Page 60 of Fangs and Fudge

“Give him the adult store excuse, or he’ll never leave you alone.”

Me: Won’t be able to hear you. Give me 20 minutes.

Hopefully, that would be enough to get him to stop hounding me. While I knew his reason for tracking me came out of safety, I should be allowed to go somewhere without him knowing every detail.

This was one of those times.

“We should have dressed up,” Vena said, eyeing all the club girls in the long line. “I bet those bouncers only let in the pretty people.”

“We were asked to come here,” I said. “Let’s see if we’re on the list.”

Vena skipped the line, which elicited angry responses from the people waiting.

“Maybe we should wait,” I said.

“We don’t have time.”

She pulled me with her to the bouncer, who looked as big as some of the guys at Blur. He took one look at us and said, “Back of the line.”

“We were told to meet people here,” Vena said.

“Don’t care. Back of the line.”

“If you have a list, look at it,” she said.

With an annoyed huff, the guy reached around him and grabbed a tablet. “Name.”

“Everly and Vena.”

He glanced up at us, really looking this time, and set the tablet aside.

“Arms up. Feet apart,” he ordered.

He felt for weapons on both of us before grabbing the red rope barrier and letting us inside. “Go to the VIP lounge. Back of the house.” On our way to the door, I heard him radio, “They’re here. White shirts, black skirts.”

The loud music that thumped through the speakers greeted us through the door, followed by a thick crowd that didn’t give way. Vena had to push through, which was no easy task. This late, clubbers were already drunk and dancing. A man sloshed a drink, spilling it on my shoes.

“There has to be a better way,” I yelled over the music.

If Vena heard me, she didn’t stop to reply. We continued through to the dance floor, getting gyrated on by several men and a few women before we reached the other side. I smelled like sweat and alcohol.

We stopped at the roped entrance to the VIP lounge where another bouncer stood. He gave us a once-over. “Names.”

“Vena and Everly,” Vena said.

He let us through to a staircase that led to a loft. I hadn’t been nervous before, due to the crowd, but as soon as my foot hit the first step, my stomach churned. We had no idea who was up there or what they wanted. We had one knife and no muscle. I felt like we were walking into Juicy all over again and we were going to die this time.

I grabbed Vena’s hand. “This isn’t a good idea.”

CHAPTER TEN

“This place is full of humans,” Vena said. “Look around. Not a fae or dwarf in sight. And the muscle isn’t the furred variety. Plus, this is a weapon-free zone. We’ll be okay.”

Her words were calm and reassuring, but her sweaty hand as she pulled me up the stairs said something else.

At the top, we opened the door to a glassed-off room. Comfortable black leather couches lined the three walls, and groups of chairs took up the middle of the VIP lounge. The music was muffled, giving the people in the room a reprieve from the deafening speakers.

Most of them had turned to look at us when we’d entered. Vena confidently scanned the room.

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