I say a prayer of thanks in my head when I see that the queue for the ladies is not that long. After relieving my bladder, I touch up my lipstick and head back outside to find the girls but I stop in my tracks when a dark shadow falls over me and I look up to find the two guys from earlier that Ems had insisted were staring at me.
“Hey guys, can I squeeze past,” I say, feigning a bravery I do not feel inside.
They both stand shoulder to shoulder, blocking my path. The one with the tattoo on his neck shakes his head. “Someone wants a word with you.”
My heart hammers in my chest. How do I get myself out of this? “And who might that be?” I ask, keeping my tone casual.
The other one with the dark brown hair grabs my arm just below the elbow and drags me down the dark corridor away from the club.
“Get your hands off me!” I hiss, pulling and trying to get free. He doesn’t budge though, and we get closer and closer to a door that I fear will take us outside and away from the safety of the club. The metal door pushes open and we’re in a small alleyway up the side of the club, littered with large bins and empty cardboard boxes. My heart stills in my chest when they pull me towards a car, with its door open. I dig my heels into the ground and go to scream, but the tattooed guy places a hand over my mouth, silencing me as I’m bundled into the car. The door is swiftly closed behind me and I look around me in panic. My eyes land on a man, sitting opposite me in a leather jacket and jeans. He has dark piercing eyes and a wicked scar above his left eye. I swallow, I’d never met Danny Doyle, but I know without a doubt that this is who is sitting across from me. He raps his knuckles on the window and whoever is driving the car pulls off and my eyes widen in panic.
“What are you doing? Let me out of this car now!” I frantically try the door, but it is of course locked.
“Everly Taylor. That is your name, isn’t it?”
I sit up straight in my seat and raise my chin, feigning a bravery I do not feel inside. “Depends whose asking?”
Danny smiles. “I think you know perfectly well who I am, so let’s skip the games. Your little boyfriend owes me money.”
I hesitate, unsure whether to admit I know who he is talking about or not. “And who exactly do you think is my boyfriend?”
Danny’s eyes narrow. “Why Tyler Kingston, of course.”
I fold my arms across my chest as a defence mechanism. “Tyler isn’t my boyfriend. I’m not sure who told you he is, but they’re wrong.”
Danny pulls out his phone and scrolls across the screen with his finger. “So this isn’t you?”
I lean slightly forward and look at his screen. My eyes widen when I see a photo of Tyler and I standing close together, he’s looking down at me with a look on his face that smacks of desire and want. It was taken the night when I first went home and we’d gone to the house party with Courtney. I compose myself and lean back in my seat.
“Like I said, he’s not my boyfriend. Ty is a friend and nothing more. I have a boyfriend, his name is Grayson. Check my phone if you don’t believe me.”
Danny studies my face for a few seconds before he replies. “Makes no difference. It’s clear from the photo, that you two are close, so I’m sure he wouldn’t want anything bad to happen to you.”
A shiver runs down my spine, making the hairs on my arms stand to attention. “He doesn’t have the money.”
“Then he’d better find it quick.” He holds his hands out to me. “Your phone princess, now.”
Grayson
I finish the last of my drink and head down to the dance floor to find my girl. She looks hot tonight in those tight trousers and that top that shows off her tits. I mean, she always looks stunning, but tonight even more so. I weave my way through the crowded dance floor until I find the girls, but Manchester isn’t with them.
“Where is she?” I shout into Izzy’s ear.
Izzy leans into me. “She went to the ladies a while ago. I’d presumed she was with you.”
I frown. “Can you check the ladies?”
Izzy nods and she shouts into Ems ear before we leave her and Courtney to go and look for Ev.
I follow Izzy to the toilets and hang around outside. A blonde comes out of the toilets looking a little worse for wear and she lingers when she spots me outside. Her eyes drink me in from head to toe. Don’t waste your energy, darling, I think to myself. I avert my eyes and she gets the message and stumbles down the corridor back to the busy club.
The door bangs open and Izzy comes back out, shaking her head. “She’s not in there. Maybe she’s at the bar.”
“You go check out the bar and I’ll head back to our booth in case she’s made it over there while we were looking for her.”
Izzy nods and we head off in different directions. Something doesn’t feel right. I don’t believe in all that intuition crap, but there is a niggling feeling in my gut that something is wrong. My stomach sinks when I spot our booth and see that she isn’t there.
“Hey Dom, has Ev been back over here?”
Dom looks up, cutting off his conversation with Jake and Owen, and shakes his head. “No mate. Is everything okay?”
I run a hand through my hair and shrug my shoulders. “Yeah, I just can’t find Manchester anywhere.”
Dom must see my concern as he stands to his feet and offers to come and help look for her. Izzy
