I looked back over my shoulder. A bouncer was holding the door open behind me and a couple of cocktail waitresses stumbled through. The lights flickered on around the club as someone started hitting switches.
There was some kind of violent brawl going on over by the front entrance of the club. The bouncers were descending on it, en masse.
That was all I could see before I lost sight of the club.
Andre ushered me down the hallway, holding me close to his big body. There were a bunch of other people rushing through the hall, staff, mostly. There was some confusion as a couple of male staff charged by, yelling at us to stay the fuck inside, and the mood got more panicky. No one seemed to know which way to go.
“Over here!”
We turned to find a woman in a black shirt with the bar logo on it calmly opening a door with a set of keys. She threw it open and the cocktail waitresses hurried inside.
Andre and I locked eyes.
Then he steered me right over to the door and stuffed me inside the room. “Stay here,” I heard him say in my ear.
I was in an office, and more girls crowded in behind me.
Andre was gone.
A bouncer leaned in to grab the door. “Stay inside until we come get you,” he barked. Then he left, shutting the door.
One of the girls locked it behind him.
I was standing in a small, crowded office with a bunch of female bar staff. It was weirdly quiet as everyone seemed to hold a collective breath, looking at one another for help that wasn’t coming.
Where was Ronan?
“Does someone have a gun? I heard someone say there was gun,” one of the girls said, looking from face to face.
“I don’t hear anything,” the woman who’d opened the door for us said. She was on her phone, typing, and didn’t look up.
One of the waitresses was still carrying a tray with drinks on it. She set it down on the desk and said, “Holy shit.”
Yeah. Holy shit was right.
But there were no gunshots. Surely we’d hear that, even back here.
I tried to listen for sounds from the club, but the blood thumping through my body was too loud; I could hear it beating in my ears, even as I stood stock-still. I just kept repeating Andre’s words in my head.
Stay calm.
My hands were trembling as I pulled out my phone to text Ronan… and found a text from Sledge.
Sledge: Where are you? I’m outside. They won’t let me back in.
Me: Back office. What’s happening?
He didn’t reply right away. I texted Ronan.
Me: Where are you? Are you ok?
Then someone started crying. I glanced over at the girl; her friend put an arm around her. The girl in tears looked maybe twenty.
“Just chill,” one of the other girls said. “It’s the French/Irish gang war shit.”
“There’re gangs here?” the girl next to me squeaked.
“Every city has gangs,” I told her, though I wasn’t sure why I thought that would make her feel better. “It doesn’t mean they want anything to do with you any more than you want to do with them. Stay away from them and you’ll be okay.”
“But what are they doing attacking each other in the club?”
Yeah, good question.
In my limited experience, when gang violence erupted in a nightclub, it was because the nightclub was somehow involved in gang business.
“I really don’t want to know,” I said. I didn’t.
This was my first and last gig here anyway.
“Are you the DJ?” the teary-eyed girl sniffed from across the room.
“I am.”
“I love your dress,” she said.
“Thank you.”
The other girls didn’t say much. They were all on their phones.
I checked mine again.
Fuck, where was Ronan?
I hugged myself and tried to just concentrate on breathing.
“We’re good,” the woman who’d let us into the office announced, still looking at her phone. “The police are here.”
My phone vibrated in my hand.
Sledge: Cops are here. Hang tight.
I took a deep, quiet breath and did my best to be patient.
But fuck patience. I wanted out of this windowless room.
It seemed to take for-fucking-ever, but finally, someone knocked at the door, and a male voice called through. “All clear. You can open the door.” It wasn’t a voice I recognized, but hopefully the girl who unlocked the door did. A bouncer was standing outside.
And… Ronan.
The relief that swept through my body was intoxicating. I felt floaty and fucking high, and all I wanted to do was rush to him, so I did, pushing past the other girls. His hand was already out to me.
I took it.
“Get me the hell out of here,” I said, but he was already whisking me away up the hall. He gripped my hand, and it was definitely different than when Andre or Yancy held me.
I was magnetized to his warmth, electrified by his touch on my skin.
Adrenalin buzzed through me, and I clung to him as he guided me through a fire exit door to the back alley. He slipped off his suit jacket and wrapped it around my bare shoulders, and I pressed into him. My coat was inside the venue, but I was hardly going back.
The police were all over the place. There was a squad car in the alley and I could see the red and blue lights flickering all over the distant street. No doubt, they’d be shutting the club down for the rest of the night.
Halfway down the alley, Andre was waiting in our rental car.
I saw Yancy, standing with some people at the mouth of the alley. He headed in our direction with a couple of girls in tow. “Summer—”
“Get the fuck out of the way,” Ronan growled.
He ushered me past, using his body to block Yancy from getting to me. I barely gave him a look, snuggling under Ronan’s jacket. I could talk to Yancy later. But really, my time working with the man was done. I owed him nothing more, personally, at this point. Including my time.
Ronan put me
