Once I’m cleared, I slowly make my way to the nearest bar. The interior is filled with blue lights and steel. A crowd is starting to form on the main dance floor.
When the bartender glances at me, I say, “A bottle of water.”
He nods and removes the cap before handing me the bottle. After I’ve paid, I take a sip as my gaze roves over all the people. Slowly, I make my way to the back of the club, and taking note of where the emergency exit is, I head back toward the dance floor.
After a couple of minutes of watching the clubbers, I spot a dealer exchanging drugs for cash, and I move in his direction. When he’s done, I follow him up a set of stairs to a lounge area.
The moment my eyes land on Rudaj, I feel the tension ease a little, and I slip into work mode. He has two other men with him and four women.
My heartbeat slows down, and I focus solely on my target.
I walk to the bar and position myself, so my back is to the table where Rudaj is. Slowly, I sip on the water.
Ten minutes have passed with no one moving from the table, and my muscles begin to tense.
When the time begins to creep close to my thirty minutes being up, worry skirts around the edges of my mind.
I shouldn’t have stopped Hailey when I spotted her outside the restaurant.
Fuck.
I feel movement behind me, and I casually glance toward the table. Rudaj gets up with one of the girls he was sitting with, and they head down a hallway. They pass the restrooms and walk into a room near the end of the hallway.
I wait a minute, so it’s not obvious I’m following Rudaj before calling the bartender over to me. “Throw this away.”
He nods, and I watch as he disposes of the empty bottle before I head in the direction of the restrooms. I pause outside the door and glance over my shoulder to make sure none of his men noticed. Darting forward to the last door, I’m relieved when it opens. If it was locked, I would’ve had to wait even longer or break it down.
The moment I step into the room, Rudaj’s head snaps to me where he’s about to get his dick sucked by the girl. I shut the door, and not sparing the woman a glance, my vision zeroes in on the target as I move forward.
“Fuck off,” he growls at me, but then his face goes lax when recognition sets in. “Fuck.” He shoves the girl away from him and holds his hands up in a surrendering motion. “I can pay more.”
That’s not how it works.
The instant I lunge for him, Rudaj darts away from me. Not that there’s anywhere for him to go. He realizes this and turns on me, pulling a knife from his pocket.
That makes my job easier.
He tries to lunge at me, but I move around him. My arm wraps around his neck, and grabbing hold of his right hand, I force it up and plunge the blade into his neck. I repeat the action three more times before I let go of him and step back. His body drops to the floor, and with weakening fingers, he fumbles with the knife.
The woman’s still on her knees, her face drawn with horror. When she opens her mouth, I shake my head, the look I’m giving her clearly stating if she screams, I’ll kill her.
She quickly covers her mouth with both her hands, and then I look down at Rudaj and make sure he takes his last breath before I rush out of the room. Not wasting time, I break out into a run. I’m halfway down the stairs when the woman alerts everyone upstairs Rudaj has been killed.
When I push through the crowd, I glance back and see Rudaj’s men hurrying down the stairs. I shove people out of my way and bursting out of the club, I run faster than I’ve ever had to, knowing if they follow me, it will place Hailey in danger.
That’s if she hasn’t left. The thirty minutes are up, and hopefully, she listened to me, and she’s safely on her way back to Saint Luc’s.
Running down a street, the men are not far behind me, and I come to a dead stop.
The SUV is parked right around the corner. I can’t risk Hailey.
Turning to face them, I brace myself for a fight. My muscles tighten, and in a split-second, I size them up. The smaller of the two moves with confidence. He’s trained. I need to take him out first.
“Carson?” I hear Hailey call behind me, and the blood drains from my face.
Hailey.
I glance over my shoulder, and the sight of her standing at the end of the street sends a deathly chill through my body.