Page 118 of Sweet Temptation

Gun.

The screams and shouts got scary-real.

Somewhere behind me, a male voice boomed. “TAKE THE GIRLS IN BACK.”

I looked back over my shoulder. A bouncer was holding the door open behind me and a couple of cocktail waitresses stumbled through. The lights flickered on around the club as someone started hitting switches.

There was some kind of violent brawl going on over by the front entrance of the club. The bouncers were descending on it, en masse.

That was all I could see before I lost sight of the club.

Andre ushered me down the hallway, holding me close to his big body. There were a bunch of other people rushing through the hall, staff, mostly. There was some confusion as a couple of male staff charged by, yelling at us to stay the fuck inside, and the mood got more panicky. No one seemed to know which way to go.

“Over here!”

We turned to find a woman in a black shirt with the bar logo on it calmly opening a door with a set of keys. She threw it open and the cocktail waitresses hurried inside.

Andre and I locked eyes.

Then he steered me right over to the door and stuffed me inside the room. “Stay here,” I heard him say in my ear.

I was in an office, and more girls crowded in behind me.

Andre was gone.

A bouncer leaned in to grab the door. “Stay inside until we come get you,” he barked. Then he left, shutting the door.

One of the girls locked it behind him.

I was standing in a small, crowded office with a bunch of female bar staff. It was weirdly quiet as everyone seemed to hold a collective breath, looking at one another for help that wasn’t coming.

Where was Ronan?

“Does someone have a gun? I heard someone say there was gun,” one of the girls said, looking from face to face.

“I don’t hear anything,” the woman who’d opened the door for us said. She was on her phone, typing, and didn’t look up.

One of the waitresses was still carrying a tray with drinks on it. She set it down on the desk and said, “Holy shit.”

Yeah. Holy shit was right.

But there were no gunshots. Surely we’d hear that, even back here.

I tried to listen for sounds from the club, but the blood thumping through my body was too loud; I could hear it beating in my ears, even as I stood stock-still. I just kept repeating Andre’s words in my head.

Stay calm.

My hands were trembling as I pulled out my phone to text Ronan… and found a text from Sledge.

Sledge: Where are you? I’m outside. They won’t let me back in.

Me: Back office. What’s happening?

He didn’t reply right away. I texted Ronan.

Me: Where are you? Are you ok?

Then someone started crying. I glanced over at the girl; her friend put an arm around her. The girl in tears looked maybe twenty.

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