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“Have a good night!” Lyla calls and gives me a wink.
I wave at her in response and head into the main lobby area of the club. Scanning the crowd, I look for Larry and the mystery man. Everyone around me seems to be going places and no one stops. Biting my lip, I grab my phone and start to dial Larry’s contact number.
“Ah, excuse me,” a man’s voice says from behind me. I whip around, a smile starting to form on my lips. My eyes widen slightly. It's a man in a suit but nottheman in the suit.
“Yes?” I politely face him and give him my full attention as I’ve been instructed to always do.
“Are you Jade?” he asks and I nod. I’m sure Larry either got bored babysitting the guy or there was another commotion somewhere else he had to attend to. Either way, he’s here so Larry must have thought he was alright.
“I am.” I give the man the smile I reserve for my performances.
As soon as I confirm, the man’s face is wiped of emotion. He steps into me and I feel something sharp hit my side. “You’re going to shut up and follow me out the side doors. One move and you’ll slice your own kidneys open, got it?”
Fear snakes down my spine, yet I manage to keep it together. I nod my head and follow his lead. “Who are you?”
“Someone who’s waited long enough.” He growls and continues to yank me along with him. Sweat dots my forehead, and I’m struggling to breathe through the panic. I learned self-defense, but right now, everything is slipping from my memory. My eyes slide around, begging someone to make eye contact, to see how this guy is holding me, to help me stop him.
We get to a side entrance and I’m shoved through the door. The cool desert night hits my face and I choke on the air. “There you are.” He grabs my hands and thrusts me against the brick wall. “I've been waiting all night for this. You tease me every weekend. This time I knew it though,” he rasps and I feel him struggling with his belt between us. I want to puke. This can’t be happening. I open my mouth to scream until a sharp blade slides along a tendon. “Ah, ah, ah. I wouldn’t do that if I was you. I don’t want to hurt you. I just want us to finally be together. When I saw you in the shirt and tie tonight, I knew it was for me.”
He motions with his hand over his own suit that is now disheveled. I shake my head. “It’s a performance. It’s nothing else.”
His eyes widen at my words. We both battle, him trying to get a hand in my jeans and me dodging every chance he takes. I’m tired. Physically from dancing all day and mentally from trying to escape this man. I tell myself I won’t give in. But I feel my muscles weakening.
A dark shadow catches my eye and the next thing I know, someone tackles the man who was holding me. I crouch down, holding my ears and willing it all to stop. I see them tussle and soon the newcomer, in a flash of black, is holding the man up with his arm around his neck. The man’s face is turning purple. I try to shout stop, but I’m too fixated. The man is turned away from me. They struggle and I hear a faint cry before blood sprays on the ground. The man’s body soon follows, slumped over in the gravel. He’s dead. Blood pools around him, creating rivers in the tiny rocks.
My lunch threatens to come back up. I slam a hand over my mouth and breathe through my nose. I count to twenty and close my eyes. It’s over. I don’t want to be next.
“Jade.” My name hangs in the space between us. Except I know that voice. My heart thuds in recognition. I open my eyes and slowly trail them over his dress shoes, up the legs of his black suit, to the jacket that he is now holding, splattered in blood, and I take in the crisp white dress shirt, now rolled at the sleeves. I recognize that suit. The suit guy. My eyes snap to his. My suit guy is Onyx Kiddrick. The disappointment tastes bitter in my mouth.
“You killed him,” I whisper.
I hear Onyx take his phone out and make a call. We stand there and he tries to say more to me, but I tune him out. I’m a witness to murder now. I watched the man I once loved brutally murder someone in front of my eyes. Granted the guy was a sleaze and deserved it.
Onyx sighs and moves to grab my elbow. I yank out of his hold. His eyes darken and he grabs me again. I’m pulled into him this time. “You’re coming with me. Terrance can get this cleaned up, but there are still cameras we'll need to wipe.”
My brow shoots up. “Do you hear yourself? Clean this up. Wipe cameras. Who are you?”
He stares down at me with so much heat and rage in his eyes, it's a battle to see which side of him will win out. Instead of answering me, he walks me over to an all-black sports car that pulls up. I’m shoved into the front passenger seat and soon Onyx is sitting next to me. I vaguely recognize Terrance, who’s walking over to inspect the body.
Onyx takes off speeding down the strip. My fingers tighten on the leather seat. I just survived one death trap tonight and now it looks like I'm on to round two. “You can drop me off at the next light. I won’t say anything. We can pretend it never happened.”
His black eyes slide over to me and he grunts. “If it was that easy, Little Star, my life would be completely different.” His use of the name he gave me sends shivers down my spine.
“I don’t know anything about your life so it's hard to say,” I retort back, gritting my teeth.
His body tightens, his hand flexing on the steering wheel, but he doesn’t respond. We keep moving through the city, Onyx showing no signs of dropping me off anywhere, and soon my knee starts bouncing. “My apartment isn’t far. Just let me off here and I can get there on my own.”
“You aren’t going home, Jade,” he finally answers. My lips part in shock. He glances at me, gauging my reaction. “You witnessed a murder. “
“A murder you committed,” I remind him.
“For you,” Onyx responds, and my blood turns cold.
“Where are you taking me then? Are you going to kill me too?” My voice shakes slightly.
Onyx laughs. “It would be more work to kill you. Plus, I have a different plan for you. Something you can be useful at.”
I scoff. “You’re kidnapping me? Who says I want to help you with anything?”
