Page 19 (1/1)

With the saotten by the bouncer, we made it past the blue-haired bartender, too, and this ti a hefty tip for herself

The club itself was busier tonight, and I glanced up to the stages where, instead of beads, the dancing girls were adorned only in bright feathery plu to watch, like exotic birds of purple and blue and green

I are of Brook pulling h the crowds, her attention captured by the lures of the h her hand

My eyes darted about, searchingsearching

Max was nowhere to be seen, not on this night I looked for the others, too--his friends who’d spoken in a strange, throaty language--although not for the same reason The o I was too busy hoping Max h theher place on the dance floor

My head felt heavy, but I kneas only the drug bleeding into lance doard at my hand, at the inflamed mark made by the hand sta for the discomfort to pass, but it was suddenly too warlanced toward the entrance--to where the bouncer was raking his licentious gaze over the skin of yet another underage girl--and my stomach lurched Surely there had to be another way outside, a back door

I eased away fro for an exit I wasn’t certain exactly where I was going, but in the opposite direction of the bouncer seeical as I could be at the h the dance floor, findingbodies I looked for Brooklynn, but I couldn’t see her; she seemed to be lost in the sea of faces that surroundedthat I should just find a place to sit and wait it out, this deliriuet away from the chaos

When I reached the other side of the dance floor, I cli to find a doorway that ht lead outside But I saw none

I hesitated for atwo men and a wo and kissing one another The girl’s hair was the color of polished ebony, and it seehts overhead fell upon it One of the men had dyed his spiky hair a brilliant shade of red, while the other’s was golden, curled and soft

The threesome’s actions felt synchronized as they iant s as they tangled and twisted together, until each person became merely an extension of the next

But it was beyond them, just off to the side of the ed at the bottoht size to conceal a doorway I was spurred forward by a sudden need to find out as behind that curtain Thebass

I worried that one of the threesoht try to stop me, as if they were somehow the sentinels of this spot But none of them even seemed aware of my presence, and I slipped easily past theered the edge of the thick fabric, easing it back and trying to peer beyond

Behind it was a black hallway, and with only the dih the sliver of an opening I’d created, it was iet outside, to take a breath of fresh air

I eased through, letting the curtain fall closed behindto see if anyone had noticed htened I wondered as back here, and whether or not I should even be here Surely the curtain was there for a reason

The flashing lights of the club couldn’t find their way beyond the solid black drapery, and my eyes were slow to adjust, but eventually I could make out the floor and the walls and the faint outline of two closed doors When I was certain I hadn’t been discovered, I inched forward, againstone cautious step at a tiainst its wooden surface Fear rose up, chokingthe knob, but it was locked

I exhaled,heavily

Sweat prickled across my upper lip as I moved to the other door, the one at the end of the black corridor This time, I spread my hand over a cool metal surface

This was it, I knew The door I’d been searching for

My fingers fumbled for the knob I tested it, and it turned easily, the latch releasing with a click that I felt rather than heard from above the music behind ripped htly My heart sla a reckless rhythht ashlderiht of the bouncer from the door My dulled mind raced as I willed it to clear, to think faster

"May I help you?" A man’s voice asked I knew inized his sleazy tone But for once, I couldn’t read the intention in it Curiosity? Disbelief? So worsethreat?