“Fucking cat!” he screams. “Attacked me outta nowhere!”
I feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand up as I wonder if he hurt Mr. Whiskers or my sweet neighbor. If he did, I will find a way to get out of this chair and beat the living shit out of him.
“Did you beat it to death?” the other guy asks the man who is sopping up his blood with one of my grandmother’s hand embroidered tea towels.
“No, fucker ran out the door before I could crack its skull.” He continues to curse under his breath, but my eyes are locked on Mr. Nyx’s, and as he realizes I am awake, he pushes up off of the floor and slowly comes toward me.
“Well, well, looky who’s awake.” He picks up a cane that was leaning against the back of my couch, and I can see that it has a smear of dried blood on it. I have to wonder if that’s what I was hit over the head with.
I don’t even want to speak to this asshole, but as he comes over to me, I feel compelled to do so. “What the actual fuck are you doing?” I shout at him. “Why are you tearing my apartment up? And you better not have hurt my neighbor!” I growl at the bleeding man.
“I knew you were a feisty one,” Mr. Nyx says, shaking his head at me as he chuckles. “I knew it the moment I saw you in Hunter’s little club. I thought, that one there has some spirit in her.” He laughs and sets his cane down, folding his arms. I don’t think he needs the cane to walk. I think it’s more of a weapon.
“I don’t have any money here,” I tell him. “If that’s what you’re looking for. Just a couple of hundred bucks.”
“Yes, we found your pocket change,” he says as the guy who is still on the floor knocks a chair over to look beneath it. “It’s nothing compared to the money we’re looking for. We know it’s in this building complex somewhere, so we will find it. One way or another.”
He says those last words in a menacing tone, and I have to wonder if he somehow thinks I have whatever the fuck he’s looking for. “How much money is it?” I ask. “A hundred grand?”
He scoffs at that. “Again, pocket change. No, little girl. Try a hundred million.”
“A hundred mill—” I can’t even finish the words. My mouth is already dry, but when I attempt to finish repeating what I thought I’d heard him say, nothing much comes out.
“Yes, that’s right. And when we find it, we’ll burn this place to the ground. Then we’ll see what happens to you and your fucking dumbass neighbors.” The three of them let out evil, maniacal laughs, and more than ever, I wish I was free so I could hurt them.
“Maybe the little bitch already found it, and she’s moved it somewhere,” the genius with the bloody hand suggests.
“Sure,” I say. “I have a hundred million dollars, and that’s why there’s a fucking safety pin holding up my boot. Wow, you really are as dumb as you look!” I know I’m not in any position to be smarting off to them, but I can’t help it. “Do you really think I’d be living here and working for Hunter at Club Limelight if I had that kind of cash?”
He is coming at me, upset that I called him dumb and insulted his looks, though, in fairness, I can’t imagine anyone’s ever thought of him as a looker. His teeth are the shade of a banana peel, and his hair is so greasy, I think I could squeeze it and then make some French fries if I owned a deep fryer. At the moment, I have one pot, a pan, a cookie sheet, and two spatulas. Yeah, I’m fucking loaded with cash!
“Back it up, Burns,” Mr. Nyx says. “She’s just angry because we beat her over the head and tied her to a chair. She’ll get over it.” He laughs like that’s supposed to be some kind of a fucking joke, and all I want to do is get out of this chair so I can pulverize him.
But I’m not that stupid. There are three of them—grown-ass men, two of which look pretty buff—and while my magical knee has proven I am capable of making men sing the high harmony, I don’t think I’m going to stand a chance against them, even if I do manage to get free.
“So…” I begin, thinking maybe I shouldn’t ask the question that’s about to come out of my mouth. “What happens if you find the money? I mean, besides burning this place to the ground. What about the residents? What about…me?”
Mr. Nyx’s smile grows even snider somehow as he lifts one finger to his throat and slides it across in a motion meant to indicate he will kill us. I swallow hard. That’s what I was afraid of.
“And…if you don’t find it? Then what happens to us?”
With a chuckle, he replies, “Same answer, little girl. Either way, I’m just letting you hang around for a while in case I have any questions. If you haven’t given your soul to the Lord, now would be a good time.”
That makes them all laugh, but all I can do is wonder if there’s any way tht Hunter might sense that something is wrong and come to save me. Could he find out that Mr. Nyx is here, trashing his building? Would one of the residents think to call him or have a chance? Where’s the guy who sits in the front office?
I don’t have any answers, but as they go back to their search, it’s not God I’m calling upon for help. With every fiber of my being, I’m calling out to Hunter. “Please…hear me! Come and help me! Before it’s too late!”
CHAPTER33
HUNTER
Itake a long hard look at myself in the mirror as I get ready to go open the club. I’ve had some time to think about what happened with Meg, how it felt to be with her again, and then I’ve also had time to reflect on the conversation I had with Leah after I admitted to her that I’d fucked the redheaded beauty.
Now, as I straighten my collar and finish fixing my hair, I know exactly what needs to be done. I only hope that Meg is willing to listen to my plan. She’s probably not going to like it at first, but once I explain it to her, hopefully she’ll see the logic, and she’ll understand why it is that I have to fire her.
Sucking in a deep breath, I try to steady the pounding in my chest. I’ll have to be careful about how I choose my words. It won’t do to just blurt it out and tell her she’s fired. Though, part of me would love to mess with her that way, get her all riled up just to see the fire in her eyes, and then tell her I’m firing her so that she can be my girlfriend, that I’ll completely take care of her in every way possible, and she won’t even need to work again.
But part of me wonders if she would ever be content with that. I’ll have to find a way to make her happy. If I just volunteer to provide for her for the rest of her life, she’ll probably tell me where to shove it. No, we’ll come up with a plan together, something that will make both of us happy.