Darkness of Light (20 page)

“Come on, guys.” I motioned them forward. They moved in closer, their gaze shifting from me to the door. I shrugged. “Someone must have left it unlocked.” 

“This is wrong.” Kennedy’s eyes met mine, and something deep in them made me look away. 

Ryan slipped past me into the club. “It’s not like we’re getting in for free, Ken. I paid for the tickets. We’re just getting out of standing in line.” 

Kennedy was still watching me. “That’s not what I meant.”

I always thought that Kennedy was sensitive to people’s moods because she was an observer, but now it felt different. Could she somehow feel or sense what I could do? Kennedy finally broke her eye contact with me and frowned, walking past me into the building. “Oh yeah, tonight’s gonna be fun,” I mumbled, and followed them inside.

***

About an hour into the concert, I was bored. Usually I loved watching and listening to live music, but my mood had left me restless and in need of some kind of outlet. My friends had given up asking me if I was okay and left me to wander around by myself.

I ambled along the catwalk while the music pulsated underfoot. Through the smoky veil of fog from a machine close to the stage, I watched the smiling faces of strangers beneath me, laughing and dancing in swarms. I knew I didn’t belong with them; I didn’t belong in their world. It was as if I was watching a TV show, but I was the one who was make-believe. 

I was leaning against the railing when the hair on my arms prickled, and an unsettling feeling crept over me. Deep shadows clung to the space around me, but I could feel something was there. 

“Ember,” said a familiar voice, causing me to jump. Samantha moved out from the shadows, coming closer to me.

“Samantha?” I tried to hide the irritation in my voice. “What are you doing here?” 

“I love this band.” For some reason I felt this was anything but the truth, nor was it the reason she was really there. “Funny running into you, because I wanted to talk.” Sam’s voice was so sweet that only from the forced smile she plastered on her lips and the cold look in her eyes did I see her true feelings. 

“What about?” 

Her unnatural smile looked more malicious. “Eli,” she began. “It looks as if you like to take things that don’t belong to you.” She stepped closer to me. “Don’t think I will just stand back and let that happen, especially from
you
.” Sam looked me up and down with blatant disgust. 

The shock of her words and the tone left me speechless.

“I swear if I see you near him again, you and I will have more than words. And I promise you, I am not someone you want to mess with.” A cruel smile pulled her lips up. “Besides you being young, stupid, and revolting, you two do not belong together. You can
never
be with him. He belongs with me, one of his own. You, sweetheart, are just a means to an end, and don’t think for a second you are more than that. Stay away from him, or I
will
destroy you.” Her tone was so serene I had to replay her words in my head again to feel the true threat.

“You understand me?” She grabbed my jacket. At odds with her soothing voice, her sweet, beautiful face twisted into a beautiful ugliness. She was frightening and alluring in an exceptionally unearthly way. “Because I have no scruples about killing you.”

My focus blurred, and instead of Samantha, I was staring at a beast with flaming red, cat-like eyes. Its snout looked like a cross between a wolf and a panther, with teeth as sharp as razors as its lips curled back into a snarl. A scream threatened to escape me, but just as fast as this beast had appeared, it vanished, leaving Samantha in its stead. Her glare was so sinister that I recoiled in fear. 

“Do. You. Understand?”

I nodded, too stunned to do anything else.

She stepped back, patting me on the arm. “I’m glad we’ve had this talk. I feel so much better.” 

She was back to her usual pleasant sweetness, as if she had just been talking about the latest fashion, not threatening my life. She walked past me and down the stairs, leaving me stunned, my brain still not really comprehending what had just transpired. 

Holy shit! Can we say unstable?
Was I the only sane one around here? Well, I guess that really wasn’t setting the standard very high. 

The walls felt as if they were closing in on me. I slipped downstairs and out the door, gulping in the cool night air. I couldn’t tell Ryan or Kennedy I was leaving. They would try to stop me, and I just wanted to go. I didn’t want to worry them, so I quickly texted,
“Hey, sorry had to go home, not feeling good. Don’t worry I got a cab. Call you tomorrow. Have fun.”

The night was clear, and the moon hung low in the sky. Walking seemed to help declutter my head. As I strolled, my fear turned to anger.
How dare that bitch threaten me?
She was scary and a psycho case, but I couldn’t deny the guilt I felt. Even if Sam and Eli were just “friends with benefits” and not a couple, it still didn’t make what happened between Eli and me right. 

This thought only made me walk faster, even more restless and angry with myself. I was so caught up in my thoughts that I didn’t know how long I had walked or where I was.

“Hey!” A deep, raspy voice called to me from across the street. It was the kind of voice you pictured coming from a scary, rough, chain-smoking biker. I turned my head and saw my assumption was way off. Well, he probably had a bike and was a little scary but he was also hot. He was tall, with huge muscles, and his blonde hair was shaved close to his head. He leaned against the door jamb of what I figured was a dive. My eyes flicked up to the name of the bar. A small sign blinked, “Mike’s Bar.” This was the place where Eli hung out. Was he in there now? There was no doubt this place was dangerous. It seemed to be drenched in soulless, black shadows, and Eli was a part of it.

“Why don’t you come over here? Promise I won’t bite—yet,” the guy flirted. There was a slight southern twang in his voice. 

I couldn’t seem to help myself. I walked across the road to the sleazy bar. It had this strange pull. Maybe it was the slim, slim chance of seeing Eli, but I knew nothing would stop me from going in, no matter the consequences. That’s when I truly understood that my feelings for Eli went beyond infatuation. He had already become a part of me, of my life, and I wanted to be wherever he was. 

Oh man, I am so in trouble.

“So, sweetheart, you gonna let me buy you a drink?” The man looked me up and down, his light brown eyes gleaming under the blinking neon lights. The power behind them was daunting. His neck was lined with scars, which I was sure had come from a knife fight of some sort. I had no doubt he had seen his fair share of them. The leer in his eyes made me nervous, but I couldn’t seem to walk away. He was a lot younger than I first thought. He was certainly good-looking, but he was a terrifying kind of trouble—bad news all around. Just the way I seemed to like them lately.

“Sure,” I responded as my brain screamed, “NO!”

A crass smile crept across his lips as he winked. “Thought so.” 

He strutted into the bar, letting me go before him. A very gentlemanly move in such a crass place. Inside was what I pictured a disreputable dive would look like. It was dark and dilapidated with a couple of pool tables in the back, a dartboard on the side, and an old TV flickering in the corner. A heavyset man, with a stern face and balding head, stood behind the bar wiping glasses. A smoky haze told me they didn’t give a shit about the no-smoking law. The clientele didn’t look to be fans of any kind of law. 

A couple of guys in back looked to be part of the Hells Angels motorcycle gang, which should have had me walking straight out the door. But I seemed to be on a reckless mission tonight. The rest of the people in the bar were really dodgy characters, ones who had nothing more to lose. It was not a place for a girl to go unless she was as shady and tough as the guys there. I stood out like a beacon, just asking for trouble. 

Knowing this still didn’t make me run for the door. Something kept me in the bar, with a strange man. Was it because I was attracted to danger or was it because something about this guy reminded me of Eli? I didn’t know, but I couldn’t seem to leave and didn’t want to. This guy made me feel like I could forget all my pain. I was putting myself in a very, very dangerous position, but a part of me liked it.
What the hell is wrong with me?

“What’s your poison, darlin’?” The guy’s eyes ran over my body again.

“Tequila,” I responded.

“You don’t fool around.” His eyebrows shot up. “I like that.” He turned back around to the bartender. “Hey Mike, two shots of tequila and a beer.”

While he ordered, I noticed everyone in the entire room was staring at me. The two guys by the pool table had stopped their game and were leaning against the table, looking like I could be their next snack. One of the guys, who struck me as the leader of the two, was short and fat with long, graying, frizzy black hair tied back into a ponytail. He had bulging eyes and a nose that looked like it had been broken several times. He reminded me of a really ugly pug dog. The other guy was his polar opposite—tall, skinny, and bald. He was extremely frightening to look at, with his hooknose and pockmarked face. I turned my head quickly back to the bar, not wanting to make eye contact with anyone else.

“Here you go, girlie.” Mike pushed a huge shot of tequila at me. 

I guess good ol’ Mike also didn’t care about the underage drinking law either. We both slammed the shots back, and I almost choked as it burned my throat. It tasted more like battery acid, and by the looks of this place, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was.

“Wooo-hooo,” he screamed, his eyes dancing. “Feel that burn.” The cheap alcohol immediately went to my head. He leaned against the bar, looking at me intensely. His eyes moved up and down my body hungrily. “Damn,” he mumbled, seeming to like what he saw. I went from feeling tough and sexy in my outfit to feeling naked and exposed. “So, you have a name, darlin’?” His southern drawl was becoming more pronounced. 

“Ember,” I said, without thinking. I should have lied. From the way he looked at me, though, I had this feeling deep down in the pit of my stomach that he already knew my name before I even said it. 

“Well, Ember, you are a pretty girl. You got some unique eyes there.” 

“Umm—thanks.” 

“Hey,” one of the bikers called from the back. “You gonna bring that sweet, young thing over here?”

“Sorry boys, I’m really not into sharing.” He didn’t even turn to answer them. I don’t know why, but my gut was telling me I was somewhat safer with him, even though my brain was saying something different. “See darlin’, there are some disreputable characters here. This really isn’t a place for pretty, young girls like you.” He looked like he was undressing me with his eyes. 

“Well, I’d say it’s even less my scene, since I’m not legally supposed to be here. For some reason, I’m sensing the law is overlooked quite a bit here, and I’ve never been one to really follow the rules anyway.”

“Think we got ourselves a wild cat here.” A lewd smile played on his lips. “You are an intriguing one sweetheart, definitely my type. I can see now what the fuss is about. You have a boyfriend, darlin’?”

“I do,” I lied, but Eli’s image came into my mind. I rubbed my forehead, as if it would rub away the image as well. 

“How would he feel about you being here with me?” 

“He’d be absolutely thrilled. He was so worried I wouldn’t fit in around here and now look at me, making new friends.”

He almost spit out the beer he had swigged. “Oh man, you’re a feisty thing, aren’t you?” He licked his lips. “Not that I expected any different from my boy,” he mumbled.

“Expected what from whom?” My eyes narrowed. A strange feeling danced in my stomach, as if I wasn’t as much of a stranger to him as he was to me.

“Hey Mike, two more shots here,” he said, completely ignoring my question. “I don’t suppose you know how to play a little pool, do you?”

“Uhhh—a little,” I replied. Mom had never really cared for the game, but Mark loved it. At a young age, Mark taught me pool so he would have someone to play with. I was good, but not great. In a place like this, I’d rather talk down my skill. 

I cringed as he pushed another shot at me. I wasn’t feeling the effects like I thought I would so I slammed this one back without hesitation. The ache in my heart was not numb enough.

He was about to turn and head to the back when I realized I never asked his name. How odd. “So, what’s your name?” I demanded. This was a place you didn’t show weakness or fear.

He turned and smiled. “Well, Ember, let’s make a little wager here. If you win, I will tell you my name. If I win, you will dump your man and run away with me.”

“Funny, I don’t see any real win in there for me.”

“We’ll see about that.” He smiled seductively, his huge hand sliding around my wrist with force. A warning chill flickered through me. This guy was solid muscle and could snap my arm like a twig. 

I stumbled as he led me to the back. “Hey, stop pulling me.” I yanked my arm back, making him stop.

“Hey West, looks like you can’t handle your woman there. Why don’t you let me take her off your hands?” The short, fat biker licked his lips, making my gag reflex kick in. “Woo-wee, she is a pretty, young thing. Ripe for the pickin’.”

“I don’t think so, McNamm. I don’t share my toys,” West replied.

McNamm stood up and approached us. Even though he was a foot or so shorter than West, he still tried to get in his face. “Well, your mamma don’t raise you right then . . . thinkin’ about time you learn.” 

“McNamm, I suggest you take a step back,” West growled, his voice sounding extremely familiar, weirdly reminding me of Eli’s. “She’s mine.” The possessiveness of his tone made panic twist in my stomach. To him, I was no longer a person, just a piece of meat. 

The tall, scarred Hells Angel sensed something was going to happen and stepped up beside his buddy. “Don’t be stupid, West. Thinkin’
you
better back off.”

“Really, Pock? I think it’s you two who are being stupid. But then, you guys were never the brightest bulbs in the pack.”