Clouds of thick smoke float overhead as my attention comes to the man at the head of the table. The first word my mind can conjure up is that he’s enormous. Unlike the rest of the men here, donning the same leather jackets with a slogan on the back, he’s wearing a shirt with the sleeves rolled up, a few buttons undone at the neck. Tattoo’s cover his thick muscular arms as he listens to one of the men speaking, occasionally lifting his hand to suck the end of a cigar. Silver runs through his blond hair, the same color as the ash falling onto the table.
Eventually, his stone-cold eyes swing our way, as if he were purposefully drawing out noticing our arrival. “You’re late.”
“I-I’m sorry,” Nicole says meekly, something he doesn’t seem impressed with. When he stands, I crush her hand, a grin spreading over his lips as he moves around the table—something I least expect from such a brutal-looking person. Everyone else has gone quiet now, all eyes on us.
“You look like someone who doesn’t have what they owe.” His voice is deep and menacing, the closer he gets to us.
Nicole shakes her head. “No.”
“That’s not good enough.”
“I…I know,” she replies, her voice shaking. She’s scared of this man, and for a good reason, as he looks like someone straight from a nightmare. “But I do have something else that might interest you… a-as payment.”
Tilting his head to the side, he holds her stare for a moment before his gaze finally settles on me. And I want more than anything for the ground to swallow me. He laughs. “You shouldn’t have.”
He goes to turn away, but Nicole steps forward bravely. “Please, Blake. It’s all I have.”
Peering back, he eyes me again and sighs with frustration. A hand then slips into my free one, and a gasp flies out of my mouth. “Come with me,” the guy who answered the door says, offering a strained smile I think to try and relax me, only it far from works. “I’ll get you a drink.”
“N-No—” Nicole’s nails dig into my hand. I cry out as she glares at me. Do as he says. “Nicole?”
The moment she lets go of my hand, he pulls me away. She doesn’t look at me as he takes me into another room adjoining this one, slamming the door closed behind us and blocking my view of her.
Panic flows through me as I frantically peer around the room. It’s big and spacious—a bedroom with a king-sized bed covered in dark purple sheets. Nothing much else. A few bits of furniture. A table with a lamp. A worn rug—
“Come over here,” the guy says, an undercurrent of pity in his tone. Or is it boredom? Bringing me over to the bed, he sits me down, and my legs quake as he kneels in front of me.
“What’s going on?” I question. “What does she owe?”
Not saying anything, he instead lifts his hand and flicks a curl from my face. After a second, his hand drops, and he swears under his breath. “Do you know why you’re here?”
“Nicole said it was a party.”
“You know it’s not, right?” My heart sinks so deep I might be sick. I know this isn’t a party now and that Nicole’s in some sort of trouble. “What’s your name?”
“Heidi,” I answer. “I don’t want trouble. Can I please go home?”
“Not tonight.” He stands. “Stay here while I get you that drink…You’re going to fucking need it.”
Turning, he walks out of the room, leaving me on the bed. Tears burn my eyes as his words echo inside my head.
Not tonight.
Chapter Five
Four Years Ago
As soon as he’s gone, I’m off the bed and running for the door. “No,” I gasp when it doesn’t open. I’m locked inside. Why has he locked me inside?
Pressing my ear against the wood, desperate to hear Nicole’s voice and hoping she hasn’t left me here, the sounds are incoherent, but I do catch the words money and snow.
I can’t tell if Nicole is still there or not. Maybe they wanted me out of the way so they could talk privately, and this is a stop before we go to the real party. Surely when she said friends, she didn’t mean these people. Maybe—
My thoughts trail off, something bitter and cold wrapping around my throat. Curling my arms around my body, I know deep down Nicole meant to bring me here. I wish I knew why.
Footsteps behind the door pull me from my thoughts. Stumbling back as the lock clicks, the guy comes back inside, lips pulled tautly, and eyes obscured with something I can’t name.
Shoving his hair out of his face, he pushes a glass filled with something dark at me. “Drink it. All of it.”
“What is it?” My hand trembles so severely, some of the liquid sloshes over the rim. He glares at me, and it’s enough to send a shot of fear through my stomach. Bringing the glass to my nose, I cough when strong fumes burn my nostrils, the smell of it awful.
“If you know what’s good for you, you’ll drink it.” There’s a warning in his words, and I’m afraid to say no. That he’ll hurt me if I don’t do as he says.
Lifting the glass to my lips, I take a sip. Rolling his eyes with impatience, he puts his hand on the bottom of the glass and forcibly tilts it back until I have no choice but to drink all of it or let it spill down my front. The taste makes me gag and lights a fire down to my stomach. While I fight the urge to vomit, he takes the glass from me and pushes me back to sit on the bed.
“Where’s Nicole?” I hiccup. “Will we be able to go after she’s finished talking?”
He sighs. “I told you, you’re not going
