Page 69 of Escape From Me

“Announce the Arcane,” Zeid said to the bartender, and I saw him head to the end of the bar where someone else dressed in a similar black tux stood. The bartender whispered something, and the guy nodded and nearly ran to the other side of Enigma.

“Lady, you are no longer needed. Please enjoy the rest of the show.”

I wasn’t sure what that meant until I saw two new females walking out of a door I hadn’t noticed previously. It was harder to see every detail in the dark lighting. All the spotlights remained on the art while the rest of Enigma was plunged in shadows, and as cool as that was, I guess I’d missed details.

Still, the girls were mesmerizing in fishnets, heels, and shiny black fabric not hiding much. Two men followed. Bare chests and nothing but some tight black pants. Background music I hadn’t much noticed over the anger of watching Zeid with that woman changed.

The song started with the words “Welcome to the show.” A beat filled the entire place and it seemed to draw the elite rich pricks to the center. From the bar it was easier to see there were more of the fabric sling things and shiny poles than I’d seen before. The little stage that sat in the center of the room was surrounded by them and they seemed to be more like stripper poles as the guys grabbed them and did a slow circle, waiting for the women to join.

“Do not move,” Zeid said as he stepped aside. I noticed the bartender come closer again. I saw a flash of red and went to turn my head to see if it was Rylee or Cali, but I nearly fell over.

The world shifted in that second. What the hell? I blinked, but the world didn’t clear.

A hand behind me gripped my hip and pulled me in that direction.

“You’re quite beautiful, but something about you seems familiar.”

Right, my dad was there. Eww. But that eww factor was slow to surface. I felt a bit like I was swimming. What had been in that damn drink?

“Where’s your wife?” I asked.

His fingers dug deep into my hip.

“That’s of no concern. I could ask you the same thing about a husband.. Both of us have rings and no one on our arm. No one comes to the Arcane Alchemist just for the art.”

That was news to me, but so was the fact my dad could notice rings and not that I was his fucking daughter. The room tilted again.

“Miss?”

The bartender hopped over the bar in one leap.

“Excuse me, sir. You will be escorted out. Our glasses have a special coating that can detect drugs. Ketamine to be specific. You’ll be blacklisted.”

Ketamine? What was that? The bartender reached for me, but my father seemed to find a better grip. That, or I wasn’t able to hold up my own weight.

He started to back away.

“I suggest you don’t touch me unless you want this place to lose all respect from decent society.”

A few more steps backward and I was losing all control of my feet. Still my father tried to drag me. Until he didn’t.

A voice I recognized came from behind me.

“If you want to keep your head on your shoulders, I suggest letting her go.”

I tried to fight the weight of my own head, but I couldn’t seem to get a glance at Zeiden. Still, it didn’t seem to matter, because suddenly there was a lot of black around me, like suited bodies blocking us from the rest of the place.

The rest of the night, or maybe it was minutes, came in and out of focus. Someone grabbing me, holding me tightly. Zeiden. I was positive as I breathed in that musky male scent.

The next time I opened my eyes we were in a concrete room, and I swear I heard someone scream. But after that, I just let my heavy lids close and enjoyed whatever peace I was getting.

TWENTY-NINE

zeiden

“How long doesit take for this shit to wear off? She only took a sip.”

The doctor, our doctor, had come shortly after I’d gotten hold of him. I had him meet us in one of the private rooms at the nightclub next to Enigma.

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