Page 47 of Cruel Devil

Vito walks right to the front of the line, cocking his head to call aside one of the bouncers. There’s a quick exchange of words, cash, and a pat on the shoulder before my cousin turns and beckons me to follow him inside. We’re in a wide passage illuminated by The Foundry’s neon logo on one wall and a series of lightboxes showcasing upcoming DJs and events on the other.

“Impressive,” I mutter. “It’s like they just let you walk in.”

He gives me a sour look. “They felt sorry for you when I told them you were mugged.”

“Jesus.” The noise of the club slams into me as a third bouncer opens the club’s main door for us. I tilt my head in the direction of the bar, and Vito follows as I make a beeline for it.

The amount of eyes on us is insane. I can feel people tracking me, even in the erratic lighting of the strobes, the dim area between the bar and the dance floor. I make as if I’m going to the restroom, pulling up short just in front of the passage.

“Clear?”

Vito turns as if he’s trying to find someone in the crowd. “As good as it’ll ever be, I guess.”

“Stand guard.”

“Savage—”

“Your job was to get me through the door.”

His face hardens, but he doesn’t come after me when I dart down the passage. It’s darker here than out there, perhaps to discourage party goers wandering inside. So dark, in fact, I wouldn’t be surprised to find a couple making out against the wall.

Thankfully, the passage is empty. The doors are all closed and marked.

OFFICE

STOREROOM

There’s an unmarked door that opens when I turn the handle.

“Bingo.”

I slip inside, quietly closing the door behind me. It’s pitch black, but I’m hoping this is just an anteroom to a space deeper inside the club where Nyx is waiting.

My first clue should have been the fog of chemicals and stale beer. As soon as I reach out a hand and feel the dried strands of a spaghetti mop, I take out my phone and turn on the screen.

I’m in a fucking broom closet.

The office is locked, as is the storeroom. But neither need a keypad, so all it takes is a hard shove with Vito’s switchblade jammed into the lock for them to spring open.

There’s no one inside either room.

“She’s gone,” I tell Vito as I step out of the passage.

Vito looks up at the glowing red EXIT sign above our heads. “I mean, Andy could have gotten it wrong. It’s pretty dark, maybe?—“

“She’s not here anymore.”

How can I explain to my cousin that I didn’t need physical proof? That I sensed Nyx slipping through my fingers back in the Expedition before Andy was tossed out the club?

It’s not the first time I’ve had this feeling, this ephemeral sensation of loss, before realizing it wasn’t just my imagination, but something deeper.

He watches me and then looks away quickly, jaw clenching. “They smuggle her out in a disguise or something?”

I shake my head. She didn’t leave via the entrance, not with me watching. And unless Matias turned a blind eye, I’m pretty sure she didn’t leave out the back.

“Service entrances?”

Another shake of my head. “Not according to the blueprints.”

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