Page 28 of Soulless Angel

Cash rolled his eyes, stepping forward to give Jet a hard shove. “This is about the guy Lyra is seeing? What the fuck is wrong with you, man? Give me a damn break.”

The maniacal laughter that came from Jet made me tense. He slapped his thigh before pointing at Cash. “You of all people have no room to judge me. I know you guys killed Zane so you could have Clover all to yourselves. Bit hypocritical, don’t you think?”

My jaw dropped. How did he know about that? Maybe he was taking a wild guess.

Cash didn’t bother to deny the accusation. “He was hurting Clover. He had to be stopped.”

“Yeah, well, this guy is moving in on my turf. We had a little chat yesterday when I ran into him on campus. I told him to stay away from Lyra or I would kill him. He told me to go fuck myself. He was warned. What happens next is on him. Now are you going to help me, or am I going to post your girl on every porn site I can find?”

A bang from behind the building made my head turn. I couldn’t see back there from where we were out front. The guys were too intent on their conversation to notice.

Curiosity got the best of me. Leaving them to argue, I crept around the building, making my way to the back. This side of the building was where the restricted area was located. The rear entry must lead right into it.

Doing my best to keep quiet, I peeked around the corner of the building. My breath came faster when I saw what was going on. Somehow I managed not to shriek.

Two men carried out a heavy blanket the size and shape of a wrapped body. One of them almost fumbled his end, getting bitched at by the other.

“We have to hurry,” one man snapped. “If we don’t get there on time, the organs will be useless. I’m not losing another payday because of incompetence.”

“Yeah, yeah,” said the other guy. “We’ll get there in time. The drop isn’t that far from here. Don’t get your panties in a twist.”

Organs? They were harvesting organs from those they killed on camera? This had just taken another dark turn. Did the Sinners know about that part?

I did my best to get a good look at each man. It wasn’t easy in the dark. The nearest streetlight was several yards away. Themen worked in the shadows, hurrying the body into the back of a van they’d pulled up near the back exit.

Deciding that I’d seen enough, I took a step back, cringing when my heel came down on a piece of broken glass. Fuck me.

“Did you hear that?” asked the first man.

“Hear what?”

“I think there’s someone over there. Let’s check it out.”

Shit. I couldn’t go back the way I’d come. It would lead them right to Cash and Jet. I had mere seconds to make a choice. Wishing I hadn’t worn heels so high, I pushed away from the building and ran like hell toward the street. Lights, traffic, and the occasional late night business were my only hope of finding safety.

I had a slight head start when the men rounded the corner and spotted me. One of them shouted at me to stop. Hell no.

Their shoes hit the ground hard as they chased me. I flashed back to being chased down by Brady and his companions. My stomach rolled, but adrenaline kept me moving. Somehow, even the heels didn’t slow me down.

I reached the street, darting across into traffic. A car jerked to a stop moments before hitting me. The driver shouted obscenities out the window. I didn’t care. All that mattered was getting away.

Safely on the opposite sidewalk, I raced down the street, looking for an open place of business. The men had been delayed by the traffic as they sought to cross after me. Unfortunately, they were still in pursuit.

I came across a restaurant and lounge that was still open. Hoping they didn’t see me come inside, I entered the building and almost collapsed. Entering the lounge, I moved away from the entry, ready to scream for help if they came inside.

They didn’t. I watched them through the window as they ran right past. Relief buckled my knees. I sat heavily at an unoccupied table, struggling to catch my breath.

I didn’t think it could get any worse than dark web snuff film content. It just had.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CLOVER

I waited for what felt like eons until I saw the men pass by the restaurant again on their way back to the club. A waitress had come to take my order. Since I didn’t have any cash or cards on me, I had to politely decline. Now she was at the bar giving me the stink eye. I needed to leave.

If I’d had Cash’s number memorized, I’d have called him to pick me up. Since I was a lazy participant of the smartphone movement, I didn’t know it. Shame on me. I made a note to memorize everyone’s number as soon as I got back to my phone.

Once I was sure the men had to have left with their body in the van, I left the restaurant and made my way back to Paradise. Several times I jumped at little sounds in the shadows, wary of anyone walking down the street. Thankfully, the club wasn’t too far away.

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