Page 5 of Sinners' Appetite
“Nice! I always thought that place had potential! What are your plans with it?”
He rests his elbows on the bar. “I’m in the photography business. I’m setting it up as my studio.”
“That’s awesome!” Just as the words leave my mouth, I look over Sammi’s shoulder and see Justin exiting the club.Finally.
A few hours pass by and the contest comes to an end, which means, I can start cleaning up my side of the bar and head home for the night. We only stay open until twelve and Jeff has a different crew hired for cleanup.
Sammi and Jeremy return to the bar to let me know they’re leaving but I don’t see Malachi with them anymore. I’m sure he found someone to entertain him for the night. Sammi is plastered and somehow has someone else’s shirt on now. She’s a lush and I fucking love her for it.
Once I’m done cleaning up, I let Jeff and Lance know that I’m leaving and grab my bag from the staff room.
“Hey! Do you need me to walk you to your car?” Lance asks before I head out the back door.
“Nah. I should be fine,” I reply. “Thanks though.”
With that, I head out the door with my keys in my hand. It’s dark as fuck back here, so I take my phone out of my pocket and turn on my flashlight. The last thing I need is to trip over something and knock myself out.
I start walking toward my car when I hear something behind me. When I turn to see where the sound came from, I see nothing but a dark figure standing right behind me with something in their hands.A fucking metal pipe.
I should have let Lance walk me out. Fuck.
“Please! I have money, just fucking take it!” I exclaim, reaching into my bag for the wad of cash I have from my tips tonight.
“I don’t want your fucking money, Nikki…”
Justin. He’s been waiting for me this whole time.
Before I can say a word, he motions toward me, lifting the pipe up and swinging it at me before I can duck out of the way.
A surge of pain like nothing I’ve ever felt before hits me all at once and I fall to my knees, unable to make a single sound as my vision starts to fade. Suddenly, I feel extremely tired and can no longer keep my eyes open, despite the agonizing pain shooting through my head.
I can’t believe this is happening. I know better than to come out here alone.
My eyes flicker open one more time before they close again and I see someone else approaching quickly, also dressed in dark clothing.
Justin must have had someone else with him.
I’m fucked.
Iknewtheclubwould be too much for me to handle. The noise was unbearable, so I dismissed myself and slowly walked around the building for a while. I contemplated on taking an uber back to my place, but then I found a rather peaceful spot to sit out back of the club, at a picnic table.
I’ve been scrolling through my phone now for at least an hour and a half, waiting for Jeremy and Sammi. It’s quiet out here though, so I can’t really complain.
Just as I’m about to watch a useless video about hand-made soap, I hear the back door of the club open, so I look over in that direction and see Nikki walking out. I exit the video and text Jeremy, letting him know that I’ll be there in a second to catch a ride with them. Hopefully they didn’t leave already.
Jeremy texts me back right away, saying that they’re still waiting out front and that the uber will be at least another twenty minutes. I start walking in that direction until I hearsomething that makes me turn my head instantly. The distinct sound of a blunt object hitting something, or rather—someone.
The very second I turn around, I see Nikki on the ground and someone standing over her with the pipe in their hands, preparing to hit her again. I bolt through the parking lot as fast as I can and catch the person off guard, grabbing the pipe from their hand as I approach them from behind.
Before the person can even respond, I whack the pipe into the side of their head. They make a loud grunting sound and then fall to the ground, completely motionless while the blood pools beneath their head. When I turn toward Nikki, I see red staining the back of her hair.
“Fuck!” I holler, reaching down to assess her wound. It doesn’t appear to be very deep, but she’ll need to get at least a few stitches and be examined for a possible concussion.
Removing my sweater, I place it under her head and roll her over. To my surprise, her eyes flutter open, but she looks as though she’s in shock.
I have to call 911 right now.
“Nikki… don’t try to move. Stay right here for me.” I check to make sure she’s going to do what I say before walking over to the guy and grabbing hold of his feet, dragging him off behind the dumpster close by. Reaching down, I check for a pulse and when there’s no indication of there being one, I then walk over to the metal pipe and toss it inside.
