Page 106 of Diem

After stopping off at my house for a change of clothes and eating a meal at the diner down the block, we finally head out to Fight Club.

It’s hopping when we arrive. A quick scan confirms Diem, and the guys aren’t here to my relief, but I do spy the scary fucker who apparently goes by the name Hate.

Penny glances around with narrowed eyes which frankly scares the shit out of me. I want to find Dixie’s killer too but I’m not keen on dying trying.

“What now?” I mutter as she pushes through the crowd.

“Look,” she says when we reach a gap in the masses. “Dixie mentioned Fight Club to that guy she was talking to online.”

“So?”

Her brows flap over her eyes, and I silently sigh. Jesus, Dixie did you have an entirely separate life?

“So, she met someone here. I think she was teasing him, trying to make him jealous by meeting up with another guy. We find the guy; we find more answers.”

This is starting to sound really freaking convoluted. “So, we’re looking for a guy who Dixie might have met…here?”

I spot Bone across the way and wave. Where has he been recently?

She sighs and I rub my brow. “Penny…”

“Look, you didn’t have to come.”

“Yes, I did. Because this is dangerous. What if whoever is the killer? What if you get too close?”

Her mouth curls into a frown and she eyes me before saying, “Okay, I get it. We’ll be more careful.”

Right. Is there any such thing? Fuck me. But before I can comment or, I don’t know, talk some sense into her, she tosses over her shoulder as she stalks off, “Wait here.”

I watch her go with a frown before a shadow falls over me and the gorgeous but really fucking scary dude called Hate says, “You again? Where’s McCafferty?”

Looking up, I swallow because seeing him the second time around is no less scary. “I don’t know,” I say, and he raises a thick blond brow.

“He know you’re here?”

Injecting a confidence, I don’t feel around this bad ass prick, I meet his bright blue gaze and say, “He’s not my keeper.”

His resulting smirk burns my sternum and I glower when he says, “He know that?”

My mouth sours at his amusement but I’m fresh out of conversation and say on a whim, “Whatever, you seen Kenny around?”

I figure now is as good a time as any to ask. Diem isn’t here and if anyone knows what’s going on, it has to be this dude.

It’s a long shot and maybe I’m barking up the wrong tree, but we never truly ruled out this Kenny. Based on Dixie’s secret life, it’s entirely likely she was messing with all kinds of crazy shit.

Hate eyes me strangely and I widen my eyes, hoping to hide my unease as he says, “What do you want with him?”

“Nothing. We have business to discuss.”

He chuffs and rubs his mouth. “Whatever. Your funeral. He’s out back.”

With that, he stalks away, and I look toward the hall. Should I? What if I’m doing exactly what I just warned Penny not to?

If I don’t do this, then I’m still stuck in the dark. I’ll just poke my head out and see what’s what.

Resolved, I walk down the hall, passing the line for the women’s restroom before I push the back door open slowly. It’s dark out here with nothing but a streetlamp to light the area.

I don’t see anyone though and I’m just about to turn back when I hear a shrill scream. My hand slips from the door and I stumble down the steps, staring at the side of the building.

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