look on Sara’s face. It was not one that I’d seen before, so intent, so intelligent—enough that I wondered if she could see through walls. Something clenched in my gut, a sense of tumbling over a precipice, and I hesitated, as something in my mind whispered,she’s too smart, she’s gonna figure it out, that you’re just an intimidated loser.
No,I snarled back, and I dumped the whole bag into her glass. She didn’t even flinch even as I reared back, glancing around, and staring at the drink. The guy I’d bought this stuff off told me to only use a little—he hadn’t even wanted to sell me this much. But I hadn’t known if the first time would work, I didn’t know how many tries it would take…
So easy,I thought, a little dazed as she let out a strange breath and tipped up her chin, her eyes narrowing. And then I grinned as her hand came around, the glass lifting to her lips—
Only to be stopped by a swift, large hand, the movements gentle but inexorable, and the glass was out of Sara’s hand.
And then the contents were neatly dumped over my head.
Sara
I gripped the edge of the bar top with one hand to keep myself upright, staring in astonishment at Zakary who was spluttering and spitting, gaping with rage as he tried to wipe the liquor out of his eyes, stumbling backward into a big, tattooed hand wearing gold rings, that gripped his shoulder. I glanced up and then up some more into the eyes of a big, stern, and muscular Italian dude covered in tattoos, with another, shorter, but no less muscular Italian dude appearing on his other side and grabbing Zakary’s other arm. Immediately, I could tell their suits were designer, probably imported from Italy.
I also thought I recognized them—they’d been outside theSons of Celtbar that fateful night that Lia had gone in search of information and a job. They’d rolled up in flashy, expensive SUVs, and even just now, power, wealth, and an undercurrent of violence roiled around them.
