Page 29 of Secret

I go to the kitchen and the minute I hear the garage door is being opened, I leave. I grab my car keys and phone, sneaking out the door. After shutting the door quietly and locking it, I remember I parked my car in front of the house. I stick to the shadows as I unlock my car, and I’m so thankful I parked it outside the house and not in the garage yesterday. I’m lucky they are taking the SUV because it’s easier to follow, and I watch as they leave. I don’t put my car lights on, and I keep them off as I leave the driveway, slowing down enough to switch my lights on and still see them when I’m far enough away from them.

I follow them down the roads. Thankfully, a car overtakes me at one point, hiding me further. It’s around half an hour before they turn onto an empty road filled with more of those huge trees, and I can’t make out much more. I wait five minutes before going down the road.

I'm wondering what work they could be doing in the middle of nowhere. I reason with myself that I need to know who I’m living with. Yes, they seem like good guys, and we are related, but who knows? I’m suddenly aware that it seems bad, like horror movie bad.Who has work in the middle of nowhere and a very expensive lifestyle?

I’m starting to wonder if Harley even has a gym like he told me he has, it’s not like I’ve actually gone to see it.

I finally get to the end of the road, and there are lots of cars parked in a scary-looking car lot. There are several street lights in the middle of the car park and a massive warehouse at the back. It looks old and abandoned, but the cars around here look expensive, like mine. There are only a few lights coming from the entrance of the warehouse, but I see shadows of people walking that way.

I park my car. I can't see the boys’ car around as I walk up to the warehouse. I’m glad I grabbed my leather jacket out of the back seat before I got out of the car because it’s colder out tonight. There is only the sound of my boots on the gravel as I walk up to the warehouse with my arms crossed for comfort. As I get closer, I see a big door with two men standing, one on each side. They are both wearing all black and look like they are high on steroids with their bulging muscles. The one on the left has shaved, brown hair and is looking at me like I’m his next meal. I start to walk away, but then I think of all the secrets, and this is my one chance.

I walk up to him, thinking how stupid this is of me, but before I can say anything, a massive arm goes around my waist and pulls me to the side of a chest covered in leather. I’m frightened before I look up in confusion at Tristan’s face, and he grins at me. Tris’ black hair is gelled to the side, and he is wearing black trousers, a black shirt, and has a leather jacket on. It’s weird, I’ve never seen him in anything less than casual, and it makes him look older than usual.

“There you are, baby, I thought you'd wait,” he says before sliding a hand behind my neck into my hair, moving my face to the side so it’s hidden. He starts gently kissing my neck and whisperinginto my ear, so only I can hear.

“You shouldn't be here, but pretend to be with me. I will keep you safe, for Allie’s sake.” I worry a little as he pulls away, but I hide it quickly and put on a blank face. My thoughts going straight to Blake and how he won’t like this at all, but what choice do I have?

“Sorry, baby,” I say loudly in a girly voice and try to keep my sarcasm down.

Tris nods at the man who is still looking like he is undressing me, but he nods back in respect to Tris. Tris glares at the man when he looks back at me and, surprisingly, a little fear shows in the man’s eyes. We walk past him through the big door and down some stairs. At the bottom, there is another massive door. Tris opens it, and noise rings out as we step inside.The heat surrounds me as the door slams shut behind us, but I can just about hear it over the noise of the music and people.

I'm in shock I didn’t hear the place from outside. It's a massive room full of people, and most of them are hardly wearing any clothes. It’s a night club, but then I see a massive cage in the middle, so I’m not sure what to call it. It's clearly a fighting cage with a cushioned floor in the middle, and it has a curved top joining the walls of the cage together. It’s slightly down in the ground from where we are on the dance floors–so people can look down, I’m guessing. It’s empty at the moment, so I look away, seeing that there are three all-glass bars on each wall filled with people sitting at them.

There are so many people dancing to the loud music on the dance floors in front of them, I can’t see much else as the lights are focused on the dance floors and bars. I can just about see in front of me as we walk through the sweaty people. The room is dark, so I can’t make out many of the people in here. But they look around my age, and there are too many people around to see much else. The smell of body sweat and alcohol is overwhelming as Tris pulls me through a crowded dance floor.

Tris keeps an arm around my waist as he guides me to the back, behind the cage and through one of the doors. It opens to a long corridor with curtains pulled across bays. I can hear the moans of random people as we walk until we find an empty one. I try not to think about what people are doing behind them as Tris pulls me in then shuts the curtain. I sit on the sofa in the small room and put my hands on my face.

“What the fuck are you doing here? Do you know how dangerous this place is?” Tris demands angrily as he starts pacing in front of me.

“Sorry. I just followed my brothers, I had no idea what they were doing. They keep lying to me, and I needed to know. Damn, I'm sorry. Thanks for, well, you know,” I say way too quickly and look up at his worried face as he rubs his hands over his cheeks.

He groans. “They didn't tell you what they do, did they?”

“No, and I'm too curious for my own good by the looks of it.” I stand suddenly, not wanting to be on that sofa because god knows what’s been done on it.

“Like a damn cat,” he mutters quietly.

“How is this place possible? Don’t the police stop it?” I ask as Tris leans against the wall. The place can’t be legal, but there is no way the police wouldn’t have found out about it by now.

“Money, and lots of it. Most of the local police are in one of these rooms, while their wives are at home,” Tris says, looking away. I try not to think about the implications of what he is suggesting, but it’s hard not to.

A loud, beeping-horn starts off in the background, and I can hear people walking down the corridor with loud cheers. I hear the name ‘King’ repeated a lot, and the thought of why they could be calling my last name makes me worry.

“The fight is starting. Elliot is fighting tonight,” Tris says, confirming my fears and pulling back the curtain to look out before closing it as he turns to me.

“Your brothers are unbeatable and earn a hell of a lot of money doing this. Want to see?” he asks gently.

I must look a mess as I take in what he just said. I want to deny it, but I believe him. It makes a hell of a lot of sense. The noise of the cheering is crazy now, and my brothers’ name is echoed in the noise.

“Let’s go,” I say confidently.

“Fine, but you have to act like you’re mine; you don't want to walk around here without me. Allie will kill me if anything happens to you.” He slips his jacket off, chucking it onto the sofa, and rolls his sleeves up as he talks. I glance at his arms, showing his tattoos, which stop at both of his wrists. I look up at the ceiling wondering how on earth I’m going to tell Blake about this before looking at Tris, who’s waiting for me.

“All right, but make sure my brothers don't see me, please? They would go postal.” Tris flinches a little at the mention of how much my brothers would hate to see me here and would likely punch Tris first and ask questions later.

“Yeah, let's go, and then I'm taking you home,” he says, sighing a little in annoyance.

Tris puts his hand around my waist again as we walk out, and the first thing I notice is that nearly everyone has stopped dancing. My gaze finds everyone around the cage with their hands holding the big bars. Most are girls at the front, wearing next to nothing and bouncing up and down, screaming. The rest of the people are captivated, watching the inside of the cage as the loud music beats around the dark room. The main lights light up the cage, and the small lights of the bars are all you can see.

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