550 vouchers
After the guys left, we didn’t stay upstairs for long. We put on a romantic comedy, and by the time it was over we were all too restless to sit around in Logan’s apartment.
We grabbed the empty pizza boxes and headed downstairs. The bar felt louder now, even though a big chunk of the club was gone.
Scarlett poured us shots, and the tequila burned down my throat as we tried to drink our worries away. Ruby turned up the music, and we laughed as she dragged Ledger out onto the makeshift dance floor.
Hours passed that way. We drank more, danced more, tried to pretend everything was normal. But the tension was still there. It wasn’t going anywhere.
The room gradually got more and more smoky as the night wore on. The front door stayed locked, as per Jake’s orders, so no one was taking their chain–smoking outside.
Around lam, Ledger’s phone rang. I watched his face turn grim as he listened to whatever was being said to him. “That was Prez,” he said when he hung up. “It’s goin‘ well. They want us to stay alert.”
He glanced around the room as he spoke, but his eyes landed on me and stuck there for a few seconds before moving on.
That felt great. Really great.
And then at 2am, one of the prospects, a kid named Leo, left his post by the door. He made his way toward Ledger, who was sitting with us at the bar.
“Hey man, there’s a car,” he said shakily. “It just pulled in… Black sedan, blacked out windows. Looks mean.”
The room went silent. Ruby turned the music down, and a bunch of us headed to the windows, pulling the curtains aside just enough to peek out.
The sedan was there, parked at the far end of the lot, engine idling. Even the windshield was tinted, impossible to see who was inside.
“Maybe they’re lost,” Ruby muttered. It didn’t sound like even she believed it.
I stared at the car and my gut twisted into a knot. Something definitely felt wrong.
Mason pulled out his gun. “Enough of this shit,” he muttered. “I’m blowin‘ the tires out.”
“No,” Ledger said, his hand shooting out to stop him. “We don’t know who’s in there. Could be cops.”
“Could be Russians,” Abby whispered next to me.
For a minute or two we just stood there, silent and tense, watching. But it didn’t move. No one got out. There was only the faint puff of exhaust curling into the cold night air.
Then, just as Mason started to raise his gun, the sedan rolled slowly forward. It turned in a wide arc, the headlights sweeping
across the lot.
“Get down!” Ledger yelled.
We all dropped to the floor. Except for Mason, who clicked his safety back on and holstered his gun. “They’re leaving,” he murmured.
20.40 Sat, Jan 3
Chapter 79
Chapter 79
-Hailey
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After the guys left, we didn’t stay upstairs for long. We put on a romantic comedy, and by the time it was over we were all too restless to sit around in Logan’s apartment.
We grabbed the empty pizza boxes and headed downstairs. The bar felt louder now, even though a big chunk of the club
was gone.
Scarlett poured us shots, and the tequila burned down my throat as we tried to drink our worries away. Ruby turned up music, and we laughed as she dragged Ledger out onto the makeshift dance floor.
Hours passed that way. We drank more, danced more, tried to pretend everything was normal. But the tension was still there. It wasn’t going anywhere.
the
The room gradually got more and more smoky as the night wore on. The front door stayed locked, as per Jake’s orders, so no one was taking their chain–smoking outside.
Around lam, Ledger’s phone rang. I watched his face turn grim as he listened to whatever was being said to him. “That was Prez,” he said when he hung up. “It’s goin‘ well. They want us to stay alert.”
He glanced around the room as he spoke, but his eyes landed on me and stuck there for a few seconds before moving on.
That felt great. Really great.
And then at 2am, one of the prospects, a kid named Leo, left his post by the door. He made his way toward Ledger, who was sitting with us at the bar.
“Hey man, there’s a car,” he said shakily. “It just pulled in… Black sedan, blacked out windows. Looks mean.”
The room went silent. Ruby turned the music down, and a bunch of us headed to the windows, pulling the curtains aside just enough to peek out.
The sedan was there, parked at the far end of the lot, engine idling. Even the windshield was tinted, impossible to see who was inside.
“Maybe they’re lost,” Ruby muttered. It didn’t sound like even she believed it.
I stared at the car and my gut twisted into a knot. Something definitely felt wrong.
Mason pulled out his gun. “Enough of this shit,” he muttered. “I’m blowin‘ the tires out.”
“No,” Ledger said, his hand shooting out to stop him. “We don’t know who’s in there. Could be cops.”
“Could be Russians,” Abby whispered next to me.
For a minute or two we just stood there, silent and tense, watching. But it didn’t move. No one got out. There was only the faint puff of exhaust curling into the cold night air.
Then, just as Mason started to raise his gun, the sedan rolled slowly forward. It turned in a wide arc, the headlights sweeping
across the lot.
“Get down!” Ledger yelled.
We all dropped to the floor. Except for Mason, who clicked his safety back on and holstered his gun. “They’re leaving,” he murmured.
20:46 Sat, Jan 3
Chapter 79
The room was silent, all eyes on him. He leaned forward in his chair. “Black sedan showed up here wowed tem Yere the lot, didn’t move for a while.”
My stomach twisted.
“Probably the Russians,” he continued. “Guess it could’ve been cops. Could’ve been a damn Uber drives for sti Anyway, no one got out. They circled the lot once and drove off
His words landed on me like an anvil. Unease slithered up my spine. At 2am, the Russians had only knows my name f hour. It took them less than an hour to find the clubhouse and pull some weird intimidation budiabé
Fuck.
“Your night,” Ledger said, pulling me out of my head. “What happened?”
Jake cleared his throat, leaning forward. “We grabbed a guard,” he said. “Managed to get somethin‘ out of him before we p him down. They got a warehouse over in Burnsville. Don’t know if Anatoly’s there or not. Viktor’s booking into i
Chairs creaked around the room as everyone took in the news.
“For now,” he continued, pushing his chair out and standing. “We’re closing the gates. Lockin‘ this place down tighter that Fort Knox. No one leaves in their cuts. No citizens allowed in. Not until we figure out our next move”
I leaned back in my chair, jaw clenched.
Those Russian fucks were already testing the doors.
It was a matter of time before they realized who I’d burn the world down to protect
曲
Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
