Page 57 of Make Me Lie (Rich Demons of Darkwood 1)

I began to make my way after him, and unfortunately for me, the crowd had no intention of moving aside like they had with Cain. It took an elbow to the head before I realized I was going to have to get aggressive to make it through the crowd alive. I ducked and dipped and elbowed my way forward until Cain was in my sights once again. He came to a stop, and for a moment I thought that he was waiting for me, but of course that wasn’t it. I watched as some girl wearing what looked like an actual American flag wrapped around her threw herself at Cain, wrapping her arms around him and beginning to pepper his face with kisses that he did nothing to stop. My gut clenched and I turned, not wanting to watch.

Just then, the lights began to flicker and the music changed to a heavy club remix of “Enter Sandman” by Metallica. The song began to blast through the speakers. I hadn’t thought it was possible for the crowd to get louder, but they did.

I felt a hand grab my arm, and out of instinct I yanked it away, only to realize that it was Cain.

"Stay by me,” he growled grumpily, the girl nowhere to be seen. He looked perturbed like I was the one who had gotten distracted by a mini dress. He glanced over my shoulder and gritted his teeth in a warning glare. I looked backwards and saw a group of guys looking suspiciously at the ceiling, their faces drained of all color.

I sighed and rolled my eyes, because really, this was getting ridiculous. I'd literally watched this guy get a blowjob in front of me, and now he was getting annoyed by some creeps staring at my ass.

Fucking hell.

He began walking again, this time holding me tightly so I couldn't get lost even if I wanted to. Cain wasn't paying any attention to the ring as we walked past it, but I sure was. A man dressed in a sparkly black blazer, bright red Doc Martens, and a bright green Mohawk that stretched out farther than seemed possible thanks to the existence of gravity had stepped out into the center ring, holding a diamond encrusted microphone.

"Are you ready for tonight, assholes?” he screamed loudly into the microphone. The crowd's shouts intensified, and I winced, convinced I was going to be deaf after this. I held my free hand against my ear like that would somehow block out the sound.

"I can't hear you," he screamed again.

The crowd was deafening in its response, and he grinned wickedly as he gazed out over them like they were his loyal subjects.

The ringmaster proceeded to announce that someone nicknamed "The Skull Crusher" was about to fight someone named “Fury”, obviously not the headliners of the show with names like that, as Cain led me up the staircase on the opposite side of the warehouse where we'd come in. The stairs led up to the glass-enclosed rooms that I'd noticed when we'd first come in, because of course Cain was going to be one of thehigh rollers.

We got to the top of the stairs and Cain opened a heavy glass door, stepping inside the room, dragging me right behind him. For a second there was blissful silence, and I closed my eyes and almost moaned with relief at having a second of peace and quiet.

But then I opened my eyes and immediately began wishing that I was back down with the crowd when I saw who was in the room.

Remington and Stellan were there, of course, along with some of the guys I remembered from the party at the football frat house. And some of the guys I'd seen walking in the halls at the Sphinx were there, too. Of course, there was also what looked like half of the cheerleading squad draped in the laps of the various guys.

Basically, most of my least favorite people from the school were in the room.

I told myself it wasn't relief I was feeling when I saw that Remington and Stellan didn't have any girls hanging over them despite the longing and desperate glances being thrown their way.

Remington shot me a smirk when he saw me looking, but Stellan pretended that I didn't exist.

Which was fine, I told myself.

"Why did you bring The Demon's daughter?" a guy named Jake, I think, called out to Cain.

"Hoping she'll get annoyed at one of you assholes and stab someone," Cain responded with a blank face.

Uneasy laughter filled the room. Obviously they weren't sure if he was joking or not. And I wasn't sure either.

Noise from the crowd made it into the room, and my attention went to the ring right below us where two fighters dressed in tiny shorts had just entered. I had to admit that the view from up here was amazing. Down there I would've been struggling to see even a glimpse of the fighters. Up here, I could see everything.

Plus, there were snacks.

Thinking I had a second before the fight started, since the two guys in the ring seemed to be much more interested in peacocking around each other in front of the adoring crowd than actually throwing fists, I went over to the bar on the side of the room that was loaded down with all the snacks a girl could want…

Or at least a girl like me.

My mouth watered as I looked over the trays loaded with buffalo wings, Texas cheese fries, and fried pickles...which were the shining stars of the snacks, obviously.

I was in the process of loading a plate when a girl sidled up next to me. I glanced at her out of the corner of my eye while simultaneously going for an eggroll. She looked too perfect to be real. Long black hair that hung in a shiny curtain behind her, a red bandeau top and black leather miniskirt that showcased a perfect body. Her lips were painted a bright red color, and when I looked over at her, she gave me a smile that didn't reach her eyes, showing teeth so perfect they couldn't be real.

She grabbed some carrot sticks and put them on a plate. It was pretty obvious that she'd just grabbed them to try and have an excuse to talk to me. I decided to throw her a bone and smiled at her. A little smile, though.

"Hey," I said, because a brilliant conversationalist I was not.

"I wasn't expecting to see you here tonight," she said in a sweet voice.

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