Page 14 of The Devils Melody
He doesn’t look fully convinced, but he steps aside anyway, letting me through and nods his head. “Sure thing kid. Text me when you get home.”
I smile kindly at him. “I will, thanks Joe.” He gives me a little wink before I step out the front entrance of the bar.
The night air bites at my skin, a sharp contrast to the heat still clinging to me from inside the bar. The parking lot is mostly empty, save for the few cars that belong to some of my coworkers. It’s dimly lit by the flickering streetlights and I try my best to swallow the unease that curls in my gut.
I don’t see them, but that doesn’t mean they’re not out here watching me somewhere. I grip my keys tight as I power walk over to my car, trying to look unaffected by them. I don’t think it’s working, but I power through anyway. I can fake it until I make it, and if they’re watching me, I hope they get a good laugh out of it.
Fucking assholes.Not just assholes, butgorgeousfucking assholes. I wonder what it feels like to be God’s favorite? The way those men are built should be illegal. IfBuild-A-Boyfriendwas a real thing, they’re exactly who I would have created for myself.
As I reach my car, I force myself not to look around. I don’t want to give them the satisfaction of knowing they’re getting to me. I slide into the driver's seat, lock my doors, and start the engine.
Holy shit, I actually made it.
Just when I think I’m finally safe, something pulls atme. A shadow of movement in my peripheral vision, just the faintest flicker of something that’s just out of reach.
I don’t turn my head. I can’t give them the reaction they’re hoping for. Instead, I put the car in drive, white knuckling the steering wheel, and pull out of the lot. Maybe I just imagined it. Maybe they’re really gone and I’m just psyching myself out, but as I hit the main road, the feeling doesn’t go away. I think I’m being followed.
Turning the radio on full blast,Medicate Me by Dayseeker and Rain City Drivepounds in my ears, but it does nothing to drown out the unsettling sensation gnawing at my gut. I grip the wheel harder, feeling the cracked leather bite into my palms as my eyes flicker to the rearview mirror again.
Get a grip, bitch.
But I can’t. Not when every instinct is screaming that something is off. The feeling lingers there, like a shadow just out of sight, creeping closer with every passing second. I force myself to focus on the road ahead, but my heart is beating frantically, as if it knows something I don't. What a traitorous bitch.
A sudden flash of light from my side mirror jolts me out of my spiraling thoughts. Headlights hurtle towards me at full speed.
I knew it.
Panic seizes in my chest, and for a moment, I forget how to breathe. I’m still a few blocks away from my apartment, but this stretch on the edge of Chinatown, where the streetlights flicker and half the buildings are boarded up, is too quiet for my liking. I refused to walk through here before, choosing to take the bus route to save myself the power walk to and from work, so I sure as shit am not stopping now. Nowhere out here is safe. It’s just graffiti stainedwalls, dumpsters, and alleyways that swallow people whole. No fucking thank you.
I try to tell myself it’s nothing. Maybe it’s just another car that’s headed in the same direction, but it feels like it’s more than that. It feels like the beginning of a horror movie or something.
It’s totally not Rich hell bent on revenge, right? I mean, he would never do something this crazy.I also didn't think he’d ever stick his dick in someone else, yet, here we are. My heart might be a traitorous bitch, but at least it didn’t stick around for him and his bullshit.
I can hear the engine now, louder than before, something off about the sound. It’s louder and sounds more aggressive than a normal car would. The headlights are basically kissing the ass of my car before they?—
Did they just fucking split in half?Not a car…fuckingmotorcycles.
They’re on either side of me now, so close I’ll be surprised if they don’t scratch the paint right off my car. I don’t know what I’d do if they did. My little Honda might not be much, but she’s all that I have. It’s too dark to try and tell who they are, the shitty streetlights and helmets definitely don’t help, but it looks like they’re both wearing leather jackets.
My fingers flex around the wheel. I could slam on the breaks, maybe make them swerve, or I could jerk the car into one of them and force them to back the hell off. I’m not a murderer, but don’t test me. Before I can do either of those things, the one on my driver side does something unexpected.
He lifts a glove covered hand, not as a warning or a threat, he just presses his hand up to his helmet coveredmouth, and blows me a slow, deliberate kiss. Then, just when I think it couldn’t get any worse, he waves at me. A taunting, measured wave. Like he knows me and he’s just casually saying hello, as if we do this all the time.
What the fuck?
A chill snakes up my spine, but I don’t react. I don’t even acknowledge it. A sudden noise to my right nearly has me jumping out of my skin. The other rider is knocking on my window. He waves at me too, and then just as smoothly as they appeared, they start to back off.
The one on my right slows first, dropping back into the darkness. The one on my left lingers a second longer before doing the same; the roar of their engines fading into the night.
I don’t let out the breath I’m holding until I can’t see them anymore. Even then, my heart is still hammering in my chest. Who the hell were they and why does some twisted part of me already know the answer?
I pull into the small lot behind Sun Hong Kong, barely registering the drive after the motorcycles before shutting off my car. For a long moment, I just sit there gripping the steering wheel, trying to convince myself that I just imagined it. Maybe it was just a coincidence.
C’mon Wren, you know better than that. Don’t be so naive.
Stepping out of the car, I jog to the back entrance, fumbling with my keys before finally unlocking the door. That lingering charge from the chase still clings to my skin as I push it open and make my way up the narrow stairs to my apartment. Despite all the danger and the little warning bells screaming in my head, there’s something else curling beneath the surface. Something dark and reckless and entirely impossible to ignore.
Excitement.
