The Grace In Darkness (21 page)

“
I
’
m sorry. I
’
ve just never seen eyes that color green before. They
’
re beautiful.
”

Heat crept into my cheeks.
“
Thanks.
”

“
You guys probably shouldn
’
t hang out around here too much longer. You
’
ve already attracted some unwanted attention from Craze and his followers.
”

“
Craze?
”
I asked. Just saying his name left a bad taste on my tongue.

“
Yeah… you know him?
”
he asked as if he didn
’
t believe that was possible.

“
No, but I
’
ve heard of him.
”

“
Yeah, he
’
s bad news.
”

I frowned at
Mak, trying to give her my best
“
I told you so!
”
look. There was a sudden blare of music and I flinched, unprepared.

“
We
’
re actually waiting for someone,
”
Mak screamed over the noise.

He leaned against
Mak and me to get as close as he could so she could hear him.

“
Who would that be?
”

“
Ryland Dare?
”

“
Should have known you were a Dare fan. Half the girls here just come to see him and Sebastian fight.
”

That piqued my interest, but
Mak attempted to steer him away from the topic. I didn
’
t know whether to be thankful or annoyed.

“
Is he any good?
”

“
He does all right. He
’
s won every one of his fights so far, which isn
’
t surprising when he has Sebastian in his corner.
”

I pulled his arm.
“
Everyone? How many has he had?
”

“
More than I can count, sweetheart.
”

“
Is he here?
”

“
No, but his brother should be here anytime now. He
’
s supposed to fight in thirty minutes.
”

“
Sebastian?
”

“
Yep. You ladies gonna stick around?
”

“
We sure are,
”
Mak said.

“
Here you go, Soul Taker,
”
someone behind the bar said and the sound of glass scraping across wood added to the theme of the club.

“
About time,
”
he mumbled.

A cold bottle was placed in my hand and I looked down toward it.
Mak clanked her bottle against mine before taking a sip. I brought it to my lips and the sour smell made my jaws hurt. Squeezing my eyes shut, I took a long drink and instantly regretted it. I
’
d never had beer before in my life and for good reason, apparently. Its bitter taste traveled down my throat in super-slow speed, and I swallowed hard to make it go down faster.

“
Not a fan?
”
The Soul Taker laughed.

“
That
’
s… disgusting!
”
I choked out, my face twisting. I set down the bottle on the bar and shivered as the aftertaste coated my mouth.

“
It gets better the more you drink, angel,
”
a new voice said.
“
Who are your friends here, Soul Man?
”

“
They
’
re friends of Dare
’
s, actually.
”
He said it as if it were a warning.

“
Of Dare?
”
He sounded shocked.
“
Ryland or Sebastian?
”

“
Does it matter?
”

He paused for a minute.
“
Actually, no, it doesn
’
t.
”

His voice gave me the creeps and that was enough to make me want him to go far, far away.

“
Maybe you should move on—
”

“
Soul Taker!
”
a voiced boomed over the speakers.
“
Where the fuck you at, man?
”

“
Sounds like you
’
re being summoned, Soul Man.
”

He seemed reluctant to leave us.
“
It
’
s okay,
”
Mak said.
“
I
’
ve got this.
”

His shadow hesitated, but they called his name again and he finally gave in.
“
I
’
ll come back and check on y
’
all later, okay?
”

“
They look like big girls, Soul Man. I don
’
t think they need your protection.
”

“
Cool it, Craze.
”

I missed the silent exchange between the three and I tried not to let it bother me that I was left in the dark, literally.

“
I
’
m Craze, and you beautiful ladies are…?
”

“
I
’
m M and this is A, and that
’
s all you boys need to know,
”
Mak smarted.

“
Ohh, feisty. Just how I like
‘
em.
”

His words conjured nauseating flashbacks and I shifted uncomfortably on the barstool.
Mak sensed my uneasiness and grabbed my hand.

“
Excuse us, boys. We have to find our friend.
”

Craze moved, stopping
Mak
’
s retreat.
“
What
’
s the rush, ladies? Neither of the Dare brothers are here yet and you don
’
t want this to get hot, angel.
”

I heard the glass hit the bar and the smell of beer added to the stench of the room. Luckily, I didn
’
t feel any of it spill on me.

“
Shit! Sorry about that. Here, let me get y
’
all another drink.
”

“
No, it
’
s really okay. I wasn
’
t going to drink it anyway.
”
I just wanted to get as far away from him as possible.

“
Please, I insist.
”
His fingers wrapped around my wrist and I froze.

“
Fine.
”
Mak interjected, pulling my arm from his grasp.
“
One drink and then we have to go.
”

“
Sounds fair.
”
He moved between Mak and me, leaning into the bar. He smelled like booze, sweat, and… blood. I moved back as far and I could.
“
Waster, two bartender
’
s specials.
”
He pounded his fists against the wood.

“
You got it, Craze!
”

“
What
’
s the bartender
’
s special?
”
I asked.

“
It
’
s just on the house,
”
he said, turning toward me.

His legs brushed against my bare knees and I wished I
’
d worn something that covered every inch of my skin. He grabbed one of my curls and wrapped it around his finger.

“
You know, you have the palest green eyes I
’
ve ever seen. There
’
s something really… different about them.
”
He was trying hard to figure out what it was.

“
They
’
re just green.
”
I shrugged, trying not to keep eye contact with him too long so I found a spot below his neck to concentrate on.

I was glad
Mak wasn
’
t trying to pull me away from him. Then he would really know something was off, and I wanted to keep the fact that I was blind out of this.

“
Do you like that?
”
he asked suddenly, and I panicked.
“
I have a few of them actually. This one right here is my favorite.
”
He went on.
“
I also have this one and this one. They
’
re a part of my collection.
”

I didn
’
t know what to do or where to look and I glanced up nervously.

“
What
’
s...?
”
His voice trailed and I didn
’
t make out the shadow of his hand waving in my face early enough.
“
Holy shit. You
’
re...
”
There was no recovering; it was too late.

“
Don
’
t be an ass,
”
Mak snapped, jumping from her barstool and moving to stand between us.

She took my hand and pulled me with her and I felt mortified. It was like I was a child needing to be kept close to her parent. I knew she hadn
’
t meant to, but needing to be protected by Mak made me feel about an inch tall.

“
Everything
’
s all good, angel. Just caught me off guard is all.
”

“
My name isn
’
t Angel.
”

“
I
’
m sorry... M, right?
”

“
Two bartender
’
s specials, Craze. Have fun.
”

“
Here, peace offering.
”
I assumed he was handing Mak the beers.

“
Thanks, but—
”

“
Come on, it
’
ll make me feel better. And then you
’
re free to go.
”

Does that mean we aren
’t now?
I wondered.

“
Fine.
”

Mak
handed me the cold bottle and I waited for her to lead us the hell away from here and him. We started to move, but he stopped us again.

“
Cheers?
”
He waited. Mak sighed and clanked her bottle to his, taking a drink.
“
What about you? Do I get a cheers?
”
I lifted my bottle and he hit it with his. I looked down toward the bottle and my taste buds begged me not to take a drink.
“
It
’
s okay, angel. You don
’
t have to drink it. It
’
s probably better you don
’
t, right?
”
He took a sip and I could feel him daring me. It was stupid to feel the need to prove anything to him, but his challenge didn
’
t settle well with me.

“
I
’
m blind, not incapable.
”
I gritted my teeth, saying it out loud.

“
Prove it.
”
He taunted.
“
Down the entire bottle.
”

Mak
turned toward me.
“
A, you don
’
t have to do that. You have nothing to prove to this guy.
”