Page 13 of Five
“Kitty, what is he talking about?” I hear a confused KKJ ask Ollie.
“He can tell you as a bedtime story,” I say, while lifting and turning as I pull down my jeans. “Any advice to give me before I get there?”
“Not giving you any advice just so you can twist it to suit your own warped worldview!” Ollie replies.
“You’re right! No planning. Planning blows!” I move the side mirror toward me and start to apply the eyeliner and lipstick.
“And you twisted my words anyway.”
“I feel the urge to stab you.” I open the car door and push my feet into my ankle boots again. I stand up, and while fixing the tight faux-leather black skirt, I grab my Dolce by D&G from the quickie bag. I spray the perfume in the air and then walk into the lily cloud like a damn queen.
“Thought bats were your thing, didn’t know stabbing was an option.” He knows me so well. It’s a pity I can’t hide a bat under my clothes, though. But the pepper spray in my bag works like a charm as well.
“And the urge has passed,” I pant, as I feel the blood pump faster in my veins.
“Why are you talking funny? What are you doing?”
“Powering up, duh,” I reply, jumping from one foot to the other. “Bad Reputation” by Joan Jett comes on next on the radio. Karma is actually paving the way for me.
“You mean ridiculously hopping around like a rabbit on Red Bull.”
“Are there cameras here?” I look around the small road. “Butt the fuck out of my head!”
“Well, fuck you too,” Ollie mutters.
“Lori, you shouldn’t go. I’m on the phone with Rami, this is a delicate case about a new drug. It’s dangerous.” KKJ sounds as serious as the case is. And the more he tries to stop me, the more he pushes me toward it.
“I’m going in. If you don’t hear from me in an hour—” I pinch my cheeks to turn them pink as Ollie cuts me off.
“I swear to God, I’ll go all alpha hard on your ass if you don’t back off.”
“Ooooh, sounds promising, but we already tried when we were boys. That kiss is still top five on my too-gross-to-ever-try-again list.”
I hear KKJ’s unhappy growl. “It was ages ago, Rague. And, Lori, you know the petty little devil inside all of us? Yours is fucking Lucifer!” Ollie barks.
“And what fun do we have together.” I use a suggestive tone that makes him huff.
KKJ’s gruff voice stops our banter. “You should know Crimson is a sex club.”
I whistle excitedly as he keeps going. “Tonight, non-members can get in. Tell the guy at the door you are there for the anyone-in event. And be careful, Lori. This drug causes pain, and the only way to alleviate it is to knock the person out or the release of endorphins.”
“What?” Ollie and I exclaim at the same time.What the actual fuck?
“Sari could determine after reading the victims’ statements that they were hit with extreme sexual arousal, so strong it was agonizing if not satisfied.”
That’s fucked up. I can’t believe how wrong this is. What is the world becoming?
“Were they conscious? Did they know what was going on?” I hear Ollie ask his husband.
“The last two had moments of lucidity and could recognize and remember the people with them.”
Fuck! Fear and horror try to overwhelm me, but I fight against them and harden my resolve. This is what I’ve been waiting for, kicking some callous, heartless motherfucker’s arse.
“Gabe is not answering my texts,” Ollie says. “You shouldn’t go, Lori.”
“Give me one hour. You know what to do, follow safe-bestie protocol,” I remind Ollie. In the past, the protocol came into play when we left a bar with a bloke, but it works just fine in this situation.
“No, I won’t wait for your text. We are coming now, and you’ll keep this call going. If you’re in trouble use the code word.”
